Ever since the creation of the printing press, it’s hard to argue with the fact, that most of the information we are exposed to on a daily basis is presented to us in the “written word”. With the ever increasing influence and expansion of web multimedia services, the “written word” is somewhat losing a little ground, however it is still the most prevalent and popular way of presenting information in the modern era. Moreover, it is also the number #1 culprit of the societal epidemic known to us as “information overload”.

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Introduction

Accelerated Learning is a method of learning that helps you to organize, arrange and assimilate information at rapid speeds. If you have read through the 7 Intelligences of Accelerated Learning and the Advanced Multi-Sensory Study Skills, than you already understand how important it is to learn new chunks of information utilizing a variety of sensory cues and creative learning strategies that stimulate all 7 of our Intelligences.

Ever since the creation of the printing press, it’s hard to argue with the fact, that most of the information we are exposed to on a daily basis is presented to us in the “written word”. With the ever increasing influence and expansion of web multimedia services, the “written word” is somewhat losing a little ground, however it is still the most prevalent and popular way of presenting information in the modern era. Moreover, it is also the number #1 culprit of the societal epidemic known to us as “information overload”. This epidemic is sweeping the world and putting extensive pressure on information gatherers who are doing their very best to try and make sense of the world around them. Given this, it is critical that we learn to collect, absorb and completely assimilate the “written word” in a way that will save us time, energy and most importantly keep us “sane” within the ever expanding world of information.

This IQ Matrix will delve into the intricate details of the reading process, and help to identify its importance in relation to Accelerating our Learning Potential. Secondly, the IQ Matrix will break down the Speed Reading process of Accelerated Learning, including a step-by-step explanation on how to utilize a combination of Speed Reading and complimentary study skills to obtain a thorough and comprehensive understanding of an entire text book in rapid succession. Thirdly, we take a closer look at a subconscious method of Photo Reading, which can enhance your learning and understanding of information at a profoundly deep unconscious level of awareness. And finally, the IQ Matrix will present you with some examination, study tips and strategies that incorporate the Photo and Speed Reading Accelerated Learning principles.

Reading Facts, Stats, Methods and Benefits

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From a very young age, we are conditioned and trained to assimilate the “written word” in a variety of different ways. The vast majority of us are first taught the methods of pronunciation one letter of the alphabet at a time. Next, we are introduced to short words and instructed to pronounce each letter of the word as an individual character - before verbalizing the word as a whole. As we grow older, and gain more experience with reading, we naturally progress to larger words and learn to verbalize them in “whole” chunks, which essentially enhances and improves our speed of reading. However for the vast majority of the population, this is where our reading progression essentially stops in its tracks, and this sets up a lifelong pattern of inefficient reading habits that present us with ineffective strategies for assimilating large amounts of information into our psyche.

Key Reading Facts & Stats

Here are some interesting statistics about reading which are relevant to the discussions that will follow further down this post:

• The average reader only reads 150 words per minute (wpm).
• Only 5% of readers read more than 400 wpm.
• Most of us can only assimilate what we hear when it is presented at 250 wpm.
• Most of us can assimilate what we see at 2,000 to 10,000 wpm.
• 4% to 11% of the text you read carries 80% of the meaning.

Two Methods of Accelerated Reading

Within this post we will be discussing two methods of Accelerated Reading that will help you to improve your assimilation, comprehension and understanding of the information you are studying. Here is a quick look at the two principles of Photo Reading and Speed Reading.

Speed Reading Principles

Speed Reading involves the process of skimming, chunking, identifying and filtering specific pieces of information in order to Accelerate Learning. You skim over information in a way that will allow you to acquire an overall picture of the topic without losing yourself within the meticulous details. You would chunk relevant aspects of this information together, following the same process you utilize when chunking individual letters into words. This helps to absorb sentences and paragraphs in quick succession. And you would likewise identify or filter out aspects of the information you are reading that aren’t relevant or necessary to further your understanding of the topic. Given all this, it is important to understand that Speed Reading isn’t just about reading quickly. It rather involves an analysis process of information assimilation that will Accelerate Your Learning Potential. We will discuss this in further detail in the next section.

