How to Read the Right Way: A Complete Guide

• Skimming: quickly going through passages to find the main points.
• Meta guiding uses a pointer, such as your index finger or a pen, to guide your eyes along the lines of text.
• The vision span method uses the span of human eyesight to read words in batches.
• Rapid serial visual representation (RSVP): an electronic reading system displays words one at a time.

Regardless of which reading method you use, the evidence points towards the fact that speed comes at the sacrifice of understanding.

Depending on what you’re reading, this might not necessarily be a bad thing: If you’re trying to get through a dry piece to capture a few key points or you are going through a short piece that’s easy to understand, speed reading strategies might make sense.

1. Choose different reading pieces for different occasions: articles and light reads can be reserved for short periods. Books that require less focus can be listened to in audio format etc.
2. Incorporate reading into your daily habit: put a book on your bedside table.
3. Share your reads with others, to help you to better understand and appreciate what you read.
4. Reflect on your reading: take notes or check out films that are based on novels (to compare interpretations).