Course To Double Speed Of Reading In Britain

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27733, 10 August 1955, Page 8

Course To Double Speed Of Reading In Britain

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

LONDON, Aug 8. Demonstrations are being given in London of quick reading, by which anyone can double the speed at which he reads ordinary prose, says the "Manchester Guardian.”

A quick reading centre, which has just been §et up, is the first of its kind offering to teach anyone who cares to pay, though one or two firms have already tried similar systems for their staffs, says the newspaper. Learning to read quickly takes some time. The course now being offered consists of 14 sessions of an hour and a half each, which are said to be most effective if taken at the rate of three or four a week. The basis of various methods of quick reading is that people only absorb information from the printed page when their eyes are at rest. If

they read every word, their eyes stop eight or nine times on each line. If they learn to read phrases instead of words, their eyes will only stop two or three limes on each line so that they read a great deal more quickly. The “Manchester Guardian” says the average increase in speed is slightly more than 100 per cent., or just over double the normal speed. Exceptional cases of far greater increases have been recorded. Already two or three well-known firms are interested and the Treasury is studying the application of these systems in the Public Service. Quick reading causes less strain on the eyes, quite apart from its other advantages. The only qualification for being a quick reader is being able to see. to read, and, at present, having 70 guineas, the newspaper says.