PhotoReading Principles

PhotoReading involves a pre-conscious level of awareness that naturally stimulates creativity, rapid information assimilation while opening the doors to non-judgmental learning. While Photo Reading, you are essentially shutting-off the conscious “critical mind” from the learning cycle. Even though the conscious mind is essential for stimulating your short and long-term memory, it however can become a hindrance due to its habitual preconceived ideas and notions about the information you are learning. More about this a little later on.

Benefits of Accelerated Reading

Learning to read at an accelerated and rapid speed utilizing the methods described within this IQ Matrix, can dramatically reduce your study time and efforts, while enhancing your speed of comprehension and assimilation of new information.

Principles of Speed Reading

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Speed Reading is far more than just a process of rapid reading. It rather involves an intricate method of learning that will help you to become a smarter and more effective learner. Within this branch of the IQ Matrix we will break down the Speed Reading process in detail, providing you with essential guidelines that will help you to rapidly assimilate this method of learning into your study regime. We will conclude our discussion with an overview of two processes of learning that incorporate the methods of Speed Reading to help you assimilate information at a faster rate.

Speed Reading Uses

As previously mentioned, Speed Reading is a conscious process of Accelerated Learning that is best utilized for skimming large chunks of information in a structured and proactive manner.

Speed Reading Guidelines

There are some simple yet fundamental rules for Speed Reading that we must abide by if we seek to rapidly Accelerate Our Learning Potential and get the most out of this study technique. Learn to utilize and apply each of these methods progressively and you will begin to rapidly accelerate your speed of reading to ever higher levels. The key however is to be patient. You will not learn these skills overnight. Years of reading and learning from an early age have conditioned you into specific patterns and habits of information assimilation that you will progressively need to breakaway from. It simply takes time and diligent effort. However, if you commit yourself to your desired results and objectives, than you will no doubt be rewarded for your efforts.

Read in Chunks & Blocks

As kids we learned to chunk letters into whole words. As a Speed Reader we must now take this process to the next level and begin chunking individual words into “multiple word blocks” that must be read as a whole. These “word blocks” can then be chunked further into larger “word blocks”, “sentence blocks”, and later whole “paragraph chunks” that can be read and comprehended within a single glance. If you are not familiar with this process, than it might at first seem like a daunting task. However, you must remember that when you were a child, chunking letters into words at first seemed rather difficult, however you persisted and learned how to read more proficiently. Simply begin by reading chunks of 2 words at one time. Once you become comfortable with this method of reading, take it to the next level and read in 3 or 4 word chunks. Over time, your conscious brain will adjust to this process and you will see a rapid increase in the speed of you reading. Every time you progress to a larger chunk, you are effectively accelerating your reading speed anywhere from 50% to 75%.

Utilize Incomplete Sentence Scanning Method

This method assumes that the first and last 2 to 3 words of every sentence are not significant or important to the underlying meaning of the entire sentence. You can therefore simply skim over these words without reading them, and you will still acquire a comprehensive understanding of the content. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 10% to 20%.

Only Move Eyes while Reading

Have you ever seen a typewriter in action? It moves from left to right, and when it reaches the edge of the page, it is pushed left once again. This is in essence how some people read. They are in effect suffering from the “Typewriter Reading Syndrome”, moving their head left to right then right to left as though their book stretched across the entire horizon Did you know that any movement of your head will slow down the reading process quite dramatically? This is why it is suggested that you only move and rotate your eyes back and forth across the page while you are reading. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 20% to 30%. You can further accelerate your reading speeds by incorporating your peripheral vision into your reading strategy. Your peripheral vision will allow you to see more of the page in one glance without having to move your eyes across the page left to right. In fact, the most proficient speed readers actually only move their eyes down the center of a page, while incorporating their peripheral vision to capture words and phrases that lie off-center.

Sweep Hand Across Page while Reading

When it comes to Speed Reading, it is important to guide your eyes across and down a page at a patterned speed and rhythm. The best way to do this is to utilize your hand as a “guiding pointer” progressively leading your eyes down the page. Think of your hand as a guide dog leading a blind person down the street. Wherever the guide dog points, that is where your eyes must follow. Establishing a rhythm is also very important here, as it will allow you to progressively increase your reading speed over time. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how effective you become in assimilating yourself into the rhythm of your hand motion.

