How can I become a fast reader?

Asked by: Josiane Hackett Sr.  |  Last update: November 3, 2025
Score: 4.4/5 (30 votes)

How to speed read? Quick Tips
  1. Preview and skim material. ...
  2. Ask questions Who, Where, What, When, Why and How.
  3. Use your finger, a pen or a mouse as a pacing tool.
  4. Read chunks of words. ...
  5. Improve vocabulary to identify words faster.
  6. Improve memory skills to better remember and recall information.

How can I train myself to read faster?

5 Tips for How to Read Faster Without Losing Comprehension
  • 1. Skim or scan the text first.
  • 2. Stop subvocalizing.
  • 3. Read phrases, not words
  • 4. Quit Re-reading
  • 5. Read more

How can I be the fastest reader?

Do this by relaxing your face and "softening" or expanding your gaze on the page, so that you stop seeing words as single, distinct units. As you practice this, your eyes will skip faster across the page. Then, when you approach the end of a line, allow your peripheral vision to take your eye to the final set of words.

How long does it take to become a fast reader?

It typically takes 2 to 4 weeks to double your reading speed, so be patient with yourself and keep trying.

What makes someone a fast reader?

Fast readers often have a words per minute (WPM) rate much higher than the average reading rate of 238 WPM. They are auditory readers and can typically read at 400 WPM or higher, with exceptional visual readers reaching 1,000 WPM or more, though this beyond-normal fast reading is rare and requires extensive training.

You’re Not Slow: Become a Speed Reader in 15 Minutes

15 related questions found

Do fast readers have high IQ?

Research shows there is no strong correlation between reading speed and IQ. There is a stronger relation between reading and IQ. People who read a lot are exposed to more information. This helps them to understand more.

Is fast reading a talent?

Speed reading is not a talent. it is a skill you can master with the right tools and techniques. Anyone can learn how to speed read and improve their comprehension.

Do fast readers skip words?

Speed readers don't fixate their eyes on all the words as they read, but that doesn't mean they skip the words. Speed reading entails reading words in clumps, or groups. You read more than one word at a time, but no word gets skipped. You have to run your finger down the page or use a pacer when you speed read.

Can you actually increase reading speed?

Some suggest simply practicing reading more as a way to improve one's speed and comprehension. While this does help, it's a very slow and gradual process and doesn't spark drastic improvements. To more drastically improve speed, we have to reduce comprehension. To increase comprehension, we have to read slower.

Is being a fast reader good?

Speed reading can be a useful tool for learning. You may not be able to siphon knowledge off the page and straight into your brain via your eyeballs, but you can absolutely tap into it to improve the effectiveness of your studies.

Why am I reading so slowly?

Most problems with reading speed come from the lack of practice and from trying to read and commit the information to memory at the same time. For information that must be remembered, humans learn faster and remember better when they keep reading and learning separate.

How do some people read so quickly?

You tend to read faster by reading more. One of the biggest influences on your pace is what psycholinguists call the word-frequency effect; the more times you've encountered a word, the faster you'll recognize it.

Can you train your eyes to read faster?

Why should you care about exercising your eye muscles? Because the only way you'll be reaching and sustaining reading speeds of 700word per minute and more is by exercising them. The stronger your eye muscles are, the more work they can handle before tiring.

How can I memorize faster what I read?

How to memorize things fast: 11 memorization techniques
  1. Acronyms and acrostics.
  2. Music mnemonics.
  3. Rhyming mnemonics.
  4. Chunking.
  5. Build a memory palace.
  6. Write it down.
  7. Use spaced repetition.
  8. Make visual connections.

Is reading 2 pages a minute good?

The average reading speed is 200 to 250 words a minute in non-technical material roughly 2 minutes per page. If you doubt this, test your reading speed - there is a reading speed test elsewhere in this site.

Are faster readers smarter?

It is unlikely that readers will be able to double or triple their reading speeds (e.g., from around 250 to 500–750 words per minute) while still being able to understand the text as well as if they read at normal speed.” If you're reading fast, you're not engaging in critical thinking.

Am I dyslexic or do I read too fast?

People with reading difficulties tend to make more jumps and longer fixations, while faster readers make fewer jumps and shorter fixations. Faster readers take in groups of words at once before moving to the next cluster of words, rather than reading individual words one at a time.

Why can't I read as fast as I used to?

Many readers tend to vocalize the text as they read, where they move their lips and read words out loud. You may also subvocalize, where you talk to yourself in your head as you read silently. Both of these habits can slow down your reading rate, as speaking is a relatively slow activity.

Do high IQ people read fast?

Souza's study demonstrated that an individual with an IQ of 126 or higher can often learn in one hour what it would take someone with an IQ in the standard range 4-5 hours to learn. This means that gifted people can truly read and understand faster than an average person.

Who is the fastest reader ever?

Howard Stephen Berg from the United States has claimed to be the Guinness World Record holder for fast reading with a speed of 25,000 words per minute, and Maria Teresa Calderon from the Philippines claims to have earned the Guinness World Record for World's Fastest Reader at 80,000 words per minute reading speed and ...

How to stop saying words in your head when reading?

How To Stop Subvocalization – 6 Tips
  1. Occupy your inner voice with a different activity.
  2. Preview any material before reading.
  3. Control your eyes – practice left-right movements.
  4. Train your eyes – learn to catch word chunks.
  5. Distract your other reading organs, e.g. gentle background music.

Is Bill Gates a fast reader?

Recently I read an article about Bill Gates and his success; One of the critical messages of Bill Gates's success is his reading; he reads min 50 books per year, and his reading skills are 750 words per minute with 90% comprehension, which attributes much of his success to reading; do you believe it? But it is true.

How fast is 25000 WPM?

25.000 words per minute is 417 words per second. My last memo book was 192 pages, and about 50,000 words. If people were to read 25 000 per minute, that would mean that they could read my book in two minutes.

Who is the longest reader in the world?

27-year-old Samson Ajao from Osogbo, Nigeria, has performed the world's longest marathon reading aloud, clocking in at 215 hours – just one hour short of nine full days. The previous record of 124 hours was set in 2022 by Rysbai Isakov (Kyrgyzstan).