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If you want to handle texts efficiently then you cannot only focus to reading speed, but you have to remember what you read. Otherwise there is no point in reading. There exist many methods for improving comprehension. Today I will show you how to use SQ3R. This method was introduced in 1946 by Francis Pleasant Robinson in his book, Effective Study.

SQ3R is a reading method, which includes 5 steps.SQ3R means Survey, Question, Read, Recite  and Review. There are many variation of this method, here I will introduce you the basic version of it. The main point is that you will not just read the text but you will work on it through these five steps. I will explain you how you should do it.

• Survey. Look through the text before starting to read it. It means that you will make a quick preview of it. Search for the headings and subheadings; see what the structure of the text is. If there is an introduction or conclusion then look them trough at fast pace. Do not spend much time on that phase and avoid starting to read paragraphs from the text. You should get only a fast and brief overview of the text, which will help you to comprehend later.
• Question. Before you start reading ask yourself questions about the text. What do you think the text is about? By now you have already gained some information about the text and if you question yourself then it activates your brain for reading. You may write the questions down in order to make this step more efficient.
• Read. Now you are ready for reading the text. Concentrate while reading. The better your focus, the better your comprehension will be.
• Recite. Take a sheet of paper and write down the most important facts and keywords. You should write them in your own words. Rephrase the main ideas. This phase activates your knowledge. If you apply newly acquired information through reciting it then it will significantly improve your comprehension.
• Review. Look at the keywords you have written down. They will reflect the most important information from the text. Try to recall what the linkages between these keywords were. If it comes out that you have forgotten something then you can look it up from the text. You should repeat the review on the next day in order to harden the information. Later you may look through your notes from time to time in order to brush up your memory.

This method allows you to remember texts better. However, following this method will not guarantee that you will get the information from text within the shortest possible time period. SQ3R is not a speed reading method, its primary target is improving comprehension.

However, SQ3R can be combined with speed reading, if you apply speed reading techniques at step 3. Steps 1 and 2 lay a good ground for being able to comprehend well while reading at fast pace.

Not all the texts are worth applying SQ3R. Use this method only for text which you need to remember very well. If you are satisfying with only getting the main points from the text and if you need not remember them far in the future, then SQ3R will be a waste of time.

kristjan Speed Reading comprehension, concentrate, reading method, reading speed, sq3r, texts

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Classroom course

For learning to speed read there are basically four options. First, you can participate in a speed reading class. It means that you will take a classroom course and a speed reading trainer will teach you there. Typical courses will consist of 8-16 hours of training, which to a large extent involves many different practical exercises. Usually, it will take one or two days to complete a classroom course, but there can be evening courses, where you will have classes for 2 hours in the evening one or twice a week and that kind of courses will take several weeks to complete.

Classroom course is for many people the best option for learning to speed read as your trainer will see you how you are doing the exercises and he/she will guide you if you are doing something wrong. At the same time there is a possibility to ask questions and get instant feedback to your progress.

A drawback of the classroom courses is that you will depend on their schedule, if you are not going to buy an individual course, which may be possible. You have to find a speed reading course in your location for, but there may not be available any in your area, especially if you are not living in a big city. In addition, this is the most costly way for learning to speed read. It will cost you $300-$600 to participate in the course.

Completing a classroom course does not mean that you should not continue practicing on your own. It will take time for you to harden your skills, so you should continue individual practice for at least 30 days following the completion of the course.

Speed reading book

The second option is to buy a speed reading book and study speed reading on your own. You will get an overview of the reading techniques plus exercises for improving your reading speed from it. Some books include only description of the exercises; others include practice reading texts and other exercises in it.

Learning from the book will give you flexibility as you can choose when to deal with it. At the same time it requires lots of self-discipline and you have to follow the instructions carefully in order to get the techniques right.

By my opinion it is the least efficient way for increasing your reading speed. Many people buy speed reading books and read them, but they really do not work hard on them and therefore they will not succeed. On the other hand, it is the cheapest way. You can get an older speed reading book for about $10 or you can borrow it from the library. Recent books will cost you around $25-$40.

Speed reading software

Using different software packages for training your reading skills has become very popular. In comparison to studying from the book, using a computer program gives your more interactivity and it is more fun way to do it. These programs include many different exercises, majority of them focus on your eye movements. Usually, it is possible to track your performance and test you reading speed.

