How many words can you read in a minute? If you know the answer to that question you’d have a pretty good idea of how long it will take for you to finish that novel that has been languishing in your to be read list for months even years on end.

My reading speed is average, roughly 200-300 words per minute. So besides the ton of things I must do besides reading, my reading habit suffers a lot because of my average reading speed. With so many books that we all want to read and literally little time to do it, speeding up the process would do some great help.

I found this speed reading tutorial by Kris Madden in which he explains how voicing out “A-E-I-O-U” or “one, two, three, four” as you read actually cancels out your subconscious tendency to read with your larynx, just below the audible level. This not only moves you quickly through the text, but provides a more visual, memorable read.*

I’ve tried it myself and it did speed up my reading. This is a useful technique not only for reading books for a habit but for also working your way through the required readings at school or at work.

If you have other speed reading techniques, be generous and share it.

*Via Lifehacker