Reduce Amount of Skip-backs

We naturally slowdown our speed of reading because of simple skip-backs, which involves rereading words and sentences over and over again. Many of us partake in this time wasting habit, because as children we were told by our teachers that we must go back and reread words that were mispronounced. As adults, even though we don’t normally verbalize these words aloud, we nevertheless still utilize skip-backs as an unconscious way of righting the wrongs of incorrect word pronunciations. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 25% to 50%.

Reduce Fixation Time

Throughout the reading process, many of us have an unfortunate habit of staying fixated upon a word for an extended period of time. This was okay when we were children learning to read and recognize word patterns. However, as adults, this habit dramatically slows down the reading process. The next time while reading a book, identify if you have a habit of staying fixated upon certain words for longer than is necessary. Only once you have become aware of this habit, can you make the necessary changes to overcome it successfully. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 10% to 50%.

Don’t Move Lips or Make Noises while Reading

When we were kids, we were taught to read and say our words aloud so that our teachers could hear our pronunciations clearly and make the necessary corrections accordingly. This was fine, as it taught us language skills that have since become indispensable to our ongoing growth as social connectors. However, the downside of this method of teaching is that we continue to pronounce our words internally, or through simple methods of moving our lips, while we are reading. Our eyes can recognize words and sentence structures far more quickly than we can articulate them aloud. Hence, if you are verbalizing the words you are reading inside your head or through the process of just moving your lips, than you are dramatically slowing down your speed of reading. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 50% to 250%.

Don’t Read “Filler” Words

“Filler” words are essentially meaningless words that add very little substance to the overall sentence you are reading. These words can include “the”, “and”, “is”, “that”, “this”, “what”, “a”, and many others. Through practice and over time, you can teach yourself to quickly skim over these words without ever consciously reading them. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 50% to 100%.

Alternate Your Reading Speed

As you progress forward with these Speed Reading guidelines, it is important to test and move out of your comfort zone by progressively challenging yourself to read at faster accelerated speeds. All of us have a natural comfort level of reading that feels just right. Once we go beyond these comfort levels our comprehension and understanding of the information we are reading naturally begins to plummet. However, we must come to understand that this is only temporary, as our brain takes some time to adjust to these increased speeds of reading and comprehension. When you were a child your initial reading speeds weren’t very impressive, in fact it might have taken you a whole 30 seconds to read a short sentence from a book. However, at the time, this felt comfortable and it allowed you to fully grasp and comprehend the information you were reading. In time, you accelerated your speed of reading to a new level of comfort that you experience today. And there is nothing stopping you from transitioning to the next level by testing and challenging your reading speeds on an ongoing basis. Utilizing this method you can effectively accelerate your reading speed anywhere from 10% to 1,000% or more.

Form Mental Visual Mind Maps while Reading

In order to improve your comprehension of the information you are reading, it is important to form ongoing visual mind map images of each sentence, paragraph, topic and chapter throughout the reading process. This topic is beyond the scope of our discussion here as it doesn’t specifically relate to the process of Speed Reading. However as a general rule, it is important to incorporate as many methods and strategies for comprehension into your Speed Reading regime.

Practice, Practice and Practice

Finally, you will not improve your reading speed by thinking about these techniques and strategies. The key is to practice, practice and practice each and everyday. Through consistent practice over time you will progressively accelerate your reading speed beyond its present capabilities and limitations.

SQ3R Process of Learning

This is a simple method of learning that will help you to assimilate the information you are studying in a more structured and effective manner. I have presented it here, because a part of this process requires you to Speed Read through the information you are learning. We will discuss the methods presented here in greater depth and detail another time, however for the purpose of this discussion, here is a quick introduction to each stage of this learning process:

Survey Stage

This stage involves taking in a thorough overview of the material you are about to learn. Here you must make sure that you have all your necessary tools and resources on hand before you begin moving through the Survey Stage. Begin by overviewing your material, taking into consideration key words, topics, headings, chapters and other important pieces of information that will be relevant to your understanding of this topic.

Question Stage

This stage involves questioning the material you are about to read and learn in a way that will expand your perspective and awareness about the topics in unexpected ways. The better and more insightful questions you ask, the more thoroughly you will prepare your mind to understand the topic under question.  At this stage, it doesn’t matter if you cannot answer these questions, all that matters is that you open your mind to the possibilities that these questions will need to be answered as you move through your learning regime. Essentially your questions must highlight important unanswered aspects of the information that are critical to your understanding of each topic.

