The ability to speed read may sound like an appealing skill in a prospective employee or a helpful tool for a student, but is faster reading necessarily better? And if someone claims they can speed read, are they also able to comprehend and retain what they’ve read? That’s the kicker. In fact, despite the popularity of speed reading programs, many cognitive scientists doubt that it’s even possible.
Although reading speed, processing ability, and working memory vary significantly among individuals, a skilled reader can read approximately 200 to 300 words per minute. Elizabeth Schotter, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida, says that “speeding up this process while retaining accuracy is almost impossible.” Research also casts doubt on purported speed reading techniques such as reading in a zigzag pattern or suppressing your "inner voice." Contrary to their intended effect, those techniques may actually impair fluency and make texts harder to comprehend. For example, reading comprehension dropped significantly in a study in which people hummed in an effort to eliminate their inner voice.
Schotter maintains that the ability to speed read boils down to simply skimming texts. This may provide the key ideas in a text, but it won't help you retain important details. So while it's possible to learn to get through material more quickly, your understanding of what you've read will suffer.
Read anything good lately?
- The term "speed reading" is thought to have been coined in the late 1950s by Evelyn Wood, founder of Reading Dynamics. Her speed reading program was so popular that staffers for Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, and Carter were all sent on the course.
- People tend to read far more quickly than they speak. A typical conversation (or an audiobook or podcast) takes place at a speed of around 150 to 160 words per minute.
- Auctioneers and horse racing commentators speak more quickly – you're likely to hear speeds of around 250 words per minute, which is roughly reading speed.