Is listening the new reading?

Three days ago, I posted a poll asking you which book format did you prefer? Audiobook, E-Book or Physical book. And your votes weighted 9%, 17% and 75% respectively; and I totally agree! for years I grew fond of feeling a book in my hands, the connection u feel with a physical book is incomparable to any other book format notwithstanding how innovative it may be.

However, once I started my career I found it increasingly challenging to keep up my reading rate which was 1 book/week.

Therefore I decided to give Audiobooks a shot. as it can fit in multiple parts of my day, especially the time spent in my car and long rides to visits, I subscribed to an audiobook app and the result was astonishing!

It boosted the number of books I finish in a week to two books/week.

Still managed to read physical books at night.

Moreover, I found that listening stimulated the use of real-time comprehension skills and made me a better listener overall; as I must listen, interpret, and understand almost instantaneously to understand what the narrator is saying.

Also, I managed to gradually speed up the playback speed reaching 1.5x with great comprehension and retention

According to various sources, the average adult reads text around 250 to 300 words per minute. The recommended talking speed for high comprehension is 150 to 160 words per minute. Multiplying by 1.5 (playback speed) will give us almost an equal rate to the reading speed.

In conclusion, stepping out of your comfort zone and trying a more practical approach to better manage your time will be a quantum leap and it will undoubtedly have a positive effect on your cognitive, intellectual and comprehensive skills.

I will be posting a weekly article summarizing a book I finished throughout the week titled #FlashBook series. Sharing with you my passion for reading, listening and copywriting!

#reading

#Books

#FlashBook

#Audiobooks