Reading Stage

Here you will spend time Speed Reading through the material by following the guidelines discussed above and by utilizing the methods and strategies that will be mentioned within the sections that follow. As you are Speed Reading it is important to keep in mind the questions you posed yourself in the previous stage. You should essentially be looking for answers to these questions while you read through the material.

Reciting Stage

This stage involves answering any outstanding questions and organizing the information you have read in a way that will help you to further your understanding of the topic or book.

Review Stage

The final stage helps you to lock the information you have been learning into your long-term memory. Simply spend time reviewing the information you have collected utilizing your 7 intelligences or multi-sensory strategies in order to lock everything away for future recall.

Speed Reading Book Analysis Process

Finally, let’s quickly touch on a simple method you can utilize in order to rapidly assimilate the content of a single book in quick succession using Speed Reading strategies as well as other accelerated learning tactics of information scanning. It is important as you move through this process that you stick with the time constraints presented below. They are there to guide you through an accelerated form of learning that moves through time specific stages that must be adhered to for best results. This is in fact a great method for cramming before examinations, as it will assist you in assimilating large chunks of content in much less time than you normally would by reading a book from cover-to-cover.

Index Analysis Stage

Your first objective is to gather an overview of what the content of this book is about. Hence take your book and spend 2 to 3 minutes just scanning the index pages. Keep an eye out for unfamiliar words and word patterns that signify specific themes and issues that will be discussed in further detail throughout the text. As a general guideline, keep in mind that the more unfamiliar words you identify through the Index Analysis Stage, the longer it will naturally take you to thoroughly learn and grasp the topics presented within the book. It may also be a good idea to highlight some key unfamiliar words and “word theme patterns” as you move through this process.

Overview Information Stage

Your next objective is to quickly overview the contents of the book in order to grasp a thorough understanding of the information and difficulty of the material you are about to learn. This stage will also assist you in identifying important patterns within the information, thusly allowing you to take study shortcuts as you progress through the learning cycle. You should effectively spending 5 to 10 minutes quickly perusing the book from cover-to-cover. As you are moving through each page of the book, keep an eye out (even make a few notes) for key diagrams, pictures, graphs, major headings, subheadings, bolded text, bullet points, patterns within the information and its overall structure. The more thoroughly you are able to comprehend all of these elements, the quicker you will be able to assimilate all of this information into your long-term memory.

Quick Scanning Stage

Here you should spend about 7 seconds per page just scanning the content and material of each chapter in a little more detail. As you are undertaking this process ask yourself “How…? When…? What…? Why…? Who…? questions to help you to further clarify the relevance and importance of the information you are about to learn. In fact, jot down some important questions that come to mind on a piece of paper as you are progressing through this stage. The better quality of questions you are able to bring to mind about this material, the more thoroughly you will prepare your mind for the Speed Reading and learning stages that follow.

Sketching Analysis Stage

Having now overviewed the content of the book utilizing three different methods, you are now ready to begin sketching out your knowledge about the material through the use of diagrams, pictures, and mind maps. Throughout this Sketching Analysis Stage, it is still very important to keep asking insightful and thought provoking questions about the material in order to stimulate your thinking and creativity. Approach the book one chapter at a time and begin sketching out your knowledge and understanding of the material in 3 minute intervals per chapter. By the end of this stage you will have quite a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the topics presented within the book. Moreover, the ongoing associations you are forming will enhance your ability to piece the information together far more thoroughly than you normally would by simply reading the book.

Speed Reading Stage

I suppose this stage doesn’t require any explanation as we have already discussed the process in detail. As a general rule though, you should spend about 30 seconds per page reading through the chapters of the book. You will find that your understanding of the material is quite extensive at this point because you have already gone through the book four prior times utilizing different comprehension methods. Stick to the time limits, however focus a little more time on areas that are difficult to understand or comprehend. At the conclusion of each chapter you may also like to add a little more information to the diagrams and mind maps you created within the Sketching Analysis Stage.

Review & Learning Stage

The final stage simply involves reviewing what you have learned in a way that will allow you to lock the information away into your long-term memory. This method is best achieved through utilizing your 7 Intelligences and Multi-Sensory Study Skills.

