6 Tips to Help You Read Faster

ReadPartner Team

April 1, 2025

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6 Tips to Help You Read Faster

In 2012, an app called “Spritz” promised to increase its users’ reading speeds. Suddenly, after lying dormant for decades, the idea of “speed reading” re-entered the popular consciousness. Between similar apps, speed reading classes, and influencers who claim to have reading speeds in the thousands of words per minute, it may seem too good to be true. This article will look at some of the most common ideas behind speed reading, discern what works and what does not, and offer some answers to “How do I read faster?”

The Basics of Speed Reading

Speed reading refers to any technique that helps someone learn how to read faster. This reading rate is usually measured in words per minute (wpm). The average reading rate is between 250 and 300 wpm. For the purposes of this document, any reading rate higher than 300 wpm will be considered “speed reading.”

Speed is only half of the skill, however. The other half of speed reading is understanding the information. The goal of speed reading is not just reading faster, but how to read faster and understand the content.

Most of the time, speed reading classes, influencers, etc. prioritize speed over comprehension. Studies on speed reading show a distinct lack of comprehension in speed readers compared with people who read at the average pace. Between studies like this and the limits of human physiology, speed reading has been debunked many times.

But if speed reading is a myth, why are there so many advocates? What is the secret of people who can read and understand 600 wpm (sometimes considered the physical limit) versus the average 300 wpm? Here is what speed readers and science have to say about improving your reading speed - and two major points where their thoughts conflict.

Where speed reading and science diverge

Don’t Subvocalize

The most common advice speed reading courses give is “don’t subvocalize.” Subvocalization is the process of sounding words out in your head as you read, which is usually accompanied by imperceivable subconscious movement of the larynx, but sometimes it can range to visible lip movement. Many people are taught to pronounce words when learning to read as kids; speed readers claim this is unnecessary as adults. They also claim that, by subvocalizing, readers slow their reading speeds down to their speaking speeds.

Subvocalization is so ingrained in our psyches that it can be difficult to turn off. According to Jordan Harry, a speed reader (1,500 wpm) in the TED community, the trick is to see the words as words versus hearing them and potentially speaking them.

Harry offers more drastic solutions for readers who physically sound words out. One tip he offers is pressing the tongue to the roof of the mouth. Classical music or white noise may also mute the inner voice.

Not all researchers believe it is healthy, effective, or even possible to stop subvocalization. Comprehension frequently drops when people stop subvocalizing. This particular piece of common advice should be treated with caution. You are welcome to try it, but most likely you will find that when you try to stop subvocalizing, it becomes very difficult to explain what you just read, and understanding the text deeper than its face value is all but impossible.

Avoid Regression

Many proponents of speed reading also cite “avoid regression” in their tips. “Regression” involves looking back at another point in the text, largely because the reader thinks they have missed something. This costs would-be speed readers valuable time.

But, like subvocalization, regression can be hard to stop. Avoiding it entirely also leads to holes in comprehension, especially if the reader missed something important. How can someone stop themselves from looking back if they feel like they have missed something?

In 1958, Utah school teacher Evelyn Nielsen Wood claimed that she could read 2,700 wpm if she used a finger to guide her eye as she read. This prevented her from looking back at what she had already read and kept her focused on the page. While her claim was never proven, using a finger, index card, or ruler as a guide remains a staple for anyone learning to speed read. It is known as the “pointer method,” “pacer method,” or “meta guiding.” This, in theory, can help someone who wants to improve their reading performance.

To a degree, science also supports this advice. Med School Insider’s Dr. Jubbal looked at several of the most popular aspects of speed reading, including the advice about regression and the impact of Spritz. The author advocates the use of a pacer with more detail about how it works: it helps a speed reader maintain their pace, similar to a metronome, while causing only a small loss in comprehension.

Evidence-Based Reading Speed Strategies

Build Your Vocabulary

According to a video by Benjamin Keep, PhD, JD, vocabulary is one of the biggest hurdles to reading more quickly. It may only be a moment, but the brain lingers on a new word when encountering it. And as per the study by Dr. Keith Rayner in 1998, the human brain takes around 200 to 250 milliseconds to process a word. New words thus add to reading time.

The solution, then, is to look up words before and after reading. Becoming familiar with jargon may answer how to improve reading speed for complicated texts. Exposure to other media such as movies and television may also increase someone’s vocabulary. Even games like Scrabble can eventually lead to someone learning how to read a book fast.

Improve Memory

Memory plays an important role in reading speed because it helps with word recognition, comprehension, and retention. Long-term memory stores the vocabulary, grammar rules, and background knowledge required to understand the reading material while short-term memory helps you hold words and phrases in your mind for processing.

