Supersonic Readers Take the Advice of the Sages – Why Not You?

Remember when you were young and went to your favorite swimming hole and couldn`t wait to dive into the water and your parents, or other adult would tell you to look before you dive in?

Or, have you ever ventured out on a long road trip; did you first look at a map?

Or, do you remember the Aesop Fable of the Fox and the Goat?

Although these examples may seem to differ they all have a powerful meaning to understanding our 4th Key to Supersonic Reading (the ability to read and comprehend at rates above the 600 wpm threshold of linear sub-vocal reading. Key Concept Four is the easiest of the 4 keys to employ, makes the previous 3 keys easier to apply, but is the most forgotten and overlooked concept that leads to problems in comprehension at high rates when not employed.

The Fourth Key Concept of Supersonic Reading is referred to as using the Gestalt.

Gestalt means: An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.

How this applies to the Dynamic Speed Reading Methodology is that when you have something to read that is more than a paragraph or so, your mind will be better able to respond to the meaning of the text, especially at super fast rates, if you stop to first consider the whole before focusing on the parts. When reading then consider first the organization of the material, before jumping into reading the first words and sentence of the text to be read.

What the three examples listed in the beginning of this post are meant to suggest is that before you read anything that has more than a few paragraphs look before you leap. Know the overall direction and how the various pieces fit into the whole. This requires a little pre-thinking.

And remember, when I mention pre-thinking, we`ll assume that you know that reading comprehension is actually thinking and responding to the meaning of the text. IT DOESN`T MEAN MERELY MOVING YOUR EYES RAPIDLY! It`s how fast your mind can respond to the meanings that constitutes reading with comprehension.

Similarly, if you venture on a long road trip, have you looked at the map of the journey first to understand the general direction and the main roads to be taken? If you are approaching a swimming hole do you look first to see if the water is deep enough to dive safely? Remember, the fox humiliated the goat in the Aesop Fable warning him to be sure there is always a way out before venturing into something unknown, to look before he lept.

When reading applies this centuries old wisdom to your reading and sees how comprehension will become easier for you. I also invite you enroll in The Dynamic Speed Reading Masers Program for a wealth of comprehension strategies and tactics as well as proven developmental exercises to stretch and grow your skills. It will provide you with the keys to reading at the speed of thought.