Speed reading is the internalization of thought units at a higher rate - How BrainRead works

A while ago my daughter came home with her physics test results. She was one point short of an A+ and very sad. I said: “are you kidding? That’s great!”. “No”, she said, “my BF got an A+ and I didn’t, even if I answered correctly.” “Why didn’t you get full points then?” I asked. “Because I didn’t answer with the same words as in the book, like my BF did”, she said. Man, I could strangle that teacher!

Really, why don’t we recognize comprehension for what it is – internalized knowledge – not verbatim memory?

This is often misunderstood. As we read a text, we very seldom want to learn it by heart verbatim, that is, word by word. Apart from poems and mnemonics, reading comprehension is made up by the internalized thoughts an author presents in a text. You “get it”, but not with the very same words or expressions the author used. The process of reading can be done at a much higher speed if we recognize this fact and allow for faster internalization.

Speed reading as presented by BrainRead, builds on the potential we all have, to learn how to read in groups of words, holistically. In Scandinavia, kids learn this by reading subtitles on TV extensively throughout their childhood. As grownups, we can learn this by doing the special Progress Bar exercises in the BrainRead App or by buying the BrainRead book and access the special readers’ area were the same exercise is presented online.

You will learn how to internalize whole groups of words as complete thought units. Instead of reading “I want more” with three eye movements, focusing on each word after each other, you will learn to read faster by looking at the whole group of words.

Focus on “want” in “I want more”, and you will see all three of them. What holds you back is that this technique requires to let go of your inner voice and learn how to focus correctly. This is achieved by intensive training, as shown in BrainRead (book and App).

Speed reading even allows for a higher comprehension, because you will focus your thoughts along the thoughts taken in by your mind as you read much better. This limits the phenomena of “wandering thoughts”. As you read slowly, speaking your minds voice (subvocalizing), you limit the speed of thinking to that of speaking. As this is not possible, your mind will fill the “void” with other thoughts, and soon enough you are not thinking about the context of the text at all anymore!

This happens more often than you realize. Much like napping off for a second while driving your car is dangerous, wandering thoughts will make you lose bits of information as you read, without you realizing it. Speed reading holistically, will help you focus your thoughts on the context of the text, and thus enhances comprehension.

Some people in my trainings are flabbergasted by this effect. “This can’t be”, they say, as they see the results of reading tests I do. Double the speed and higher comprehension by 20-30% is not unusual. But after several tests with quite different styles and stories, they all come around and believe the truth of their own achievements.

Don’t let slow reading hold you back from your potential. Join us on BrainRead today and get ahead of the curve. You are a speed reading champion in the making!