Paul Nowak - Free Speed Reading Course (1/5)

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Learn to read faster by boosting your entire reading range, rather than expecting a single fixed speed, using drills and exercises. The speaker notes that the average reader reads 150 to 250 words per minute, a rate that has declined from 250 to 350 words per minute about 30 years ago, and that average readers stop improving after age 12.

Key Points

• The speaker measures baseline reading speed with a one-minute timed reading of an article, read at a comfortable pace for comprehension.
• Average reading speed is 150 to 250 words per minute, based on average-level material and only one minute of reading.
• Reading speed varies with material difficulty: easy material is read faster, and technical material such as advanced physics may drop to about 100 words per minute.
• Speed drops considerably over longer reading sessions, so the one-minute averages overstate typical sustained reading rates.
• The speaker claims the average reader stops improving after age 12, and says even a professor reading 210 words per minute was not much faster.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: Take the article handed out, read it at your normal pace for good comprehension (do not speed up or slow down), stop when the timer ends, draw a line where you stopped, count the lines you read, multiply by 10 to estimate words per minute (about 10 words per line in this material), and write that score on the top right corner of your survey card.
• The speaker recommends comparing your score only as a rough benchmark; many participants cover their scores when others look around.
• Technical reading can still reach 200 to 400 words per minute with practice, though Shakespeare or highly technical texts will not reach very high speeds without familiarity.
• The speaker mentions he will show a reading application at the end of the workshop, which past students reportedly found helpful.
• The goal is to raise your full reading range, not to hit an unrealistic maximum speed.

Bottom Line

Your reading speed is a range that varies by material and session length, and you can raise it with practice even though many people plateau after adolescence.