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Speed Reading for Professionals
Barron's Business Success books offer useful advice to career-minded men and women who are looking to get ahead in the business and corporate world. Titles touch on all levels of management, marketing, organization, and related business operations. Reading and comprehending a large number of documents and reports—many of them specialized and technical—is a vital task that is intrinsic to fulfilling management and executive responsibilities. The authors of this practical book recommend techniques and exercises designed to increase reading speed dramatically and to retain important information more easily. They also offer tips on methods for comprehending dry and often difficult reading matter.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2005
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103 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 18, 2020
Good book to boost reading speed.
June 12, 2013
I was able to skim through this book in 20 minutes; however, it did indicate a few techniques that one can use to speed their reading:
1. use a pen versus your finger in motion to read quicker.
2. use the S style of reading passages
3. use the Z style of reading passages
There's one thing to speed read, but what do you comprehend from looking at mere words. It also tells us like other speed-reading books, not to sound the words out and just read them as you jog past the wording. I still have a habit of actually saying some of the words in my head (hearing the sound of them) instead of just reading though. Especially as a writer, I have to picture and audibly hear the characters speaking before writing them as dialogue to make sure this is not mechanic or monologue but actually people talking. Sometimes, this is an exercise that I do.
p 113 shows a hand to get facts from a story:
Who? (little finger)
What (ring finger)
When (middle finger)
Where (pointer finger)
Why (thumb)
How (palm of hand)
Discover that writer or speaker has left something out: 5 W's and 1 H.
I know in the profession I am going into, will require intensive reading and able to comprehend enough of the premises and conclusion to make an assumption. Also in some work environments, you are required to review/read contracts that you are signing.
It was okay read and somewhat helpful. There are also practice exercises to try.
1. use a pen versus your finger in motion to read quicker.
2. use the S style of reading passages
3. use the Z style of reading passages
There's one thing to speed read, but what do you comprehend from looking at mere words. It also tells us like other speed-reading books, not to sound the words out and just read them as you jog past the wording. I still have a habit of actually saying some of the words in my head (hearing the sound of them) instead of just reading though. Especially as a writer, I have to picture and audibly hear the characters speaking before writing them as dialogue to make sure this is not mechanic or monologue but actually people talking. Sometimes, this is an exercise that I do.
p 113 shows a hand to get facts from a story:
Who? (little finger)
What (ring finger)
When (middle finger)
Where (pointer finger)
Why (thumb)
How (palm of hand)
Discover that writer or speaker has left something out: 5 W's and 1 H.
I know in the profession I am going into, will require intensive reading and able to comprehend enough of the premises and conclusion to make an assumption. Also in some work environments, you are required to review/read contracts that you are signing.
It was okay read and somewhat helpful. There are also practice exercises to try.
September 4, 2016
This is a very good book on the subject. Although this book only discusses 5 speed reading techniques and one comprehension technique, they are sufficient to double or triple a persons reading speed with good comprehension.
All the chapters have a quiz and ways to test what we learn, at the end of the chapter. I highly recommend it.
All the chapters have a quiz and ways to test what we learn, at the end of the chapter. I highly recommend it.
December 19, 2016
This is a very quick read with great techniques that you can learn easily.
Other books are detailed and explain things that are sometimes superfluous (to me).
Other books are detailed and explain things that are sometimes superfluous (to me).
August 11, 2016
I wanted to read about speed-reading this morning so I checked out my local library's ebook selection...unfortunately, this was all they had and I almost ignored it due to the "professional" slant. I'm happy I didn't!
I'm not sure what I think about speed-reading. I've heard a lot of people say it's terrible for fiction and that it takes all of the joy out of reading, but I think a lot of that has to do with the method you use. Of course you're not going to skim fiction- that does defeat the purpose...but to use some of the other methods? I fail to see the harm, especially since it allegedly increases your comprehension. What are you missing out on?
I have a million books stacked in my room, and I find that I keep buying/checking out new ones before I have a chance to read the ones I've got- or even finish the ones I've started! This is incredibly frustrating. There are SO many books I want to read, but I just don't have the time.
Admittedly I didn't stop and do the exercises as I went through the book. I had tried the pen-tracking exercise a while back but never really committed to learning the technique. Now, I think it's something I'll definitely try. The book was great, and definitely made it seem like improving my average WPM would actually be possible. Better yet, I can decide what level I want to hit, and where the cons start to outweigh the benefits. This book made it clear that speed-reading techniques are entirely personal, and different people will choose to learn different techniques based on their own needs.
