***Don't Try to Read Super Fast or Slow and Make This Mistake

"Within minutes of starting to read, my mind wanders off. When I come back to the page, I realized I have gone through several pages and don't know what I just read!" This is a common problem for all readers, not just speed readers. Does your mind wander?

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atively I hear, "I have practiced speed reading and get to 2200 words per minute. But I don't understand what I have read!" is another common complaint from "trained speed readers." Although the scenarios might be different, they both have the same fatal flaw. That fatal flaw is reading mindlessly.

Speed reading is not just about moving your eyes through the text as rapidly as possible. Most speed reading programs would lead you to believe this. Many of them merely say to the learner, "just keep at it. Eventually it will come to you." But that is a cop-out and not true.

It is important to get the eyes moving efficiently, but you have to remember that behind the eyes should be your mind. What is your mind doing as your eyes are moving? Learn to activate and move your mind with your eyes.

Reading, whether it is "speed reading" or traditional reading, means the ability to process visual symbols (words) and interpret the meaning behind those symbols. Stated in different terms the definition of comprehension would be the mind's response to the print. So for all reading to be successfully achieved, your mind has to respond to the print in a meaningful way no matter what speed you do it.

Here are 4 things you can do to keeping your mind focused while speed reading:

1. Be Purposeful. Whether you read a book, email, e-book, article, etc. be clear about why you are reading and what you want/need to get from the material.

2. Reboot Your Brain. If you expect to be reading for five or more minutes, take a brief moment and clear your mind. There are varieties of techniques to do this, but simply taking a couple deep breaths while establishing your purpose can help do this. Oftentimes mind-wandering occurs when you are stressed out or have pressing issues floating through your brain. You need to establish a technique to put those out of mind for now.

3. Ask yourself continuously, "What's this about?" See what answers come to mind. Monitor your answers and be sure they relate to the print. If they don't relate, redirect your mind based on your purpose.

4. Stop and Think. Since comprehension is about making mental connections, you need to do this at regular intervals. This not only helps comprehension, it also enhances your memory of what you have read.

With proper training you can learn to move your mind faster as well as your eyes. The above 4 things can help tremendously. There are many more tactics you can do as well. Try to master these on your road to speed reading success.

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