Principles of PhotoReading

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PhotoReading is an Accelerated Learning method first presented by Paul Scheele. It involves a somewhat mysterious method of learning that taps into the unlimited powers and resources of our unconscious minds to help Accelerate our Learning Potential by improving our memory and recall of information. Within this branch of the IQ Matrix we will just briefly introduce you to the methods and principles behind the process of PhotoReading. This is by no means intended to be a thorough analysis, but rather an overview of an intriguing method of learning that is rapidly growing in popularity. On a personal level, I have utilized this process to some extent and have experienced some rather surprising and welcoming results. It is best not to judge the process, but rather partake within this method of learning for a few weeks or months without any preconceived expectations. The PhotoReading process only works if you let go of your inhibitions and step into it wholeheartedly with an open mind.

Before proceeding, it is important to understand that our unconscious mind remembers absolutely every single visual experience that we have ever perceived. Because we cannot remember something, does not mean that it never existed. Your unconscious mind is essentially a storehouse of all the sensory stimuli that ever touched your life experience. This is why within a deep hypnotic trance people are able to remember incredible details from their past that they never actually took the time to consciously acknowledge. This unconscious information lies dormant within our brains until it is brought forward into our conscious mind through life triggers that stimulate associative memories about people, events and circumstances. PhotoReading works on the same principles by instilling a deep learning state of unconscious awareness that can later be brought into the forefront of our minds on the conscious level. Let’s now take a look at it in a little more detail.

PhotoReading Uses

PhotoReading is best utilized for rapid unconscious level learning that expands creativity and assists with problem solving.

PhotoReading Guidelines

Before undergoing the PhotoReading process it is important to keep in mind the following set of guidelines:

Gain Clarity on Goals & Objectives

For PhotoReading to be successful you must first clarify the goals and objectives that you seek to obtain as you undergo the PhotoReading process. Only once you are clear on your primary goals and objectives, should you move forward.

Stay Focused & Relaxed

Focus and relaxation are the two key fundamental aspects of the PhotoReading process that will help you to sink into a deep state of unconscious awareness that is necessary for accelerated learning. This essentially requires shutting out all external sounds and distractions, while slowly moving beyond conscious repetitive thoughts that tend to sweep through the recesses of our minds. We will discuss strategies, techniques and methods on how to achieve deep states of relaxation in a future Mind Map.

Hold Book at 45 Degree Angle

Before beginning the PhotoReading process you must sink yourself into a comfortable seating position and hold the text book you will be PhotoReading at a 45 degree angle in front of you at a comfortable reading distance.

Utilize Photo Focus

Getting into a Photo Focus State is explained in great depth and detail within Paul Scheele’s Photo Reading audio course. However, for the purpose of this discussion it basically involves centering your focus and attention on the middle groove of the open text book you are about to PhotoRead. By “groove” I mean the middle central margin that connects all of the pages of the book together - only visible when the book is open in front of you. While your focus and attention is directed upon this groove, you must work on creating a “fuzzy vision” of sorts, while expanding your peripheral awareness of the two pages that are laid out in front of you. It is important to understand, that you will not at any time be consciously reading specific words from a page. Instead, you will be reading at an unconscious level of awareness, thusly the reason for the “fuzzy vision”. For best results, the Photo Focus State also requires that you fix your attention on the top back part of your head while you are PhotoReading.

Utilizing Affirmations

In order to help you to develop the right frame of mind, it is important to utilize a few powerful affirmations to assist you to get into a deep PhotoReading state:

As I PhotoRead my concentration is absolute.

All that I PhotoRead makes a lasting impression on my inner mind.

I desire this book to help me accomplish my purpose of…

I am fully absorbing and assimilating this material into my being.

Stick to Time Constraints

Within the next section, I will briefly touch upon the PhotoReading process. Please be aware, that some of these steps are time specific, and that it is highly recommended that you stay within these time constraints for best results.

Do Not Judge or Rationalize

Finally, the biggest drawback to standard “conscious levels” of learning is that it is riddled with rationalizations and judgments. Because we have a tendency to judge and rationalize the information we are learning, this indirectly influences our beliefs, values, self concept and the decisions we make about our learning in unexpected ways, that could essentially do us more harm than good. This drawback likewise tends to inhibit our natural learning abilities and creative expression. This is why it is very important and critical that throughout the PhotoReading process that you do not rationalize or judge the method or the potential results for even a split second.

