digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: Don't expect speed reading to let you read a 200-page book in 10 to 15 minutes; aim instead to roughly double your reading speed to about 500 to 600 words per minute, adjusting your speed to how valuable and familiar the material is. The speaker argues that claims of thousands of words per minute are largely a myth, and that full comprehension is realistically achievable only around 500 to 600 words per minute. Lower comprehension levels are acceptable for skimming or for familiar material.
Key Points
- Claims of reading thousands of words per minute, such as finishing a 200-page book in minutes, are presented as largely a myth; the speaker cites NASA scientists as having shown "photo reading" does not work at all.
- Most people currently read about 150 to 250 words per minute, down from roughly 250 to 350 a century ago, while practiced readers such as college professors, top CEOs, and good students tend to reach 500 to 600.
- Subvocalization (inner speech) cannot be fully eliminated, so the realistic goal is reading in chunks of words, which raises speed indirectly.
- Speed and comprehension trade off: reading at 700 to 900 words per minute usually means partial comprehension, and the speaker says full comprehension is realistically only possible around 500 to 600 words per minute.
- Acceptable comprehension depends on the purpose: lower comprehension (50 to 80%) can suit easy fiction or material you already know, while skimming for a general map may work at 5 to 40% comprehension.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Measure your current reading speed and comprehension before trying to change it.
- Decide per book or section how valuable and applicable the information is; if it's low-value, read faster.
- Assess your existing knowledge; if you already know the material (e.g., Pavlov's dog experiment for a psychologist), skim it and slow down only for new, high-value parts.
- Guide your finger or pen along the text and push the pace gradually, accepting partial comprehension for easy material.
- For easy fiction, aim around 50% comprehension and still follow the story; for school reading, aim for the most important lessons at roughly 50 to 60% comprehension if that's what the goal requires.
- For a preview of a book, skim at 5 to 40% comprehension to get the general idea and structure.
- Adopt the mindset that you are fully understanding the text, and give yourself permission not to catch every word.
- The speaker frames his claims as based on years of practice, reading many books, attending seminars, and teaching others, rather than on a specific published study beyond the NASA reference.
Bottom Line
Speed reading is realistically about doubling your reading rate to roughly 500 to 600 words per minute, and the right speed depends on the material's value, your prior knowledge, and how much comprehension you need.
