3 Steps to Read Business English Faster and Better!

Many of clients in my English for Financial Professionals complain that reading English takes a long time. They also tell me they cannot remember what they read because comprehension is difficult, so they must read reports, emails, and articles again and again. Without the ability to read business English fluently and understand the test, one can struggle to prepare for presentations, reports, and meetings.

These three strategies will improve your rate of reading with improved comprehension:

1.    Scan Text:

Quickly glance over the text to focus on your reading task and have an idea of what the reading says. Scan by reading headings and subheadings, bolded words, and topic sentences of paragraphs. Take quick notes in your home language or English as you scan to retain the few details you first read. This first step is important to activate your prior knowledge of the subject as well as focusing your mind on the gist or main idea of the reading.

2.    Read in Parts and Phrases:

Read Parts at a Time: Because you scanned the text, you have a good idea where the natural breaks or parts are of the text, passage, or document. Read each part under a heading or subheading and write quick notes, draw images, and/or list any new words. You will later learn these words by looking up definitions or “decoding them”.

Read in Phrases: Within sentences there are phrases, common combinations of English words, you will read “as a whole” and not word by word. For example, “to the office” or “on the road” are common and should be read by noting the preposition (1st word) and object (3rd word). In this case, words like “a, an, the” are absorbed in your reading without giving mental attention.

Because you began reading with step one, scanning, you now know the context in your mind as you read. You should be able to comprehend these phrases more quickly and easily.  

?3.    Don’t Vocalize as You Read:  

Most of my non-native English speakers tutoring students told me they read every word aloud or “say it in their head”. Either way, you vocalize your reading, try to stop. Vocalizing takes mental time and energy. Read silently for comprehension by thinking about the contextual clues, word meanings, and mental picture of what you read.

Let’s review the process of reading faster for better comprehension.

1st: scan the entire research article, report, or document. Note all headings and subheadings, bold words, and create a type of written outline before you read the full text.

2nd: break the reading into parts and read only one part at a time. Write a few more words or draw images along your written outline of headings, subheadings, and bold words. Do not take too much time, a simple image or short phrase will do nicely to help you comprehend what you read so you don’t have to read it again! You can highlight what you read, but the act of writing commits your thoughts to working memory.

3rd: As you read do not vocalize the words in your head or aloud. With practice, you will learn to read phrases more quickly and with better comprehension by “reducing” the phrases into two important points – the first and last word. There is an exception to this strategy. If you encounter a new English word, write it in your notes, then when you finish that part of your reading, you may want to “decode it” or pronounce it to see if you understand the word orally. If not, write down what you learned in your notes.

Memory plays a vital role in reading comprehension. In David Sousa’s book, How the Brain Learns, he explains the process from initial intake of sensory information to temporary attention in short term memory to deciding if the information is useful enough to attach to what is already in the web of brain associations. Lastly, the information that is useful, emotional, or repeated to rote memory will be housed in your long-term memory.

The steps to faster reading with better comprehension rely on this brain function of memory intake, association, and ultimately discarding or retaining it. As you practice the reading steps outlined here, you will see increased progress in your rate of speed reading and increased ability to remember what you read.

My English for Financial Professionals program includes my 5 strategies to improve your English reading skill to build your business English vocabulary and understanding. To learn more, please contact me on my LinkedIn!