Capture technical information with ease using photoreading and speed reading |
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Expert Tips for Photoreading, Speed Reading & Strategic Reading
How to double and triple your reading speed
Expert Tip 1. Read more, anything. Check this site for free ebooks that you can download and read on your mobile
Take our speed reading / photoreading test now
Expert Tip 2. Read books for information in the same way as you would read a newspaper or magazine.
Expert Tip 3. Use different reading techniques/strategies (speed reading, skimming, photoreading, slow reading, rhizomapping) for processing different material.
Expert Tip 4. Set your purpose for what you want to get out of the book.
Expert Tip 5. Focus on differences (what you don’t know) rather than similarities (what you already know or understand).
Expert Tip 6. Start with an overview of the information. ‘From global to detail’ is a brain-friendly sequence for organising information.
Expert Tip 8. Focus on ‘hot spots’ – the key words and phrases which carry the information you need. According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of the meaning is found in 20% of the words in most material (specifically 4-11% of words carry all the meaning according to Dr Russell Stauffer author of "Teaching Reading As A Thinking Process" 1969).
Expert Tip 10. Recognise that you already know a lot of the information. Build on what you know.
Expert Tip 13. Read whole chunks at a time rather than looking at words letter by letter.
WEIRD: Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, But the wrod as a wlohe. And you touhhgt taht sepllnig was iprmoetnt!
Expert Tip 17. Remember that just because a book’s on your subject, it doesn’t mean it’s a good book or that it contains what you need.
Expert Tip 18. Study photoreading and speed reading with the most professionally qualified and experienced instructors that you can find in the UK.
Expert Tip 21. Get into a peak / optimal state before reading. Research suggests that when you are in an optimal state, feeling good your reading and cognitive skills will work better.
Expert Tip 22. Reading faster helps you to be happier, more creative and energetic. Do you want to feel better or change your mood? Do you want to feel more energetic? Read faster! PhotoReading and SpeedReading is the answer. Research done in Princeton University (Emily Pronin - read the ABSTRACT below) suggests that people who speed up their thinking with timed activities such as reading fast a piece of text that scrolled quickly - felt happier and more powerful, creative and energetic. Read more on this research (Psychology Today)
Manic Thinking Independent Effects of Thought Speed and Thought Content on Mood by Emily Pronin ( Princeton University) and Daniel M. Wegner (Harvard University)
"ABSTRACT—This experiment found that the speed of thought affects mood. Thought speed was manipulated via participants’ paced reading of statements designed to induce either an elated or a depressed mood. Participants not only experienced more positive mood in response to elation than in response to depression statements, but also experienced an independent increase in positive mood when they had been thinking fast rather than slow—for both elation and depression statements. This effect of thought speed extended beyond mood to other experiences often associated with mania (i.e., feelings of power, feelings of creativity, a heightened sense of energy, and inflated self-esteem or grandiosity)." Download the paper
MY BIGGEST LEARNING - Photoreaders share their experiences and learnings from the photoreading course
That I don’t have to read books from cover to cover!
I used to feel overwhelmed and helpless when I thought about all the books I had to read. But the other day I was happily sitting in bed surrounded by FIVE books – all of which I was skimming through to get some information for a lecture. Edit M., Trainer
That not all books contain information I need. Now I read books selectively.
I used to feel an obligation to read a book from cover to cover even when I realised that I already knew most of what it had to say, or that it didn’t actually contain anything I needed to know. Now the five minutes I spend overviewing means that I don’t waste time reading books I don’t need to read, that I have a pretty good idea of what’s in loads more books, and of course that I spend my time reading things which are relevant. Name supplied, Businessman
That it is possible to photoread 30 books a week. I went into my first MA seminar having ‘photoread’ five books about the subject. None of the other students had read more than half a book and they knew almost nothing about the subject. I already knew at least 80% of what the tutor told us. That means I can get a grade of 80% even before I attend the course! Now I regularly photoread up to 30 books a week – including ‘extra’ books, which means I can challenge some of the tutors! And I still have a bit of time for reading just for fun. Adam H., Masters student
That I don’t have to read bad books. I can tell the difference!
I used to think something must be worth reading just because it was written in a book. Now I can evaluate books and decide which ones are worth reading. I save myself a fortune: I no longer buy books I don’t read. If I only need one or two bits of information from a book, I copy them down in the shop, or borrow the book from a library. And I’ve cleared loads of space on my bookshelf because I’ve sold or thrown away the books I know are not worth keeping. Jane N., Teacher
That I can trust myself to get the information I need.
I no longer have to read every word in a book in case I’ve missed something. By speed reading a book strategically I can easily remember what it’s all about. When I used to take three or four days to read a book, I’d forgotten the beginning by the time I reached the end. Even if I ‘speed-read’ a book more than once, it’s still quicker than ‘reading’ it the old way. Richard P., Computer technician
That I can enjoy reading different things in different ways.
I used to think there was only one way of reading. I think I didn’t want to learn any version of ‘speed reading’ because I’d lose the pleasure of curling up with a good book. Now I know useful photoreading techniques for getting through the factual information quickly – and I have more time for reading for pleasure. Deirdre D., Accountant
That I can read a book in the same way that I read a newspaper.
It was a great revelation to realise that I already had many of the skills I needed – I just had to apply them to books! I think I always thought there was something special about books, but really they’re just another source of information. Now I recommend photoreading to all my clients. Thomas L., Coach
That it’s a good idea to know WHY I’m reading something.
