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The Drills

For those who like to cut to the chase, here it is. These drills train you to read faster. They help you comprehend more of what you read. They help you relax while you are reading. There are no machines to buy, no drugs to take, no gurus to follow. Practice the drills; obtain the skills. If you practice these drills ten minutes a day using easy reading material your speed will increase. As your reading speed increases, your comprehension will also increase. You will enjoy your pleasure reading more than ever and get through required reading in much less time. If you have to know why you are doing things before you can do them, jump ahead to "The Rationale," then return to the drills after you satisfy your curiosity. Any time you feel you are being asked to do something silly or pointless, jump ahead and find the reason for doing whatever feels odd. Every part of each drill is important and each has a specific function. The drills in this section are the barest essentials to get you reading faster.

There are three basic steps to the drills. First, you will learn to keep time at four different speeds by using rhythm to pace yourself. Second, you will learn to move your eyes smoothly at each of the speeds you learned in step one. Third, you will learn to move your eyes by pairs of words, then trios, then larger groups, all in time to the rhythms learned in step one.

Step One - Learning Rhythm

The very first step is to practice counting at four different speeds. YOU POSITIVELY MUST DO THIS OUT LOUD. Later you can count "in your head," silently, but for starters you must count out loud. You will learn to count using four different rhythms. Later you will use these four counting speeds to help pace your reading without a buying a machine or using your hand to point at the words.

The first speed is one "count" per second. Try it out loud, like this:

"One-one-thousand, Two-one-thousand, Three-one-thousand, Four-one-thousand, Five-one-thousand, Six-one-thousand, Seven-one-thousand, Eight-one-thousand, Nine-one-thousand, Ten-one-thousand, One-one-thousand, Two-one-thousand, ..."

The second speed is a little faster. For most people it is about two-thirds of a second per count. No one really cares about the exact speed, as long as it is distinct from each of your other three reading speeds. To set the pace for the third speed, try counting slowly out loud like this:

"One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and ten and One and two and..."

The third speed should work out to a bout half a second per count. Count out loud like this:

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one, two,..."

The fourth and final speed takes about one-third of a second per count. It is a fast count, with no pauses at all between numbers:

"OneTwoThreeFourFiveSixSevenEightNineTenOneTwo...."

There is no substitute for practicing out loud.

As explained in The Rationale, practicing out loud is essential. It may be awkward, or uncomfortable, but if you don't count out loud you will miss out on the primary benefit of the drills. Look ahead for the explanation if you like, but PRACTICE OUT LOUD.

The goal of your practice is to become smooth and steady with each of the four speeds. The rest of the book will refer to these four speeds as "Slow," "Normal," "Fast," and "Very Fast." It should take about ten seconds at Slow to count out loud from one to ten. You should take six or seven seconds to count from one to ten at Normal speed. Fast takes about five seconds, and Very Fast should take just two or three seconds. You don't have to be exact on these times as long as you have four separate speeds or rhythms in your head: Slow, Normal, Fast and Very Fast. You will never count higher than ten. Instead you will repeat from one to ten. Just make sure that you have learned to count smoothly and steadily at the four speeds before moving ahead.

Continue to Step 2