A negative aspect of these programs is that usually they do not provide you much knowledge about theoretical aspects of speed reading and they focus too much on developing mechanical reading speed. But there is more to learn, if you want to read fast then you have to get a new mindset.

Similar to studying from the book, it is time flexible, but it requires self-discipline. As it provides more interactivity then the chances are higher that you will be able to make progress. Still many people do not make use of these programs. The price range for speed reading software is comparable to books, although it may be slightly higher. Some programs will have free versions, which allow practicing 1 or 2 exercises, but if you want to take it seriously then you will still have to buy the program.

Online speed reading course

Finally, there is a possibility to enroll in an online speed reading course. Buying that kind of course means that you are provided access to a learning environment, where you have different kinds of materials available for improving your reading skills.

These courses are usually divided into chapters as books and before sending you to perform practical exercises they will give you theoretical background of different reading methods. In addition, many online courses include video material. There you can see how to perform the exercises correctly. If you are going to participate in an online course then I would recommend you to choose the one, which has video material included. It will help you to get the techniques right.

Online courses include many different practical exercises and some of them are similar to offline speed reading software. In addition it is possible to track your progress and test you reading speed during the course.

In addition, online courses may include an option of communicating with the trainer, for example by email. So it will allow you to get feedback as the classroom course.

From my point of view online speed reading course is the second best option for learning to speed read after the classroom course. Clearly, it beats studying from the book or by speed reading software. It will give you theory, practical exercises and feedback. Still, it requires self-discipline to complete the course, which is the reason why some people may not succeed with it. And the feedback by email is not so instant and direct in comparison to the trainer being in the same room with you.

For some people it can be the best solution. For example, if you do not have a class room course available in the location. Or if you do not have time to participate in it. Or if you prefer individual learning. In addition, it is less expensive than the classroom course. The price of the online courses ranges from $75-$200.

kristjan Speed Reading online speed reading course, reading speed, reading techniques, speed reading, speed reading book

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Speed reading will help you save time on reading as it will allow you to increase your reading speed. On the average, after completion of a speed reading course and sufficient individual training most people are capable of doubling their initial reading speed. Speed reading skills are useful in many professions, especially for office work. In addition, you will benefit from these skills when reading for studying or leisure.

If you want to increase you reading speed then you have to learn new reading techniques. It can be achieved though participation in a speed reading course, which can be either a classroom or on-line course. Alternatively you may study on your own from a book or using computer software for that. These new skills have to be hardened, so you have to practice speed reading for at least one month.

Some people think that speed reading does not work, because they have hoped that it is possible to become a super fast reader just in one day (or even faster). It is not true. At the same time, exercises you have to perform for increasing you reading speed are not so difficult. And 45 minutes a day is enough. So it takes patience and consistence, but practically everyone can do it.

But what happens afterwards? You have become a fast reader and what next. Will you forget these skills? Could it be that after six month you are slow as you were before?

If you have practiced enough and acquired correct techniques for speed reading then you will not forget it. In that sense speed reading is a life time skill. It can be compared to learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim. You can’t forget it.

But at the same time if you do not apply these skills regularly then your reading speed will decrease to some extent. For example, if you have managed to increase you reading speed from 250 words per minute to 550, then it can be that you can manage to read only at 425 words per minute six month after completing the course if you have not worked on yourself later. It is like practicing sports, you will not forget the basics, but in order to achieve a good result you have to be in top form.

Fortunately, it is not so difficult to apply speed reading techniques everyday. For example, reading with out moving your eyes backwards is something you can always follow. Or the principle, that you have to concentrate while reading and avoid distractions.

If you have learned techniques for fast reading then you can always take it up and practice in order to increase you reading speed. But actually you do not have to be a superfast reader. It is beneficial if you can read 2 or 3 time faster then average person does, but reaching speeds 1000 words per minute and above, will not give you so much additional advantage. If you want to work efficiently, then your ability to prioritize texts and select your reading material is more important. You have to read wisely not just fast.

In the speed reading courses you will learn how to preview texts, set goals for reading, read selectively and improve your comprehension. You will benefit from these techniques even if you do not actually read at very fast speed. And you will not forget these skills even if you reading speed drops to some extent.

kristjan Speed Reading reading speed, reading techniques, speed reading course

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The information available to us increases every day. And we consume more of it every day. How many e-mails do you receive? Many people get 100 or more mails in a single day. How many newspapers do you read? Many people follow 3 or 4 daily newspapers although they read the same news from them. What about journals? How many web pages and blogs you follow? How many RSS feeds do you have? And do you have time to read any books? Isn’t that all too much? And the amount of information available to us will grow everyday.

