Does Reading Speed matter?

Many people focus on reading rapidly. After all, it helps in going through the material at a fast pace. But do we lose out on the comprehension?

Some people prefer skimming through the material instead of reading it line by line. However, we should not mistake it for rapid reading. Skimming is something different altogether. When we are looking to comprehend something complex, reading fast won’t help as we will end up losing on some of the critical learnings. In case the topic is simple and you need to cover it up quickly, skimming is the best bet.

In skimming you don’t read each of the sentences. You need to be clear on what do you want out of the book or article. Then you skim through it and get to the important paragraphs quickly. Try focusing on capturing the main idea. You obviously left out on some of the important aspect but that’s how life is right?

We have limited time and lots of things to do. Skimming can be a great technique and will help in going through a lot of things quickly and give more time to think on the perspectives shared by the author.