Scan Artist or Not?

When I was at Queensland University early in my career, I undertook an Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course. Personally, I found it excellent, and I have used the principles throughout my career. Marcia Biederman's compelling recent book, Scan Artist, had me reflect on my own experiences on applying speed reading techniques.

My thoughts now are that a whole host of factors played in my favour then, and over many years since. I was fairly motivated, so my concentration and focus were finely tuned. Therefore, I was able to quickly grasp the key themes. I was also able to then apply them to a systems-based approach of structuring the information I was reading, resulting in higher scores in the comprehension assessment. Over the years, I have adopted and adapted the basic tenants of speed reading to fit the circumstances and situations I was in at the time.

I went on to complete my undergraduate studies in Commerce at James Cook University, and postgraduate studies at the University of Queensland, Griffith University, and RMIT, I also embarked on a career as a Naval Intelligence Officer with the RANR. An environment where one's ability to quickly gather information from a wide range of sources, synthesise the information, and produce accurate assessments in usually incredibly short timeframes, subject to rigorous scrutiny. My success in this field in no small way benefitted from the skills I developed over many years.

Marcia Biederman raises some very valid points in her book. No doubt, not everyone has enjoyed the success I have from developing systematic reading skills, learned so many years ago while I was at Queensland University. I am grateful for the work that Evelyn Wood did in promoting better reading skills in business and the community.