PHOTOREADING
By definition, PhotoReading is "mentally photographing" the printed page at rates exceeding 25,000 words per minute which is about a flip per second. As you go through the program, you'll settle into a pace that is comfortable for you. Some will be doing two flips per second, and some will be doing just one flip per second. It does not make any difference as long as you are comfortable. Comfort is key throughout the whole PhotoReading program.
As you learn the techniques, if something doesn't sit right with you, make adjustments. We are not teaching you the only way to PhotoRead. We are teaching you a way we have discovered works for most people. If something is not right for you, change it until you are comfortable with it.
It is important to realize from the beginning that the PhotoReading process bypasses the conscious mind and sends the information to storage bins in the other-than-conscious. This means that when you are PhotoReading you will have little or no conscious knowledge of the materials. It is all there some place, but consciously you may not know it. Don't worry, as long as you can "activate" it to the conscious mind so that you can use the information however you use information. We will be soon talking about ways to gain access to the information.
The missing link has only recently been discovered
The concept of "mentally photographing" printed materials has been around since the turn of the century. The problem was that only a small percentage of the population could do it, and they didn't know how to teach it to any one else. That's where Learning Strategies Corporation came in.
In 1985, at the challenge of IDS/American Express, Paul Scheele, a co-founder of Learning Strategies Corporation, studied people who could do this – input information and then gain access to it. Using his expertise in neuro-linguistic programming – which we'll talk about later – he determined how people could do this and he developed a program to teach everyone to get the same results. In January 1986 the first classes were presented to the public. In March 1986 the first classes were presented in a Fortune 500 company. In May 1986 Learning Strategies Corporation became licensed as a Private Vocational School by the Minnesota Department of Education. The course is now taught around the world in seminars and is available through a self-study program.
You have already demonstrated that you can PhotoRead
With PhotoReading we get into the 90% part of the brain that Einstein said we do not tap. He said we do not even use 10 percent of our brain's power. Peter Russell who wrote the Brain Book said, 10 percent? we do not even use one tenth of one percent. So there is a lot of natural, brain power that we do not even use: 90-99%. And that's what we begin to tap into with PhotoReading.
When we teach you to PhotoRead, we don't teach you to do something you don't already know how to do. It is natural. It is not like learning how to hit a baseball with a bat – that takes coordination and practice, and some people just can't do it.
PhotoReading, on the other hand, is natural. You have already proven you can do it because as a child the only way you could have learned your primary language in such a short time was to absorb it...to get your whole brain and your body involved in learning. That's how you learned to walk, and that's how you learned to recognize mommy and daddy.
When you started school you learned a new way of learning: a left brain method of inputting information one word at a time, rehearsing it, and hoping that something gets stored. By the time you reached adolescence, you lost track of that natural ability to absorb information.
In the PhotoReading class we say, "hey, you've got this ability," we point you in the right direction, we give you what amounts to a machete, kind of teach you how to swing it, and say "Go to it." You start swinging away, cutting back overgrowth from years of inactivity, until you have your first experience with PhotoReading. The first book you will PhotoRead is a dictionary, and then you will think of any word and know where it is on the page.
And then the more you use the techniques, the more you swing away, the more the overgrowth will fall away, and the more access you will have to this natural ability to absorb information.
That's not to say that the left brain method of learning is not valuable, because it is. That is how you learn to recognize that squiggly lines on the page are letters, that the letters spell a word, and that the word has meaning. But did you know that it only takes your brain four milliseconds to pull up the meaning once you see the word. Yet, we waste more than four milliseconds per word just moving our eyes across the page.
We say, use the left brain method of learning to learn the language and then use the more powerful right brain, other-than-conscious, method to process the language.
Your conscious mind is very limited in its capabilities
PhotoReading works because it bypasses the conscious mind. You see, the conscious mind can only handle seven pieces of information at a time – plus or minus two. This is why telephone numbers are seven digits long – that's all you can easily hold in your conscious mind.
This is why we'll get to the bottom of the page and not remember what we just read: the phone is ringing, someone is talking, we're thinking about what we did before and what we will do later, and we're trying to memorize everything as we go. Before we know it, we've used up the seven pieces of information and something has got to go. It is usually what we just read.
The other-than-conscious-mind can handle 20,000 pieces of information. Twenty thousand. You can imagine seven pieces, like our 800-telephone number, 735-8273, but can you imagine 20,000? No way. It is physiologically impossible. The little voice in the back of your head, which is the conscious mind, can only understand seven pieces of information.
You know what this is? Blasphemy. It flies in the face of traditional education, of everything we were brought up believing. PhotoReading breaks all the rules.
