Five Evidence-Based Tips to Increase Your Reading Speed

TL;DR

Learn five practical techniques to read faster without sacrificing comprehension, including reducing subvocalization, using peripheral vision, employing a pointer, gamifying the process, and taking notes for better retention.

Key Takeaways

1Reducing subvocalization (the inner voice) allows you to read visually instead of sounding out words, significantly increasing reading speed with practice.
2Using peripheral vision by focusing slightly inward from page edges helps eliminate wasted visual space and can boost reading speed.
3Using a pointer or finger to guide your eyes prevents inefficient eye movements and can increase speed by 10-20% according to world record speed readers.
4Gamifying reading by treating faster comprehension as a personal challenge makes skill improvement more engaging and fun.
5Writing summaries and taking notes after reading—even brief three-sentence summaries—improves retention and tests genuine understanding of material.

Notable Quotes

“if a book is really good then i will read it slowly and take my time and take loads of notes throughout and like smell the roses on the way there but the problem is that most books and most non-fiction books these days tend to be like big idea books where it's like one central idea and then the rest of the 400 pages of the book is just example after example after example”
— Host

“if you know how to read faster then your own default reading speed just improves without sacrificing any comprehension”
— Host

“i'm not saying you should speed read like a productivity grease monkey i'm saying it is a useful skill to have in your pocket for when you need it”
— Host

Chapters

1. Why Speed Reading Matters

Reading faster is a useful skill to develop for practical situations, similar to choosing between leisurely bike rides and getting somewhere quickly. Most non-fiction books contain one central idea repeated through examples, making faster reading efficient for extracting main points while reducing emotional investment needed to complete recommended books.

2. Tip 1: Reduce Subvocalization

Eliminate the inner voice that sounds out words while reading. Fast readers process text visually without vocalization, while slow readers rely on this mental speech. Brain imaging studies show fast readers have less activation in speech-related brain areas. This technique feels uncomfortable initially but becomes second nature with practice.

3. Tip 2: Optimize Peripheral Vision

Shift your focus inward from page edges rather than starting at the very beginning of lines. This technique, popularized by Tim Ferriss, eliminates wasted peripheral space and allows your eyes to capture all words while moving faster. Imagine a ruler limiting your viewing area to improve this skill.

4. Tip 3: Use a Pointer or Finger

Guide your eyes with a finger or pointer across the page to create smooth eye movement. Eyes naturally move in jerky saccades rather than smoothly, so tracking an object forces efficiency and prevents wasted time jumping back and forth. Speed readers report 10-20% improvement using this method.

5. Tip 4: Gamify Your Reading

Transform reading into a personal challenge to increase speed while maintaining comprehension. This approach is particularly effective for less engaging books, allowing you to treat reading as a game rather than a chore, making skill development more enjoyable and sustainable.

6. Tip 5: Write Summaries and Take Notes

Record book summaries, impressions, and top quotes using tools like Notion to test comprehension and practice active recall. Even minimal three-sentence summaries help solidify understanding and identify gaps in knowledge, making this practice essential for speed readers to retain information.

Key People & Entities

Tim Ferriss: Author of The Four-Hour Workweek; popularized the peripheral vision reading technique
Howard Berg: World record holder for speed reading; advocates using a pointer to increase reading speed by 10-20%
Nelson Dallas: Speed reading practitioner interviewed on the host's channel
Austin Cleon: Author of Show Your Work, used as example for book note-taking
Notion: Note-taking and organization app used for creating book summary templates and databases

Glossary

Subvocalization: The internal voice that mentally sounds out words while reading, causing slower reading speed but potentially better comprehension.
Saccades: Quick, jerky movements of the eyes that occur naturally when reading; they cannot move smoothly without tracking an object.
Peripheral vision: The outer areas of your visual field; can be used to capture words around your central focus point while reading.
Active recall: A learning technique that involves retrieving information from memory without looking at the source, strengthening memory retention.
Spaced repetition: A learning method that reviews information at increasing intervals to optimize long-term memory retention.

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