Speed reading techniques: what works, and what doesn't

Most skilled adults read at around 200 to 400 words per minute. Speed reading courses promise far more. Research says there is no shortcut to reading fast and understanding fully, but there are practical ways to get through more material.

From Super Learning Music, publisher of the album High Performance Superlearning & Relaxation Music · Updated October 2026

What the research says

In 2016, five reading scientists led by Keith Rayner and Elizabeth Schotter reviewed decades of research on reading and speed reading. Their main findings:

• Speed and understanding trade off. Readers who spend less time on text understand less of it.
• Eye movements are not the bottleneck. Moving your eyes takes up only about 10% of reading time. Most of the time goes on understanding the words.
• Apps that flash one word at a time tend to lower comprehension, because you cannot look back at what you missed.
• Impressive speed readers usually already know the subject well. Without that background, they do poorly on detailed questions.

Techniques that help

1. Decide your purpose first. Ask what you need from this text. A report you must act on deserves close reading. A newsletter may only need a skim.
2. Preview. Read the title, headings, first and last paragraphs, and any summary. Then decide what to read in full.
3. Skim deliberately. Read the first sentence of each paragraph and slow down where the content matters. The review found skimming works well when the gist is enough.
4. Cut distractions. Most "slow reading" is really interrupted reading. Put the phone away and use quiet or steady instrumental music.
5. Read more, across topics. Vocabulary and background knowledge are what make reading faster in the long run. There is no faster route.
6. Test yourself afterwards. Close the text and write down the main points. This takes a minute and greatly improves what you remember.

Techniques to be careful with

• Eliminating "subvocalization" (the inner voice). It appears to be part of how we understand language, and trying to suppress it tends to hurt comprehension.
• Page-flipping systems such as PhotoReading. An independent evaluation found no benefit. See our PhotoReading guide.
• Claims of 1,000+ words per minute with full understanding. No controlled study has shown this.

A simple routine for heavy reading loads

1. Start a 50-minute block with music on and your phone away.
2. Spend 5 minutes previewing everything you need to read.
3. Rank the pieces: read closely, skim, or skip.
4. Read in that order.
5. In the last 5 minutes, write down the main points from memory.

Sources

Rayner, K., Schotter, E. R., Masson, M. E. J., Potter, M. C. & Treiman, R. (2016). So much to read, so little time: how do we read, and can speed reading help? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(1). · McNamara, D. S. (2000). Preliminary Analysis of Photoreading. NASA Technical Reports Server 20000011599.