PhotoReading Book Analysis Process

The following is an abbreviated overview of the PhotoReading process:

Preparation Stage

Before undertaking PhotoReading one must become clear on the goals and objectives one seeks to obtain by undergoing this process. You must essentially gain clarity on your most important learning objectives. Ask yourself the following set of questions:

What do I expect to know or do differently after PhotoReading this material?

How important is this information to me?

What specific value does this information have for me?

What level of detail am I seeking to gain from this material?

How much time am I willing to commit to accomplish my purpose?

Preview Stage

This stage basically incorporates the Overview and Scanning Stages described within the Speed Reading branch of the IQ Matrix. Your most important objective here is to ask insightful questions that expand your understanding and awareness about this material, while identifying 20 to 25 key “trigger” words that are essential to your comprehension of this information. Spend about 5 to 10 minutes moving through this stage. Once complete ask yourself the following three questions:

What is this information really about?

Does this information fit my current purpose and outcomes?

In what ways must I further clarify my purpose and outcome to better fit the content I am about to PhotoRead?

PhotoReading Stage

Follow the PhotoReading guidelines presented above and begin to PhotoRead through the book at a rate of 2 seconds per page. It is suggested that you PhotoRead from the front cover to the back cover, and then from the back cover to the front cover, while chanting a mantra that will put you into a deeper state of relaxation. A good relaxing mantra to begin with involves a simple yet continuous “Hmmm…” or “Ahhh…”. More about this another time in a future Mind Map when we will discuss the process of meditation in further detail.

Incubation & Activation Stage

This stage involves the process of fully assimilating the information you have just taken into your unconscious mind through the PhotoReading process. In order to encourage incubation of the material it is suggested that you sleep or meditate on the information. Utilizing affirmations that will assist you in triggering future insights and understandings are also of importance here. Here are a few examples:

I acknowledge the feelings I have used within this book.

I release this information for my body and inner mind to process.

I am curious how many ways my mind can demonstrate that this information is available to me.

I found through personal experience that activation is triggered when one enters a deep and relaxed state of meditation the very next day, and asks questions of the material one PhotoRead the day before:

What is important to me about this information?

What are the main points that I must know?

What is in here that can help me regarding…?

What must I know in relation to…?

The depth of your questions will help you to unlock deeper and more meaningful insights from the information you PhotoRead the previous day. Patience is the key, and it is critical that you also do not expect to receive immediate answers. At other times I found it helpful to ask a question and then simply physically scan the book for an answer. I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

Questioning Stage

The final stage basically involves an analysis of the PhotoReading process. Here you would ask yourself a set of question that will help you to improve your PhotoReading methods the next time around.

In conclusion, please understand that there is a lot more to the PhotoReading process than what has been presented within this branch of the IQ Matrix. It is a rather extensive and interesting topic that we may give more time and attention to in a future IQ Matrix. However, for the time being, if you would like to learn more about this Accelerated Reading Study Skill, than please visit the Learning Strategies website for further information.

Accelerated Learning Study Strategies

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To finish off this post, I thought it might be appropriate to briefly discuss how you can incorporate these Accelerated Reading Study Skills into examinations and for class preparation purposes. We will be discussing this topic in great length and detail another time. However, for now here is a brief overview:

Examination Study Strategies

The way you approach your examinations must be structured utilizing methods presented within this post. You should effectively be looking for patterns within the information you are reading. Patterns will reveal hints and snippets of information that will help you to answer questions more efficiently and effectively. However, more about this another time. For now, before you begin your examination you should essentially move yourself into a deep relaxing learning state similar to the one that was presented within the PhotoReading branch of the IQ Matrix.

The second step is to begin PhotoReading your examination paper from front to back and then from back to front, all the while following the methods presented within the PhotoReading branch of the IQ Matrix. Once PhotoReading has been completed, apply the Speed Reading principles discussed within this post. At the same time, keep your eyes out for key pieces of information, word and question patterns that could give you an edge in answering these questions. Remember that in many instances the answers to many of the questions within your examinations can be obtained from other questions presented on your examination paper. You must essentially expand your awareness and understanding that this possibility could exists, and work from there.

