Strategies for speed reading

Fast reading does not only imply decoding a set of signs in the shortest possible time, but it is mainly about understanding what is read in less time, being a complex intellectual process. Therefore, it is necessary to use various strategies that foster the reader's motivations, interests and knowledge to improve their reading skills.

The following are some common strategies to achieve greater effectiveness in speed reading.

Making predictions of the text

Making predictions before and during reading about how a situation will be resolved, when a conflict will occur, or how an action will conclude, raises the reader's expectations, which increases his or her motivation and concentration in speed reading. This technique also encourages the activation of prior knowledge, allowing to intuit, understand and retain information better without slowing down reading speed.

Creating images in memory

If during reading we manage to imagine sensations such as fragrances, emotions or sounds, we create images that are better stored in memory, helping to remember more elements for longer. The more sensory details are incorporated into the images, the better the content is remembered.

Underlining

Underlining highlights relevant words, concepts or paragraphs, and is useful for several reasons:

• It forces the reader to read actively, highlighting what is essential and leaving aside what is secondary.

• It contributes to a global and coherent understanding of the text.

• It facilitates the study and selective re-reading of the text.

For effective underlining, it is important to keep in mind:

• Underline only the essential, such as key words or phrases to understand the most important points of the text.

• Underline only after having understood the idea well, not automatically.

Read between the lines

This strategy is based on using logic to interpret words or phrases within the context of the text. The reader must analyze the content surrounding the keywords to deduce their meaning. In many cases, this process is autom