Page 145 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Advanced Communication Skills

Notes 7.5 Techniques for Improving Reading Skills

Reading efficiency depends upon the reading speed and comprehension level of the individual.
In order to increase the reading efficiency, both speed and comprehension need to be improved.
Reading is the receiving act and executives spend more than 20% of their time on reading. When
we improve our reading speed, our comprehension does not suffer. Tests show that we retain
about 70% of the material which we read at the speed of 200 words a minute. A few techniques
for increasing speed, comprehension and reading efficiency are briefly narrated above:

Active Reading
Reading should be done as an active process, by involving the mind along with the body. If a
person reads passively, his comprehension will be the lowest. This passive effort to read the
material will waste the time and energy of the reader, who has to read for a longer time to
comprehend the material.
Selection of Appropriate Reading Type
Whether a material needs to be read carefully, normally, skimmed or scanned – this decision
should be made before reading the material. If one has to read an office order carefully, the
person will have to first scan the material, unless he wants the effort wasted. Similarly, if a
reader reads carefully a 200-page journal when skimming would have served the purpose very
well, he has ended up losing time in the process.
Setting Realistic Time Schedules
Time is a valuable resource and for reading, time schedules have to be decided well in advance.
If a reader sets a conservative time schedule for reading material, he will not be able to achieve
his target. On the other hand, if the reader keeps more than the required time, there will be
wastage of time, as the reader does not require the allotted time schedule.
Concentration on Content and Speed

If a reader concentrates fully on contents and speed, his reading efficiency will improve. For
concentration, the mind has to ignore all other things and surroundings. Physical environment
like seating place, fans, light etc., should be conducive for better concentration.

Keep Eyes Moving
Reading is a visual and mental process. A few observations about movement of eyes are as
follows:

1. Eyes make a point fixation which encompasses a number of words for the duration of
about one fourth of a second.
2. From left to right reading, the fixation is a focus just to the left of the symbols to be read.

3. After each fixation, the reader jumps forward to another fixation.
4. The matter is transferred from the eyes to the brain during jumps.
5. Reinforcing acts like regression can actually improve reading performance. Regressions
are movements in which the eyes move rapidly back from one point to a fixation to the
left of it.
6. The wider the span of symbols in fixations, the shorter will be the duration of the fixation’s
jump and return.
7. Unnecessary regressions and breaks are to be avoided in eye movement. If a particular
word or phrase is not clear, subsequent material will be read for clarification. Even then,

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