One of the really interesting issues I encounter when I am sharing the concept of effective reading is the beliefs people have about what that really means.

When I first work with a potential client, or even when working with a group for the first time, I tend to start using the term speed reading because it is a concept they they have heard of and so it is a good mutual starting point.

Invariably when working with these people, it is the term on their mind when they decided to bring me in.

But the problem with "Speed Reading" is that it is a one dimensional term that is completely misunderstood by the average person on the street.

Many people do not believe they have the capacity or ability to read faster because if they had, they already would be…right?

They have many years of reference (their current age minus 5 assuming that is the age they started to learn to read at) of reading in a particular way.

Not only is that a well established habit and pattern of behaviour, but it is also a firm belief that their way is "normal".

This is understandable and part of my task is to explain to them that whilst their experience of reading is "normal" it is not "natural" (which is a brilliant point made famous by Tony Buzan the originator of the Mind Map).

They assume that reading faster will mean they will lose comprehension.

Well I suppose if they are already doing something quite badly (but don’t realise it) then doing it faster will make things worse.

This is why the term "Speed Reading" is a dangerous term to use (perhaps I should stop using that….mmm there’s a thought).

In order to help people become more effective readers we have to do several things:

• Get rid of the old bad habits holding the average reader back
• Develop some new techniques in the way we read to increase the rate we process words and actually increase the level of comprehension
• Shift from the one dimensional approach to reading to a multi-dimensional range of strategies for knowledge acquisition

It is as radical as moving from using an abacus to perform calculations to switching to a computer to process and handle data and knowledge.

So it is not just about reading faster which will inevitably happen when you become an effective reader, it is about doing things differently to get a far more effective result much faster.

Whilst I can take your reading speed and increase it by 100%, 200%, 300% and more, the most dramatic impact of doing things differently will be the impact of the filtering and rapid location strategies to get you to the right information before you even need to begin what people would call "Speed Reading".

So effective reading is not about being able to read everything you have to read right now in the way you do right now but faster.

No being an effective reader is taking what you have to read now, cutting through the 80% of irrelevant material in a fraction of the time and then reading that 20% far more effectively (which includes not only faster but with better understanding and recall).

And it is just about doing a few things differently.