There are many effective ways to improve one's memory. Harvard University has done research on how staying active, eating the right foods, and getting enough sleep can boost memory and other forms of mental activity. As their research spans multiple articles, they have been summarized into a table with links for your convenience:

Activity	Goal	How It Works	Link to Article
Exercise (Such as walking and other aerobic exercises)	General cognitive improvement.	Increase in the volume of brain regions associated with thinking and memory.	Harvard
Healthier diet (Flavonoid rich foods)	Decrease risk of cognitive decline over time.	Flavonoid rich foods such as celery, apples, bananas, peppers, etc… protect brain function against cognitive decline over time.	Harvard and PubMed (for further details on flavonoid interactions)

Although memory may not seem related to speed reading, memory issues are one possible reason for regression. Anyone wanting to learn how to become a faster reader should also look into how to improve their memory.

Stay Focused

Staying focused is a major component of reading speed: you cannot read fast if you are getting distracted all the time. The first thing you can do to help you focus is to use the pointer technique mentioned earlier. This will allow you to be much more focused in your reading.

The second thing to consider is the environment where you read. Try to set your reading environment up: find a time and place where you can read undisturbed. Disabling phone notifications for the duration of your reading session can also be a great help. And if finding a quiet place to read is difficult, you can try using headphones with quiet music or white noise.

Practice and Set Goals

Above all, being able to read quickly is a skill. Most skills cannot be mastered in a single day or hour. Even the habits of speed readers require consistent, repeated practice.

But practice does not have to mean devoting an entire day to reading. It is important to pace oneself and have reasonable expectations when starting.

Here are some ways to improve reading speed via practice and reasonable goal-setting:

Make time to read regularly.
‍Regular practice is one of the most important aspects of training a new skill. So, try to set some time aside for reading, and create a schedule that fits you. Just keep one principle in mind: it is better to read a page a day than a chapter once a week.

Be specific with your practice time.
‍Sometimes, the vague “I’ll read tomorrow in the evening” can be swept aside: you find more pressing issues that you have to deal with, and reading gets forgotten or postponed. In this case, it can be very helpful to set a specific time for your reading sessions. “I will read tomorrow from 9 to 9:30” is a schedule that is much easier to stick to.

Set achievable goals.
‍A specific goal can be a great motivator for some people. The important part is that this goal is achievable: do not set a goal of finishing a massive body of literature in a week, or reaching 400 wpm reading speed in a month. Set smaller goals in steps, as reading is not a skill you can improve drastically over a short period of time.

On the other hand, goals like the ones above can be a problem for some people: it can feel more like a deadline rather than something you aspire to achieve, and when you cannot meet it, you feel disappointed and discouraged. In such cases, we recommend working on making reading regular, and instead of setting a goal like reaching 300 wpm, you can take the observer stance. Start by measuring your wpm, then read a book incorporating one of the strategies listed. Once you’re done, measure your wpm one more time to see the progress you’ve made. That way, instead of feeling disappointed, you will feel happy with the progress you have made.

Is Speed Reading for You?

Some readers may still be wondering if speed reading suits their needs. Learning to read faster is a skill that requires time and effort. It is not a “quick fix” and the efficacy of “quick fix” speed reading strategies such as eliminating subvocalizing is constantly called into question by evidence-based research.

But people who need to digest complicated information, such as news articles, research papers and legal documents, in a short amount of time have another solution: specialized AI summarization tools like ReadPartner. Software like ReadPartner can filter out unnecessary details and other forms of noise, leaving you with only the most relevant information in the form of a concise and convenient summary. ReadPartner also has a one-click Chrome Browser Extension, making it a risk-free, easy solution.

Conclusion

Like many other “quick fixes”, there is more to speed reading than first meets the eye. More often than not, speed reading classes promote speed at the expense of comprehension. Many claims made by speed readers are greatly exaggerated or at least hard to verify. It takes time, effort, and patience to become a faster reader. ReadPartner AI can help by summarizing content that would take hours for a human to filter through and comprehend. However, it is not a substitute for improving your reading skill.

FAQ

What is speed reading?

Speed reading is any reading technique that teaches someone how to read quicker. It was popularized in 1958 by Evelyn Nielsen Wood and re-entered the popular consciousness due to speed reading apps like Spritz.

I saw a YouTube/TikTok video claiming that I can read a 200-page book in an hour after watching it. Is that true?

Probably not. Many videos on speed reading prioritize speed over other aspects of reading, especially comprehension.

Do speed reading apps help improve reading speed at all?

Many readers and authors dislike speed reading apps. No clear benefit has been shown. This article discusses the effects of Spritz specifically. Rapid serial visual presentation, RSVP, has largely proven ineffective; the technology is faster than the human.

What about skimming, scanning, and chunking for reading speed?

Some articles about speed reading add skimming, chunking, and/or scanning to their tips for how to become a faster reader. These do not help with overall reading comprehension, but may be useful in certain instances. For example, skimming and scanning are sometimes offered as study tips because not everything in a textbook is likely to be on a test. These strategies, however, are best used when the reader already has an idea of what kind information they are looking for.