Speed reading

Course summary

Want to save two hours a day? You could by doubling your reading speed, and still not miss a thing.

Do you often lose concentration and forget what you have read? If so, you could learn how to focus better and remember more.

There has never been so much information at our fingertips as there is now. Yet are you trained to use it?

You are still probably reading based on what you were taught as a child. To make matters worse, you have probably developed bad habits which make your reading skills possibly the least efficient of all your personal skills – yet at which you spend the most time! But you could improve dramatically.

Most people are likely to see an improvement of going from reading approximately 230 words per minute, to reading 500-700 words per minute by the end of the course.

Course outline

Special guest trainer, David Aylwin runs this intensive one day training course in Speed reading, which covers:

Improving the mechanics of reading

Course objectives and initial tests:

• course and individual objectives
• tests to measure delegates' current reading performance

Current reading problems and how to overcome them:

• current reading habits; how and why they cause problems
• controlling regressions (re-reading words, sentences and paragraphs)
• "chunking" - reading in groups of words
• controlling sub-vocalisation - the internal voice

Improving concentration, comprehension, retention

How to improve concentration:

• causes of poor concentration - "just what was all that about?"
• 5 practical ways to concentrate better for longer
• reading on-screen/off-screen - how concentration can be affected

How to improve comprehension:

• effective previewing and skimming techniques; using PASS©
• peripheral Reading© - the ‘zig-zag', ‘diagonal reading', ‘ski-reading'
• key purposes for reading, and how they should affect the pace of reading
• varying the pace to get the comprehension you require

How to improve retention; noting:

• memory improvement exercises; using READ© to remember more
• when and when not to make notes; principles of noting

Final assessments:

• final assessments, comprehension tests and eye control tests
• practice required for long-term reinforcement - optional access via username/password to the Reading Transformations' website for follow-up exercises.

Reading performance is measured throughout so as to ensure maximum comprehension at most efficient reading speeds. 

"I had no idea that my reading speeds could improve so much AND allow me to take in and remember so much more." IT Manager, Local Government

"Without doubt, one of the most effective training courses I have ever encountered. Thank you very much." KS, Solicitor

"At long last I think I am going to complete my studies thanks to your remarkable course" PT, MBA Student

"We should have been taught these skills years ago at school. It would have saved so much time and enabled me to get through everything so much faster.  Luckily it is never too late to learn!" HR Manager, NHS

Who is this course for?

The course is for anybody who has a lot of reading to do, in any profession or type of job, or whose leisure reading often takes them too long. If you are student with a huge work-load, if you do research and have to read densely written documents, if you have to keep yourself up-to-date in a fast moving industry, this course is for you.

If you have to read tedious minutes of meetings, if you are in local government, the civil service, the NHS, this course will help you. If you need to influence others, the more briefed and knowledgeable you are, the more likely you are to achieve that influence.

The Centre works with people from all sectors including the public sector, voluntary sector, corporate sector and private sector.

What will this course help me do: learning outcomes?

This course in Speed reading would permanently double, perhaps even treble your reading speed and improve your retention. It is likely to save you 2 or more hours per day, and allow you to be better briefed and more informed. You retain more, as our brains work better at higher reading speeds. However, the course teaches how to read at the correct speed for what you are reading and why.

Other courses to consider

The Centre runs a wide range of courses in reading and writing, including Proofreading, Advanced writing skills and Writing for the web.

Course dates

This course is run on request. This means that we will keep your details on file and once we have at least three people interested in the course we will contact you to let you know and to schedule a date. Please contact us to log your interest in this course.

Alternatively we can also run this as an in-company course. Find out more about in-company training.