How Fast Can The Fastest Reader Read?

The world’s fastest reader record belongs to Howard Stephen Berg, popularly referred to as Speedy Berg. He read over 25,000 words per minute in 1990 and set the record at 80 pages per minute.

Have you ever wondered if you could read a 1000-page textbook in a day? 

Well, it’s normal to think you’re not up to the task, but you can read more than a thousand pages in a day.

If Howard Stephen Berg could do this, you could also read as fast and faster than he did. 

But to read faster, you have to know the fastest readers, the process they followed, and some tips on the steps they took.

This article explores the tips that will help you become an excellent speed reader. Read on to set yourself on the track of beating Howard Berg to his record.

How can the fastest reader read 25000 words per minute?

Howard Stephen Berg reached the 25000 words per minute reading speed by scanning without the inner monologue or rereading, chunking words, and using markers.

Speed reading is not natural. It takes a lot of practice, dedication, and consistency to reach high-speed reading.

Let’s dive deeper into the secrets to speed reading.

But first, let’s determine your current reading speed. 

If you’re on your way to increasing your reading speed, you have to keep track of changes and your progress. 

Here’s how to determine how fast you can read.

Pick a book and set a timer (about 5 to 10 minutes). Start reading the texts in the book while you set your timer. Once the set time elapses, stop reading and check the number of words you read. 

Now divide the words by the number of minutes you set on your timer to know your reading speed.

If you set your timer to 10 minutes and read 2000 words within the timeframe, your reading rate will be 200 words per minute. 

It’s no big deal if your reading speed is less than this. You’ll be able to improve after reading this article and practice well.

Know how to scan

Scanning is one of the most important skills you will need when trying to increase your reading speed. 

When reading, you should scan through the text in each sentence while omitting some words. You should only focus on the first and last sentence of the paragraph. You should also focus on the verbs and nouns of the sentence, as they will give you enough information about the paragraph.

Howard Berg says the first sentence tells you what to expect in a paragraph, and the last sentence confirms what happened in the paragraph. 

Are you wondering why your reading is so slow? Not being able to scan is one of the reasons.

When we were younger, we were taught to pay attention to every word while we read. Paying attention to every word makes scanning tricky, but learning to scan through a text can increase your speed while reading.

The mind has a magical way of filling gaps when reading a text. You can leverage this when reading to increase your reading speed. 

Scanning will reduce the time you spend reading the text, thereby increasing your reading speed.

Reduce the inner monologue 

If you want to read very fast, you have to stop the inner monologue. It refers to speaking words in your head while reading a text. To reduce this, you have to process the words in pictures, like a movie.

As Howard scans through a book, he creates visual representations of the words’ meanings in his head. Basically, he reads sentences as if watching a movie. 

After reading, he does not remember the words. Instead, he remembers the pictures that he created in his mind.

When reading a sentence, instead of repeating every word in your head, you should strive to process the words in images. 

It‘s easier to remember the text as you only need to revisit the movie that you created in your head.

Read words in chunks

Your eyes can take in about 1.5 inches of text at a glance. You can read 5 to 10 words at a glance, so you should utilize this eye function to your advantage. Read more than one word at a time and assimilate them to increase the number of words you will read within a time frame.

Word chunking is an essential tool you should use if you want to read at high speed.

To perform word chunking, you will need to break each sentence into chunks. These chunks might come in phrases, individual text pieces, or groups of text pieces. So, instead of reading 15 words in a sentence, you read 3 groups of 5 words.

The chunks will pass specific information, giving you the details in each sentence. 

It is similar to how you read phone numbers in small chunks to make it easier instead of calling the numbers singly.

Plus, if you read a word at a time, it will take you a long time to read a 50-word text than when you read multiple words at a time. 

You can train yourself to read chunks using our free speed reading tool, AccelaReader. With this tool, you set the number of words per chunk and the speed of flashing the chunks on the screen.

Avoid rereading words

It will take a conscious effort and practice before you can stop rereading entirely. Pick a text and read the text without rereading them. Now try to understand what you read. 

You will be surprised to see you can remember the text even without rereading it. Keep on trying and notice some improvements in your reading skills.

It’s a common practice to reread words to assimilate them. Rereading words will take your time, and the difficult part is that you won’t notice you are rereading them because it is something you do regularly.

Use markers, trackers, or pacers

Markers are one of the ways you can keep track of the text as you scan. It is easy to lose track, especially if you are just learning to speed read. You will need a marker to keep you on track while reading the text at high speed.

You can use a pencil or an index card, placing it under the text you’re reading. It will ensure you read one line at a time and don’t slip. It will also help you keep your eyes on the text rather than flitting and not taking anything.

Set your goals

Setting goals is one of the essential parts of speed reading. You need to create a plan for yourself on how well you want to increase your reading speed.

It is one of the reasons you need to check your initial read speed. It will help you keep track of your reading success.

You can get a timer while practicing to ensure a perfect practice. You can also make use of speed reading courses. Set higher goals as you keep improving on your reading speed.

Does the fastest reader remember what he reads?

The fastest reader, Howard Stephen Berg, reads over 25,000 words in a minute and remembers them well. 

You can also read at this rate and a faster one and still remember what you read. 

Here are some simple tips that will help you with that.

Create an impression of the words you read

The impression is one of the ways you can retain and remember what you have read. As you are reading the text, subconsciously create a scene or picture in your mind. You will be able to remember the text when you remember the picture.

Associate the words with familiar things

Associate the text with something you know already. It will help you remember what you read easily. This is quite simple, but you have to be fast with the reading and association.

You can also check more on how to increase your retention while speed reading. Or take a course that teaches you how to improve your memory.

Conclusion

Reading fast is not something you get to achieve in a day. Howard Stephen Berg did not start and accomplish his reading values in a day. He practiced, followed steps, took tips, and turned out to be the fastest reader. 

If you want to read faster, consider taking our speed reading courses. And if you want to couple that with retention, consider our maximizing memory course.