The book was short, to the point, and provided plenty of examples. I can't judge how effective it is yet, but I can definitely see how these methods would improve speed while still allowing me to ENJOY the text.
If I remember, I'll edit this in a few weeks to judge whether or not it was effective for me.
I'm not sure what I think about speed-reading. I've heard a lot of people say it's terrible for fiction and that it takes all of the joy out of reading, but I think a lot of that has to do with the method you use. Of course you're not going to skim fiction- that does defeat the purpose...but to use some of the other methods? I fail to see the harm, especially since it allegedly increases your comprehension. What are you missing out on?
I have a million books stacked in my room, and I find that I keep buying/checking out new ones before I have a chance to read the ones I've got- or even finish the ones I've started! This is incredibly frustrating. There are SO many books I want to read, but I just don't have the time.
Admittedly I didn't stop and do the exercises as I went through the book. I had tried the pen-tracking exercise a while back but never really committed to learning the technique. Now, I think it's something I'll definitely try. The book was great, and definitely made it seem like improving my average WPM would actually be possible. Better yet, I can decide what level I want to hit, and where the cons start to outweigh the benefits. This book made it clear that speed-reading techniques are entirely personal, and different people will choose to learn different techniques based on their own needs.
The book was short, to the point, and provided plenty of examples. I can't judge how effective it is yet, but I can definitely see how these methods would improve speed while still allowing me to ENJOY the text.
If I remember, I'll edit this in a few weeks to judge whether or not it was effective for me.
February 14, 2017
This speed reading book did a good job showing chunking and pointer patterns. It went over the text aspect of speed reading more so than other books on the subject I've read. Other books are more motivational or program oriented whereas this book showed the eye how to break apart words, sentences, and entire paragraphs. This is a great book for the more technical aspect of speed reading.
Read
January 16, 2013I started this book a few months ago and worked the exercises. I waiting until I took a formal speed reading course from the American Speed Reading Corporation before I made my comments here... after 8 hours of instruction, I can tell you that the fundamentals of speed-reading are in this book! In fact, my instructor from ASRC is one of the editors of this book.
The techniques definitely work but will require diligent practice. Even after learning the basics from 8 hours of classroom instruction, I found my reading rate to increase by a factor of 4 with an associated increase in comprehension of 30%. Every kind of reading material is different, which requires different technique and levels of practice. Also, methods of recall and note-taking are just as important as the speed-reading techniques you'll find in this book.
Finally, the digital reading era is here and the techniques are still evolving in that domain. There is supposed to be a new edition of this book this Spring so you might want to wait to get the next edition!
The techniques definitely work but will require diligent practice. Even after learning the basics from 8 hours of classroom instruction, I found my reading rate to increase by a factor of 4 with an associated increase in comprehension of 30%. Every kind of reading material is different, which requires different technique and levels of practice. Also, methods of recall and note-taking are just as important as the speed-reading techniques you'll find in this book.
Finally, the digital reading era is here and the techniques are still evolving in that domain. There is supposed to be a new edition of this book this Spring so you might want to wait to get the next edition!
May 7, 2011
Well its been 3 weeks since I've read this and Ive tried to emulate some of the techniques. The tools here will make you read faster and maintain the information, but I like to think about what I'm reading. I can't enjoy what I'm reading when I'm trying to get through as fast as possible. The basic technique I'm going to try and keep in my arsenal. Im also going to try and keep training my eyes to continue improving my normal speed.
January 31, 2008
Very good book. Improved my speed reading and comprehension.
August 5, 2011
the message can be condensed into one page.
October 1, 2012
Its a great book. It makes me to read fast. I believe with time & practice it would eventually make me read fast.
August 7, 2012
I didn't like how the author addressed the speed-reading. the reasons are valid and I totally agree, but the techniques were not that much. I believe speed reading is a result of excessive reading.
September 1, 2013
Though I've read almost nothing on the topic this book was interesting for me. I've liked especially the "Fistnote" idea. I guess it might be helpful when any more complex text should be memorized.
July 14, 2016
Received as part of a book bundle. Some interesting points about reading in S/Z formations and focusing on the tops of letters. Not enough material to fill a book though.
May 29, 2014
While reading ''Speed Reading For Professionals'' you feel that you can master this technique so easily because our authors provide us with an easy steps to do that.
April 5, 2015
Short, clear, but tends to count a bit too hard on the user being able to grasp the new concepts at once. A bit more short exercises all over the book might help in my opinion.
September 26, 2021
Good as a pocket book. Thanks Bernard.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews