Buying books, taking them for a walk and leaving them halfway through is a habit for many people who have difficulty reading at speed due to the large number of tasks and daily distractions.
According to Chat GPT, there are four techniques to read faster and achieve proper text comprehension:
Skimming: this technique consists of quickly read the titles, subheadings, words in bold, and introductory paragraphs of a book. This technique helps get the main idea and the general structure of a text and to carry it out the AI proposes to carry out the following steps:
1–read index to familiarize yourself with the main topics and relevant chapters.
2- Then, quickly go through each chapter and read the titles and subtitles. This will give an idea of the key topics covered in the book.
3- Next, read the first few paragraphs of each section or introductory paragraph of each chapter. The objective? Grasp the main idea and general focus of each section.
4- Then, pay attention to words that are bold, italicized or highlighted, as they often indicate relevant information or key terms (they can be highlighted with a marker or bookmarks).
5- Examine the illustrations, graphs, or diagrams that accompany the text, as they can provide a visual representation of important concepts.
6- Finally, read the conclusion or the last paragraph of each chapter for a summary of the key points covered.
Scanning: involves rapidly moving your eyes over a page in search of keywords, featured phrases, or relevant information. This method is very useful when searching for specific information in a book, but is more useful for reading PDFs, news, and short texts.
1- Scan the pages to read focusing on headings, subheadings, and any other highlighted elements, such as bold or italicized words.
2- Pay attention to titles of sections or paragraphs to identify relevant related topics.
3- Examine the graphs, tables or images that accompany the text, as they often provide visually appealing summary information about key findings or conclusions.
Block reading: consists of grouping words or phrases into blocks and reading them together instead of reading word by word. This technique helps increase reading speed by reducing subvocalization (the habit of mentally pronouncing each word while reading).
1- The first step is to group several sentences into blocks and then read them together.
2- To facilitate this task, Chat GPT proposes to quickly move your eyes through the text, focusing on grouping blocks of words.
3- As reading progresses, it is important to grasp the main idea of each block of words.
4- If you come across parts of the text that require more detailed reading, such as complex concepts or important information, you can slow down your pace and read those sections more carefully.
Speed reading practice: Carry out specific exercises and practices to increase reading speed, to carry out this you can:
1– Set minute reading goals grouping quantities, for example, 10 pages in 20 minutes or the necessary time that can be reduced with practice itself.
2- Perform visual tracking exercises: An important aspect of speed reading is moving your eyes quickly and efficiently through text, so practice following your gaze smoothly down a line of text without stopping at every word. Also, you can use a pencil to guide the eyes as you go.
3- Reduce subvocalization: this is achieved by reading quietly and avoiding moving the lips or tongue while reading. The goal is to focus on the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph and not on the vocalization of each word in your mind.
According to the AI, these techniques can be useful for reading books faster because they allow you to grasp the main information and the general structure of a text more quickly, which helps save time when reading long books. Besides, improve concentration and ability to retain information by avoiding mental dispersion with the environment.
These techniques can be especially useful for those people who need process large volumes of information in a short time, as students, researchers or professionals who require constant updating in their field.