3 Steps to Read Faster, Understand Better, and Remember More

Many non-native English speakers like you who maintain their knowledge of the financial industry by reading professional journals and articles say it takes them a long time to complete reading. Remembering what they read is also a struggle. How can you read faster for better understanding and remember what you read?

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

1. Skim for the Gist: 

Quickly glance over the article or report to focus on your reading task and have an idea of what the reading says. Skim by reading headings and subheadings, bold words, and topic sentences of paragraphs. Take quick notes in your home language or English as you skim to retain a few details. This first step is important to activate your short term memory and the gist or main idea of the reading.

2. Read in Parts and Phrases:

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 being absorbed in your reading without giving mental attention.  Because 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. 

Read Parts at a Time: 

Because you skimmed the text, you know where there are breaks by headings or subheadings. Read each part of a subheading or paragraphs as you write notes, draw images, and/or quickly look up definitions of a few new words. Then move on to the next part of the reading. In the end, you have notes or visuals that remind you of what you read.

3. Don’t Vocalize as You Read:  

Many non-native English speakers have told me they read every word aloud or “say it in their heads”. Either way, if 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: skim the entire article looking at all headings and subheadings, bold words, and create a type of outline before a full read.

2nd: break the reading into parts and read only one part at a time. Write a few more words or draw images along the 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 your brain's 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 the initial intake of sensory information to temporary attention in short term memory to decide 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. You can do this all of this on your own, or an English coach can help you with the process and practice. In the end, you will need to interact with the information you learn from financial journals and articles to deeply acquire the business concepts in English.

I would be honored to coach you, a financial industry professional, learn how to read faster for better comprehension and retention as part of my English for Financial Professionals program. Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn to discuss your reading struggles.