Speedy Reader Anne Jones

In surveys of general reading speed, about one in a hundred people read at between 800 and 1,000wpm. People in this range are usually in roles where they need to read extensively for their work. This includes top professors, researchers, politicians or editors. The figure falls to one in a thousand for individuals reading at speeds over 1,000wpm.

Anne Jones has won the World Speed Reading Championship six times and has made many television and radio appearances. She was able to read “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in under 47 minutes immediately after it was realised at midnight on 21st July 2007. This equates to a rate of 4,251wpm.

In 2015 Anne was filmed by Sky, the BBC and ITV at the launch of Harper Lee’s novel “Go Set A Watchman”. Anne read the entire book in 25 minutes and 31 seconds, before being interviewed by local, national and international press, including The Wall Street Journal.

This year Anne celebrates twenty years of being a Speed Reading trainer and teaching Speed Reading to a wide variety of audiences, both in the UK and abroad. I asked Anne about her career in Speed Reading:

1)  When did you first learn to Speed Read and what have you learned since through experience and additional research?

I was interested in Mind Mapping as a method of accelerating learning. I decided to become a Buzan instructor and discovered that Speed Reading was part of the training. Vanda North, an outstanding teacher, presented the course. I ended up with a speed of 1050 words per minute, the slowest in the group! Afterwards, I used the skill routinely for work and leisure reading.

When I won my gold medal at the first Mind Sports Olympiad, I realised I would need to improve my speed to win the next competition. In the years that followed, I developed a streamlined guiding technique and pushed myself beyond what I had previously considered possible.

I also felt it was important to know more about how the brain processes information. I read about developments in neuroscience and became interested in working memory, which holds information ‘in mind’ as we read. I changed how I thought about what I was reading to manage the flow of information more efficiently.

Another area I improved was faster pattern recognition. I analysed how authors organised ideas and where meaning was located in what I was reading. This knowledge helped me assimilate information quickly and boosted recall.

The purpose for reading can vary greatly. Purposes range from scanning for facts to formulating a creative response to a complex document. Reading effectiveness is greatly improved by defining goals and understanding the cognitive demands involved in achieving them.

2)  How has Speed Reading improved your life?

I have learned a great deal about myself and how I learn. I have been my own research subject and I have used my experiences to help others and I have learned from their experiences too. It has changed the way I think.

3)  What one tip would you give to improve Reading Speed and Comprehension?

Practise with material you enjoy reading. Link Speed Reading to fun from the start.