What could be the solution to that kind of information flood? Many people dream of being able to read faster. They think:”If I could only read faster then I could handle my information flows”. But is it all that simple?

Learning to speed read will allow you to consume information faster. It means that you will be able to read more text per time unit. For example, most people are able to double their reading speed by learning speed reading techniques. So after learning new reading methods the can read twice as many blog posts, e-mails or journal articles in an hour. If they could read 25 pages in one hour in the beginning then they will end up with read in 50 pages per hour.

Will it help you to cope with the information flood? Without any doubt if you can read faster then you will spend less time on reading a given amount of text. The question is that if it will be enough. If the information you want to consume doubles then doubling your reading speed will put you in to the same situation where you were before. But soon the amount of information will double again. Well, if you train yourself really hard then it is possible to increase your reading speed 4 times faster than it was initially, but soon the amount of information will double again. You cannot increase your reading speed without any limits. It is not possible to read 3 pages in one second, but if you still will not be able to read all the texts in the world even if you read at that high speed.

Being a super fast reader is not enough for dealing with the information flood. The question is how to select what to read. You have to admit that you cannot read everything. You have to be selective with reading. Read wiser, not only faster.

Actually speed reading is not only about mechanically increasing your reading speed. Although all speed reading courses focus on increasing your reading speed for completing a given text, many of them will teach you how to select your reading material. There are many techniques how to preview texts, how to set goals for reading and decide quickly what to read and what to skip. Even if you make a decision to read a text then you do not have to read it from the beginning to the end always. Actually there are not so many texts, which are worth reading completely.

It may seem to us that there is so much to read out there, especially if we think about web pages or blogs. But in fact, many of them do not contain so valuable information. Reading more does not make you automatically wiser. Think how people were living 100 years ago. They consumed much less information, but were they so much less educated then? I do not think so, they just consumed smaller amounts, but more valuable information. Nowadays there is too much fluff out there, especially on the web.

kristjan Speed Reading blogs, information flood, reading speed, speed reading techniques, texts, web pages

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A common argument against speed reading is that it is not possible to remember the content of the text when you are reading too fast. It comes from the experience of many people who have noticed that if they read too fast then they will not remember much of what they have read. Therefore they think that there is no point in increasing your reading speed. It just cannot be that you can comprehend well at fast reading speed.

It leads to an argument that the slower you read the text the better you will understand it. So if you want to remember the text then you have to be slow and careful when reading. Many people were also taught at school that if you need to understand the content very well then you should not rush when reading.

However, in the most cases poor comprehension is not caused by too fast reading speed but low concentration. In order to obtain information from the text you have to keep your mind focused to it. If you let your thoughts wander away from the text then your brain has difficulties in memorizing that information.

It may sound unbelievable but reading faster will help you to focus better. If you make a conscious decision to read at fast pace then it keeps your thoughts concentrated to the text. If you want to read fast and at the same time still be able to follow the text then you just do not have time for thinking on other issues except the content of the text.

You are more likely to get bored when reading at slow pace. Reading faster will create excitement and make you happier. In addition, if you are reading too slowly then it is more difficult to keep a stable reading pace.

Can we improve our comprehension if we decrease our reading speed? It is difficult to do although our reading speed should depend on the difficulty of the text. If you read deliberately slowly then it is more difficult to focus to the text. You thoughts will tend to drift away.

It is natural that for more difficult text your reading speed will be somewhat slower. For example, it is ok, if you read newspaper articles at 300 words per minute and in case of scientific text you decrease your reading speed to 200 words per minute. But you are not likely to comprehend better if you decrease your reading speed to 100 words per minute.

If you want to remember the text well then it is more useful to read the text repetitively than to read if very slowly. In the previous example you will remember the text better if you read it twice at 200 words per minute in comparison to reading it at 100 words per minute only once. In many cases you will only need to read the text partially for the second time as you will only look over the most important parts of it.

For improving comprehension you will also benefit from knowledge activation. When you are reading the text twice then ask yourself questions about the text or write down keywords between to readings.

kristjan Speed Reading comprehension, concentration, reading speed, speed reading

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Pretend that you got pissed off with your colleague. You argued with him loudly and that made you really angry. How can anybody be so stupid and why I have to work to together with such an idiot? You feel like your are about to punch him, but this time it will not happen. Your colleague will leave and bang your door.

