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No matter who you are, whether young or old and regardless of your profession, being able to read and comprehend as quickly as possible is an incredibly useful skill. Many never bother to push themselves to read faster once they acquire the ability to do so as a child. Like any other skill, however, reading improves with practice. When you exercise this skill, you will reap the dividends. All you need to get started speed reading is just a little study on the techniques used in the actual practice of it.

The first thing that you need to think about is learning to read in the first place. First we were taught our letters, and then we were taught that we need to put the letters together to make words. When we first started reading, we had to sound out the words letter by letter. Of course, we don't do that now! Instead, we look like at a combination of letters and instantly recognize them as the words that they are. When it comes to learning to speed read, it is important to note that sentences and phrases can work in the same way. You don't have to read every word to know the sentence.

On any given page of text, roughly half of the words used will be not irrelevant as such, but not needed to grasp the meaning of the text. Articles, conjunctions and other smaller words can be inferred from the context and passed over, drastically increasing the speed at which your eyes scan the page. As mentioned above, try looking at entire sentences at once the way one does with a word. This is one of the keys to being a successful speed reader.

Another highly effective method is to challenge yourself. Hold a notecard on the page, covering the line right before the one you are currently reading. Move the card down as you read; your eye will race along the page, trying to stay ahead of the card. Gradually increase the pace and you'll find your speed greatly improved in no time. Before long, you can lose the card, you'll be in the habit of speed reading.

Remember that when you try these techniques that you don't do them constantly. The human brain processes best in twenty minute chunks. After twenty minutes, you'll find that you will slow down and this can be quite frustrating; it might even make you doubt that you can read more quickly at all. Remember to take frequent breaks, and despite the nature of the activity, you don't have to feel rushed!

Speed reading is a great skill to pick up for many reasons, so see what you can do with this powerful tool today!