Reading Comprehension and Speed

Reading through material and not understanding it is a common issue for a lot of people. Sometimes  you have to read through the same sentence three or four times before you can be sure you understand the full meaning. This problem affects people all over the world – sometimes reading is just difficult. And taking a lot of time to read documents can mean a lot for some people; in today’s world, time is money.

This is why speed is just as important as comprehension. This fact is being acknowledged all over the world. What most people believe is that “the slower you read, the better you’ll understand the text.” This is in fact false. The truth is, when you learn a proper speed reading technique, your comprehension will improve along with your reading speed.

An average person can read about 250 words per minute, while a speed reading expert can read about 1000 words in the same amount of time. But that’s not what’s really important. The important thing is the comprehension level of each reader. The average person will have about 50%-60% comprehension while an expert can knock it up to about 85%. This is a phenomenal increase in comprehension.

So the next time you find yourself reading through the same passage for the fourth time in a row, remember that there is something you can do about it. Simply learn to speed read.