Now you are alone and there is time to get back to work. Before that conflict you we reading a some materials for preparation for the seminar next week. You still feel very angry. How it is going to affect your reading performance. Can the adrenaline from the hanger help you to read faster?

Unfortunately, anger will not do any good. In order to read efficiently, which means both fast reading speed and good comprehension; you have to concentrate to the text. You have to think only about the text you are reading and you have to avoid all irrelevant thoughts. In the previously described situation it is not likely that you can fully concentrate to reading.

Full concentration means that you have to throw all kinds of irrelevant thought out of your mind. So you should not think on that colleague while reading, but it is difficult to achieve after the previous events.

Being angry will hurt your reading comprehension most. You cannot focus to the text and therefore you will have difficulties in memorizing what you have read. Your own emotional are not letting your brain to receive and store information. You reading speed is also to be affected as when you thoughts are wandering away from the text then you are making small pauses in reading, which are wasting your reading time.

If you want to read and work efficiently then the best option is to avoid that kind of conflicts. You should not let other people to destroy your working mood. Every time you argue with other persons then think how you will benefit from it. Many conflicts are actually pointless and they will give no benefits in the long-run.

What should you do when you get angry? Then you should relax before you will start reading. You have to calm down. Although it takes some time, your reading efficiency will be higher when you are calm. You can relax by forcing yourself to breathe deeply

For doing it sit straight on your chair and then inhale slowly and deeply. At the same time, relax the belly muscles. Feel that your belly is filling with air. Inhale as long as possible. Then hold your breath for a moment or two and then begin to exhale slowly. As air is slowly let out, relax your chest and rib cage. In you have exhaled completely then start inhaling again. While concentrating on breathing, throw all negative thoughts out of your mind.

Now you are ready to start with your reading. Calmly take out the text and concentrate on it. Start reading at once and do not waste time on it. This will help you to read fast and to remember what you have read.

kristjan Speed Reading concentration, conflict, reading comprehension, reading speed, reading time

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In the today’s world, which is flooded by information many people suffer from time shortages to consume that information. Reading is the most important source of information. We read different types of text both for job and for leisure. For example, we read e-mails, reports, articles, blog posts, books etc.

Reading is a time consuming activity. An average person reads texts at 200-250 words per minute. It means that if there are 500 words per page in a book then it will take 2-2.5 minutes for him to complete a page. That person can read 24-30 pages in one hour. At 250 words per minute it will take 6 hours and 40 minutes to complete a 200 page book.

Some people are slower and some are faster than average readers. For example, an educated person, who reads lots of texts every day can read at 350 words per minute or even faster. A guy who puts rarely his nose into book may manage only 150 words per minute.

Do you want to know how fast reader you are? You can test your reading speed by this test.

Fortunately, it is possible to increase your reading speed, by learning special techniques for reading faster. On the general, most people can double their reading speed if they have had decent amount of speed reading practice. This decent practice means that you will take a speed reading course and after the completion of the course you will spend 45 minutes a day for a month on speed reading practice.

Doubling your reading speed will mean that if you were reading at 250 words per minute initially then now you can read at 500 words per minute. You can finish the 200 page book in the half of what it took previously. You are estimated to complete it in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

50% of e-mail messages contain 250 or less words. So you can decrease the reading time of that kind of message from 1 minute to 30 seconds. If you have to read 40 messages per day, then you will save alone 10 minutes a day on reading e-mails.

But how far can I go with speed reading? Well, if you take it seriously then you may be able to triple your initial reading speed, but not everyone is capable of doing it. So you can reach 750 words per minute from 250. Usually slower readers are more likely to gain more reading speed so it would be easier to increase from 200 to 600 than from 250 to 750.

Best speed readers can read at 1000 words per minute and faster. The speed reading word record is held by Anne Jones. In 2007 she read “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at Borders, Charing Cross Road, London in 47 minutes and one second – 4251 words per minute.

Most people will never reach these reading speeds and actually there is no need for it. Reading fast itself should not be a goal for you, it is only a means to being more productive in mental work. In order to process information fast, having a good mechanical reading speed is not enough. It is important that you can select important information, organize your work efficiently and so on, in order to work productively. Fortunately, many speed reading courses will teach you not only to read a given text fast, but also how to select and prioritize your reading materials, how to make quick previews and manage your time on reading.