Finally, once you have completed the Speed Reading process, “regular read” through your examination paper one question at a time, continuously looking for specific patterns within the information.

Before Class Preparation Strategies

Before heading into a lecture it is important to prepare your brain as well as your physical notes accordingly, so that you are completely within the “right thinking frame of mind” about the topic your lecturer or tutor will be discussing. Your first objective is to move through the PhotoReading process focusing in on the chapters your teacher will be discussing in class. Secondly, Speed Read through the appropriate chapters utilizing the Speed Reading strategies discussed within this IQ Matrix. Finally, create a Mind Map representing the main chapter headings and subheadings of the topics under discussion. For further information, please read Advanced Mind Mapping Study Skills IQ Matrix.

During Class Learning Strategies

As a general rule, you should always record your lectures just in case you need to clarify the information that was discussed at a later time. Also bring your mind map into class and expand on the headings and subheadings in further detail creating new interlinking pieces of information that will help you to gather a more thorough understanding of the topic under discussion. During class, your number #1 objective is to do all you possibly can to chunk information into related - easily manageable - categories that will help you to remember and recall the topic readily at a later time.

After Class Assimilation Strategies

That evening after class, schedule time to overview your recording of the lecture and expand on your mind map accordingly, integrating all the disconnected pieces of information together into a comprehensive “learner friendly” guide that leads to rapid assimilation of the information you are studying. Finally, conclude your studies by applying some of the learning strategies presented within the 7 Intelligences of Accelerated Learning and within the Multi-Sensory Study Skills IQ Matrix.

Final Thoughts

Accelerated Reading Study Skills are far more than just a set of effective learning strategies that will help you to become a better student or academic. They are in fact indispensable survival techniques and methods of information assimilation that will help us to better deal with the ever growing amount of written content that we are exposed to on a daily basis. Without effectively applying these tools, we might as well resign ourselves to a life of mediocrity and ignorance, however with them, the world is our oyster and the impossibilities of tomorrow become the possibilities of today.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have used any of these photo reading or speed reading principles and would like to share your learning experiences, than please feel free to comment below.

Spotlight on the MasterMind Matrix

The process of Accelerated Speed Reading is an important and indispensable component of the MasterMind Matrix.

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The MasterMind Matrix is a Psychological Chart of Personal Success and Achievement. It is used as an effective Self-Coaching tool that will help guide you through the personal obstacles, setbacks and limitations that may stand in your way as you progress towards the attainment of your goals and objectives in the field of academics, business, career, sports, or life in general.

Each IQ Matrix Mind Map that is available through this website represents a single cell fragment of the MasterMind Matrix. For more information and images, visit the MasterMind Matrix page.

Accelerate Learning Using Mind Maps

Free Articles and Online Resources

Here are a number of highly recommended free articles and online resources that will further help expand your understanding about this topic:

• How to Recall an Entire Book in 5 Minutes of Less @ Litemind
• 7 Pleasurable Ways to Improve Your Reading Ability @ Pick the Brain
• Process Information 3 Times Faster with PhotoReading @ Pick the Brain
• How to Start Remembering Everything Your Read @ Student Hacks
• Web Based Speed Reading Program @ Zap Reader
• 7 Ways to Remember What You Read @ Schaefer’s Blog
• Learn to Speed Read in Just a Few Hours @ Learn This
• Speed Reading Successfully: A Starting Point @ Life Hack

Recommended Products

Howard Berg’s Maximum Speed Reading - Absorb all of the material you need to read with unbelievable speed, comprehension, and recall! Are you overwhelmed by the amount of written material you’re faced with each day? Do you find you spend most of your day slogging through the memos, reports, articles, books, and websites that are critical to your success, but that drain away your time and energy? Maximum Speed Reading is an incredible new program that will help you to read and comprehend massive amounts of written information - in any subject area - with unbelievable speed and remarkable retention and recall.

Recommended Books

• Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Peter Kump
• 10 Days to Faster Reading by Abby Marks-Beale
• Power Reading Course Book with Audio Coundown Timing CD: The Best, Fastest, Easiest, Most Effective Course on Speed Reading and Comprehension Ever Developed by Rick Ostrov
• PhotoReading 4th Edition by Paul R. Scheele
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading by Abby Marks Beale

If you would like to download a copy of this IQ Matrix, it is available from the IQ Matrix Shop.