We are in a new age. Information is being presented to us in many forms. During the past few years there has been a plethora of information introduced to us. While books are being produced, there is also a significant amount of information on the internet. As a result of all this information, people living in this age have to be able to read faster and comprehend information at a much faster rate.

Many jobs in today’s society require that the person is able to keep up with a series of events simultaneously. For example, stockbrokers and financial analysts have to read many articles (whether on the newspaper, email, or internet) that pertain to many markets in the world. Hence, it is becoming very difficult to maintain such jobs without proper reading skills.

In this chapter of the book you will be able to test out your current reading speed. However, before we do that you need to make sure that you have several things.

The Reading Environment

One of the most important things that beginning reading should evaluate is the reading environment. A noisy reading environment will produce a lack of interest in reading. Moreover, if you are forcing yourself to read in such an area, your comprehension of the material read is very poor. Thus, make sure you are in a comfortable area with good light and minimal noise. Set a goal to read for a period of time and do not leave that area. If you are consistently thinking about something else while reading, your reading speed will reflect it.

In this section of the guide you will be able to calculate your current reading speed using the book that you previously used to calculate the total words per page in the previous. At this time, set apart about 15-30 minutes to calculate your reading speed in a suitable environment. Remember to read at your normal pace.

If you want to get a broader outlook on your reading speed, it is necessary to test your reading speed on a variety of books. For example, you may want to test your reading speed on a literature book, a magazine/newspaper, and a nonfiction book. Please have a book in hand and use it to complete the following exercises.

It is very important to understand the factors that slow down your reading speed. Although they have been listed in the beginning, this portion of the guide will explain them more thoroughly while giving you tips on how to minimize the affects of them. Once you understand these factors, you can concentrate on the ones that are giving you the most problems and increase your reading speed. The most common reading problems are listed below:

Factors Contributing to Slow Reading Speed

There are many factors that can result in slow reading speeds. Although some habits are direct results of improper reading tactics that arise during elementary school, others are solely based on the reader’s attention. Studies show that since the age of 12, most readers do not significantly improve their reading speeds, and thus never reach their full capacity.

Some of the factors that contribute to slower reading speeds include:

This chapter will focus on the little factors that are slowing down your reading speed.  You should develop some new skills to overcome your old habits.

Methods for Optimizing Your Reading Speed

There are some small factors that can cause a significant slowdown in your reading speed. Such factors include page turning and starting to read a new line.

Turning the Pages of a Book

As describe in the previous section of this book, the binding of the book can halt your reading speed when turning pages. The binding of the book must be loose so that you have more control over the pages of the book.