Who does the best with PhotoReading? People who love to break rules. Who has the most difficult time? Police officers. All day long they are out there telling people to follow the rules, and then they come into the class and we say, "There are no rules! If you don't like it change it so that you are comfortable with the process."
If you are not willing to suspend your beliefs, to break the rules, then by all means stay away. Save yourself disappointment. But if you are willing to break rules, to approach PhotoReading with a childlike curiosity, a go with the flow attitude, in a discovery, playful mode, then by all means take the PhotoReading class now, and you will have a blast.
PHOTOREADING- Faster Reading Tips
Get More From Your Reading in Less Time
and Have More Time for Everything Else!
How to Instantly Improve Your Reading Efficiency
Before reading a difficult piece of writing, take a few moments to close your eyes and relax while taking two or three deep breaths. Say to yourself that you can read with full concentration, recognize key information, and achieve high comprehension quickly to accomplish your needs. Believe you can, and you will.
This may simply sound like "positive mental attitude." Yet if you do not purposefully affirm the positive, you may be shutting off your true capacities by subtle anxieties about the task. For example, if the material is dense and difficult to read, any anxiety about getting through it can cause lowered performance. The secret is to see the material simply as new and different, not dense and difficult...and be relaxed about it. Early confusion can create curiosity that guides you to search for and recognize the information you
need. Your comprehension and overall reading performance can increase--all with just a few seconds of preparation.
How to Get More out of a Trade Journal/Magazine
Tip # 1: Browse and Play
Browse through the publication--frontwards or backwards--so that you get to know what is in it and where it is located. Notice the layout and how the information is presented. Notice the table of contents and any special sections. Don't be too serious--it's best to be playful. Notice which articles pique your interest, but don't read them yet. Catch titles, subtitles, pictures, and charts. When you find something interesting, think of how you can use it--reading for information should be a goal seeking activity. Decide how much time you can afford, and then go for it. Follow this tip and your reading will become purposeful, active, questioning and goal oriented...this means you save time and get more information from the time you spend reading!
Tip # 2: Locate the Most Important Articles...and Be Smart
Get 80% of the information in 20% of the time by simply reading the title, subtitle, bold type, last paragraph and first paragraph--spend only 30-45 seconds. Then reflect on the relevance of the information for you. If it is important to read more, go to the next step. Otherwise, find another article.
Take 1-2 minutes to skim through the article to find the core idea. Know what is being expressed. Do you need more details? If not, find another article. Read lightly and flexibly. Know what you need. Slow down to fulfill
your purpose, answering questions that are most important to you. Since very few words carry the meaning, speed up to pass redundant or useless information.
Tip #3: File important articles, pass them on, or re-cycle the publication.
How to Read the Reports You Love to Hate
In just 11-13 minutes you can get 80% of what you must know from even the most difficult reports. Here's how you can do it now, quickly and easily:
At the end of your work day, take 2 minutes to glance through the report's layout, table of contents and ending. Decide on 3 things you must know from this report. STOP! Do not read further. Flip the pages in front of your eyes like a fan 2 or 3 times. Make a guess where you will find your answers.
Leave it alone until tomorrow. In the morning take no more than 7 minutes to search for and read the key points you felt you had to know. Double check to determine if there are any additional "life or death" needs associated with this report. If yes, spend no more than 4 more minutes now and maybe 5-7 minutes the next day.
How to keep up with the Daily News in 15 minutes
Tip 1: Disregard redundant information to save time now.
News is redundant: previewed yesterday...detailed today...summed
up tomorrow. When reading news, whether from a report, newspaper, magazine or newsletter, skip what you already know. Make sure to you get the new information you need. Look for the most pertinent information to match your purpose for reading. A strong purpose immediately increases your reading speed and comprehension. Be clear about what you want, then quickly search to find it. Don't just read for the sake of reading unless you
have chosen to pass leisure time. Give yourself just 10-15 minutes in the morning to review the news. This time constraint gently forces you to get focused. Come back in the evening to get whatever you have to or want to. You may discover it to be ancient history by evening.
Tip 2: Read headlines and first paragraphs only.
Review headlines and select articles you want to read based on your interest or purpose for reading. Read the first paragraph to preview the article.
Reporters present 80% of the key information in the opening paragraph. The subsequent supporting text should be read only as needed. Follow this strategy: Ask yourself what other specific details you want. Let it go if there are none.
Skim the article for the desired details. "Dip" into the article and read those paragraphs. Don't read all the words unless you have the luxury of unlimited time. When finished with an article go on to the next. This whole process
should not take more than 10-15 minutes.