Only if you put all theses skills together, then you will be a productive worker and will save time on office work.

kristjan Speed Reading reading speed, speed reading

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I have been asked many times for the tips for preparing and taking SAT Critical Reading Test. How to get the maximum result out of that test? How to avoid getting into time trouble and how to answer all questions correctly?

The first thing I would say is that it is not likely that you will get a good result without decent preparation. You need many skills to do well on the Critical Reading. I would say that the most important skills for the test are vocabulary, comprehension, concentration skills. In addition reading speed plays some role in the test taking, but it is not so critical as if you allocate your time wisely then there is enough time to perform the test.

You should really work on your vocabulary. It does matter a lot as many questions in that test call for good understanding of meanings of not so every day words. For increasing the vocabulary you should read different types of texts before the exam. You should read fiction, newspapers, journals etc. in order to build a large vocabulary. Look up words you don’t know while thinking about the author’s purpose, tone, etc.

Reading different texts improves also your reading comprehension. In order to improve your comprehension further try practicing sample reading comprehension tests. Reading comprehension is strongly related to concentration. You will not memorize what you have read if your concentration is poor. For getting good concentration you should learn to read without thinking on any other things except the text. Your concentration abilities on the exam day will depend on your energy level. Therefore get a good night’s sleep the night before the test Eat breakfast. You’ll be at the test center for many hours and if you get hungry then your stomach will distract you.

The critical reading test consists of Sentence Completion and Reading Comprehension tests.

Sentence Completion questions provide you with a sentence missing one or more words and require you to choose the best word to fill in the blanks. In order to do well on that part of the test then follow these tips:

• Before you look at the answers, try to complete the sentence with words that make sense to you. If what you come up is one of the answer choices, select it as your answer. If you have developed good vocabulary then following your intuition will usually lead to correct answer.
• If following the previous tip did not give the correct answer then read all the answer choices before selecting one. Find which one suits the best. If there are two words to fill in the blanks then be sure that both of these words have to fit to the sentence. If you see that one of the words does not fit then this cannot be the correct answer.
• Use the context of nearby words to figure out unknown words. If you’re really stuck for the meaning of a word, try to think of other words that have similar prefixes, roots, or suffixes

Reading Comprehension test questions your understanding of the content and style of specific reading passages. You will be asked to answer 48 multiple-choice questions based on short and long passages. In order to answer the questions correctly you will benefit from these tips:

• Before reading the passage make a quick preview of it. It means that you will scan it with your eyes at fast pace. You will get the most important keywords and information from it within few seconds and it will prepare your mind for reading it. During the preview read the italicized introductory text.
• Now read the passage. During reading fully focus to the text. Do no think on any other things. Be active while reading. You may underline some keywords, which you think are the most important.
• Keep in mind that your answers should be based solely on what is stated or implied in the passages. Do not fantasize. If it is not in the text then it is not relevant to the answer.
• While answering the questions then there is often giving a reference line number. Then look at this line, but remember to read also the preceding and following lines in order to put the answer to the context.

If you don’t know the answers then try to guess it. This holds true for the both parts of the Critical Reading Test. However, you should be able to rule out one of the answers in order to benefit from guessing the answers as you will get 0.25 points deducted for the wrong answer. Still you will get 1 point for the correct one and if you can rule at least one wrong answer out then you will benefit from guessing among the remaining ones.

You should also keep in mind that all the questions give 1 point for the correct answer regardless of the difficulty of the question. Therefore begin with the easiest questions. In case of Sentence Completion test the first questions are easier. If you find trouble answering a question, then do not spend too much time on it but move to the next question. If you have time left then come back to that question. On the general you should spend only seconds on the easiest questions and not more than 1-2 minutes on even the hardest ones.

kristjan Speed Reading comprehension, concentration skills, critical reading, reading speed, SAT

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Why do we read different types of texts? In some cases we may do it for having fun, but very often we read for acquiring new knowledge. For example, if you are a high school or colleague student then you have to read lots of books for your studies. If you have finished your studies then you may read for keeping up with the latest development in your profession. Even if you read for your hobbies then the aim may be educating yourself. For example, you may read how to play golf better or how to make apple pie.

