Debunking Speed-Reading Myths
The previous section explains what reading, and speed reading in
particular, is. This section explains what speed reading isn’t. These
myths about speed reading are false:
✓ You don’t enjoy reading as much when you speed read. On
the contrary! Speed reading is efficient reading, as I explain
in “What Is Speed Reading, Anyway?” earlier in this chapter.
When you speed read, you’re a better reader — you get more
pleasure and meaning out of the books, articles, and Web
pages that you read. In my years as a speed-reading teacher,
I have seen countless individuals grow to love reading after
they learned how to speed read.
✓ You don’t comprehend as well when you speed read. Speed
reading is the act of reading with higher levels of concentration.
What’s more, by reading several words at a time rather than
one word after the other, your comprehension increases. You
can read words in context and derive more meaning from the
words you read. Check out “Speed reading is comprehending”
earlier in this chapter for more on why this myth is a sham.
✓ You skip words when you speed read. Wrong again. Speed
readers don’t fixate their eyes on all the words as they read,
but that doesn’t mean they skip the words. Speed reading
entails reading words in clumps, or groups. You read more
than one word at a time, but no word gets skipped. (Head to
Chapter 6 for more on reading word clumps.)
✓ You have to run your finger down the page or use a pacer
when you speed read. A pacer is a visual guide, such as your
finger or a pen, that marks where you read on the page; I’ve
included three of them on the Cheat Sheet at the front of this
book. Most people have a stereotypical image of a speed reader
as a crazed-looking individual dragging her finger or a pacer
quickly down the page in the act of reading. However, you don’t
need a pacer to speed read. As I explain in Chapter 3, a pacer
can be helpful in the early stages of speed reading, but you’re
wise to abandon it after you get the hang of speed reading.