It took me quite a while to understand what a good ‘goal’ was, but now I automatically know what my goal is when I pick up a book. Sometimes my goal is just to find out whether a book has anything in it that I might need – but knowing that is enough to stop me spending unnecessary time reading books I don’t need! And if I only want one bit of information from a book, then I only spend the time speed reading to get that one bit of information. Martin H., Musician
The 80/20 rule.
I now live my life by it – business stuff, personal stuff, everything. I feel so much clearer and I get so much more done. Oh, and my reading’s better too. Sandra F., Student
That I already had a lot of the strategies I needed to be an efficient reader – I just needed to apply them selectively.
I know the 80/20 rule, I know how to read a newspaper and how to use a telephone directory, I love reading and I read voraciously – so why didn’t I make the simple connections for myself and transfer my skills to things I ‘have to’ read? But now I have! Carolyn L., Administrative Assistant
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Watch this VIDEO CLIP ON PHOTOREADING for some more tips on how to read faster.
Read the testimonials from PhotoReaders and speed readers...
Why reading disgusting things makes you gag
HAVE you ever wondered why reading a good book can be almost as moving as events in real life? It may be because you use the same brain region to make sense of both.
Previous studies indicated that the anterior insula and adjacent frontal operculum (brain regions known collectively as the IFO) are activated both when we observe someone experiencing an emotion such as disgust, delight or pain, and when we experience it ourselves. This is believed to be what allows us to empathise with others and understand their intentions. But what if the emotion is merely imagined, such as when reading about it. Is the IFO active here too?
To find out, Mbemba Jabbi and colleagues at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands focused on the feeling of disgust. They placed quinine, which has a nasty bitter taste, onto the tongues of 12 volunteers while they lay in an MRI scanner. They were also asked to watch a video of someone simulating disgust and read a story about something disgusting.
The team found that the IFO was activated in all three tasks (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002939). They say that this similarity between first-hand experience and imagination helps to explain why fiction can be so compelling. "This is why books and movies work - they stimulate the area of the brain which is involved in what it really feels like to be disgusted," says Christian Keysers, a member of Jabbi's team.
The team suggest that reading about delight or pain also activates the IFO.
From issue 2669 of New Scientist magazine, 13 August 2008, page 15
Useful links
Learn how to search on Google - it will save you lots of time when searching info online
E-BOOKS
Lots of free ebooks - FREE Ebook Library
Free ebooks by Win Wenger
Site for free ebooks that you can download and read on your mobile
BOOKS ON LEARNING, NLP, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Anglo-American Books
MIND MAPS - mindmapping software
FreeMind - FREE software
Inspiration Mindmapping Software - Visual Thinking and Learning
Mindmapping Software
IMAGE STREAMING - taking notes and ideas without using words
TED
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor (the stroke survivor who trained her own brain) - her book "My stroke of insight" - how the brain works - also TED is THE hottest website and resource for new ideas, personal development, learning, etc.
LEARNING LANGUAGES
Michel Thomas tapes: Spanish, German, Italian and French - the best intro to these languages (no memorising, no books approach - phenomenal - I used his tapes to get basic Spanish in an hour on the plane) About Michel Thomas
EFT-Emotional Freedom Technique / Tapping - how to manage stress - top technique
STROOP TEST - to enhance your mental vitality and flexibility
OTHER USEFUL SITES
Mozart Effect
Stereograms / Magic Eye
Brain Connection - free newsletter
New Scientist - free newsletter
How to improve your eye sight
Links: London Directory
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that in the United States there are 3000 books published - every day? A week's worth of New York Times has more information than a person in the 18th century was likely to come across in their LIFETIME.
Information is doubling every two years. As an example, students who now go to technical school will find that half of what they learn will be outdated by the third year of their study.
Do you have a tower of 20+ worthy but unread books by the bed - and counting? This needs to stop! Get on top of your reading. Sign in for this mega-speed reading and photoreading course NOW.
Learn speed-reading, super-reading and dipping techniques
What books have changed your life?
Read MORE. Remember MORE. Save TIME.
Reading downhill
Paolo Bizziocchi of Riccione, Italy has filed a simple but thought-provoking patent (WO 99/54858) on a way to improve speed-reading of languages that read from left to right. He noticed that when we read, our eyes naturally move in a clockwise circular direction which continuously leads back to the beginning of the line we have just read. So time and effort is wasted on consciously redirecting the eyes to the beginning of the next line down. Bizziocchi's idea is to print all lines of text on a page with a slight downhill curved slope, making the start of each line higher than its end. When reading at speed, the motion of the eye takes the reader to the beginning of the next line to be read, he says. (From issue 2224 of New Scientist magazine, 06 February 2000, page 7)
The Woman Who Can’t Forget
“AJ”, an extraordinary 40-year-old woman, has "nonstop, uncontrollable and automatic" memory of her personal history and countless public events. If you randomly pick a date from the past 25 years and ask her about it, she’ll usually provide elaborate, verifiable details about what happened to her that day and if there were any significant news events on topics that interested her. She was given the code name AJ to protect her privacy, and her condition is so unusual that a new name was coined for her condition: hyperthymestic syndrome.
Read PhotoReading NEWS IT'S OFFICIAL PhotoReading and Speed Reading can make you happier, more creative and energetic. read more
PhotoReading - Speed Reading Course
Dates in 2009: 11-12 July (Sat-Sun)
Time: 10am-6pm
Venue: North or Central London
Fee: £458 This includes your 40-page Photoreading, Speed Reading and Strategic Reading manual and a lifetime coaching support guarantee. (limited places, small groups, book now to avoid disappointment
Book & info: Jan
jan.cisek@photoreading.co.uk
M+44 (0)79 5628 8574
T +44 20 8444 0339
Office: 37 Park Hall Road, London N2 9PT