It is true that the more you read the more knowledge you will gain. A person who reads lots of books every year has more knowledge than the one who completes only one book per year. The amount of books you will be able to read depends on the amount of time you spend on reading as reading is time consuming. At the same time it depends on the reading speed. If you learn to speed read then you will be able to read much faster and you can read more books. Speed readers usually read quite a lot and thus they are educated people.

But are we reading only for the sake of acquiring new knowledge? In some cases it may be so. We may be interested in French history and we may read lots of books on it even if we are not historians by profession and we do not put this knowledge into practical use. We may do so if we like so. Still, it happens more often that people educate themselves for doing something better in the real life. Lawyers read about new legislation and court cases in order to perform better on their job, teachers read about new teaching methods using them in their classes. Even if you read about making an apple pie then you probably want to try making it in real life.

When new sales agents are being employed in my investment broker company then I will give them a recommended reading list of sales books and websites to read for improving their sales skills. Some of the new agents take it seriously and read a lot, but others do not care so much about it. Still, there is no one-to-one relationship between the amount of sales material read and sales results. Some agents may acquire good theoretical knowledge about the sales process and techniques, but if they do not put these skills into practice then they will not really develop them. In case of sales there has to be lots of practice and it just cannot be only reading.

The same principle holds for many different areas. For example I know some people who have read many books about starting your own business. But they are making no profits because they have never started their own business. There are even players in my soccer team who have read many books about how to play soccer, but they are not the best players.

In order to succeed you have to put your knowledge into practice. If you want to start your own company then you have to do it not just only read and prepare for it. If you want to be a better salesman then you will be better off if you read somewhat less sales books, but use the knowledge from the books in your every day sales work.

I personally have also reduced my reading load during the last year and have focused more on putting my knowledge into practice. I believe it has had positive impact on my progress. Reading itself will not help me to earn money. For earning profits you just have to apply what you have read. And that is the point, what makes difference. In practice, the best results are achieved by the one, who applies his knowledge best, not by the one who has biggest knowledge.

kristjan Speed Reading education, knowledge, reading speed, speed reading

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Reading books is most important source of information for many of us. No matter if we read books, magazines, journals or texts from the web it is reading. During the recent years there has risen up an alternative to reading texts, which is listening to audio books. Audio books are recordings of the contents of a book provided either on tape, CD or in digital format.

As the popularity of listening to audio books is increasing then it leads to a question, is it better to read a book or listen to an audio book. Although there may be several arguments for and against both of these, here I will approach his question from the viewpoint of efficiency.

What is the better way of obtaining information? Which one is faster and allows you to remember the text better?

If talk about reading speeds, then the average reading speed for books is about 200-250 words per minute for an average reader. For audio books the listening speed is about 120-140 words per minute. It is almost two times slower. In addition, there are more possibilities for increasing your reading speed than your listening speed. By learning to speed read you may be able to read at 500 or 700 words per minute. In case of audio books you can speed the listening speed up if you have software for doing it, but you cannot increase it that much in comparison to reading if you want to follow the text. Think about the auctioneers, who speak roughly at 250 words per minute. You cannot follow the speech if it is much faster.

In case of books, you can look them through at fast pace. You can scan the text for searching the keywords and headlines. It is also easier to read text selectively. For example, for some texts you would want to read only the introduction and conclusion of it. Or you may want to read only some chapters. In case of audio books it far more difficult to listen to them selectively.

While reading is faster than listening to audio books, except for very slow readers, then in case on comprehension the picture is not so clear. It depends on the type of memory. If you have visual type of memory then you will comprehend better while reading. If you have auditive type of memory then you remember better the texts you will listen.

But the comprehension will also depend on your concentration. On the general it is easier to concentrate on reading as it is more active process than listening. Although there can be some individual differences, the possibility that you thoughts will wander away is greater for listening to audio books.

The benefit of listening to audio books is that they will allow multi tasking. In case of reading I would not recommend dealing with other things simultaneously, but for listening as a less active and slower process this can be done. You can listen to audio books while driving, jogging, cleaning your apartment etc. The concentration can be a problem, but if you get more experience in listening audio books, then it will improve.

I personally prefer reading to listening in most cases as it is much faster and I have visual type of memory. Still, I would not count out audio books as the will allow to save time through multi-tasking. I listen to audio books while driving longer distances.

kristjan Speed Reading audio books, comprehension, efficiency, reading books, reading speed