Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Program Known Worldwide
In the majority of cases, when people start to talk about the possibilities of learning how to read faster, the first thing that springs to mind is the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading program. It is so well known because it has stood the test of time and has consistently created excellent results by helping people to become speed readers. Over the decades, this breakthrough program has taught time-tested methods and has become a standard around the globe.
Perhaps the Evelyn Wood program would never have existed if Evelyn had not watched one of her professors, at the University of Utah, read and grade her 80-page term paper in just ten minutes. Even though her professor was able to read at a remarkable rate of 2,500 words per minute, he had not acquired the skill through any specialized training. In fact, he was unable to explain to her how he was able to read and comprehend so quickly.
But, this was enough to pique her interest in the subject and spurred her on to learn more about how to read faster, wanting to acquire the skill for herself. Later, as a school teacher, she also believed it would be a valuable skill to share with others. Soon she learned that there were many people who knew how to read fast and she discovered that people had been doing so for centuries. And so, the beginning principles of the Evelyn Wood program began to formulate.
Over the next two years, she discovered over 50 people from all age groups and walks of life who could read anywhere from 1,500 to 6,000 words in just a minute. Even more impressive to her was that they demonstrated a high level of comprehension and a startling ability to recall what they read. As she analyzed their techniques, the fundamentals that would become the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading program began to become clear.
She soon learned that each reading genius she was studying had some common traits. They did not read single words, but grouped or chunked words as they read. They saw the words in meaningful patterns as they moved their eyes smoothly, rapidly and easily down the page. They changed their speed to adjust to the kind of material they read and were able to quickly identify the key phrases in a paragraph and the central idea of a book or article. Soon, these very speed reading techniques became the cornerstone of the Evelyn Wood approach.
Evelyn's first student was herself. She painstakingly taught herself these reading speed improvement principles and practiced them regularly. Soon, she had developed to the point of being able to read several thousands words per minute. Her next task was to develop a system to teach others how to read fast and in 1959, she opened the first Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Institute in Washington DC.
While there are now many different speed reading programs on the market, Evelyn Wood and her Speed Reading courses are still highly regarded today. She is revered for the pioneering efforts she made and for bringing speed reading and reading comprehension teaching to people around the world.
These days, people don't have to go to an Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Institute to learn her methods. There are a number of ways that people can learn her speed reading methods. Classroom learning is still an option in some areas, but in this age of hectic schedules, her courses on video and on DVD have become best sellers. Anyone who feels the stress of trying to keep abreast of the huge amount of information coming at them, would do well to look to the Evelyn Wood method of speed reading to help them sharpen their skills.
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