How Effective Are Your Reading Skills?

23
byBIS
7.8K followers
Updated


One of the most common concerns voiced by people new to internet marketing is about their writing skills.
  • “I’m not a good writer”
  • “I don’t have good writing skills”
  • “ I’m not very good with words”,
  • ““My grammar isn’t very good.”
  • “English isn’t my first language so I struggle with writing”
..are just a few of the things I've heard recently

However, I rarely hear people make similar comments about their reading skills.

Why is that?

Well unless you have a specific difficulty with reading or you don’t enjoy reading you probably don’t think much about it. We use our reading skills every day online and offline reading texts, letters, reports, blogs, emails, instruction manuals, newspapers, adverts, press releases, books, training materials, recipes, advertising hoardings, road signs ... and the majority of us take them for granted.

Good reading skills?

“ I have good reading skills” someone told me rather crossly in Live Chat the other day when I suggested that they might want to read something again. I’m sure they’re right, but I too will tell people I have good reading skills but I don't always use them effectively.

Ask @RICH He often shouts “READ YOUR EMAILS” when I ask him for the umpteenth time a question that he’s already answered for me. Frustrating for him, embarrassing for me (as literacy is one of my teaching specialties) and a waste of time for both of us.

However, I'm hardly alone. When we read we often make assumptions, imagine things are there that aren’t, skip over details and even add words. This can lead us to making mistakes, misinterpreting facts, repeating inaccurate information. making poor judgements or decisions, giving poor advice, falling out with people and at worst doing something dangerous.


So why don’t we always read accurately?

Well it could be laziness , apathy, lack of time, lack of understanding, tiredness... but it’s just as likely we’ve chosen the wrong reading technique or we’re not using our chosen technique with enough accuracy.

Skimming and scanning

Although there are 4 main reading techniques we spend a lot of time skimming (running our eyes quickly over text to get the gist of what’s being said) or scanning ( looking for a specific piece of information). Both are great reading techniques but with skimming it’s easy to miss out specific details and subtle meanings and with scanning it’s easy to miss out on context or specific details.


Other reading techniques

As well as skimming and scanning we also use intensive reading (often used for shorter texts to extract specific information and for reading accurately in detail) or extensive reading (generally used for longer texts and for pleasure).

So what reading technique should you use and when?

Well it’s up to you to use what’s appropriate for the context, and always remain alert to the fact that using reading skills ineffectively can be costly both in time and money.


So how effectively do you use your reading skills?

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Recent Comments

33

I learned this while home schooling my children two of my children where learning disabled and really after years of schooling. I know that learning disabled is just a lable for a different type a learner. there actually are like you said three types of learners. You can be a mixture of the 3 types, No one is the exact same.

Sorry none of this has really anything to do with the post. Just an putting it out there LOL

Thinking about it I am the one who uses pictures to construct something, when it doesn't work, as they say when all else fails read the instructions lol

Have a great day ;O)

There's instructions? I didn't know that! LOL

For me the point of this article comes back to US the writers. We Skim, then Scan and then read. I'm working hard at learning how to write with this in mind. The truth is I rarely read anything. I read many books in audio format. I haven't read a physical book in years. Kyle's Bootcamp training is a perfect example. He writes his lessons and always records a video. I always watch the video before I even skim. I'm sure there is someone who is opposite of me and watches the video last. Great post Beverley. Thanks - Skip

Hi Skip
It's funny - I am the opposite of you - I still prefer to read than watch a video and I don't enjoy books in audio format particularly novels because I like to imagine the sound of the voices myself. It's great that we're all different and their remains the option of us all accessing information in our preferred format.

I also read Kyle's lesson first and then watch the video. Funny?

Many years ago I studied sales training with a great teacher. He told us about the different ways people learn and then showed us how he set up his training seminars. He used all three methods of teaching in his classes at the same time. Until he told us that I was only confused why he had so much writing yet he was always talking. My thought was get rid of the writing who cares. Once that was explained to me I understood. I realized that's why I like some teachers and not others. The teachers I liked taught the way I like to learn. I don't believe there are very many bad teachers in our schools. It turns out the student isn't grasping what the teacher teaches because the students learning method is different. Hope that makes sense. The best part is I love this post. Thanks Beverley!!

Perennial problem or challenge for all teachers, trying to teach to anyone's preferred learning styles.

I'm a 100% guitty of skimming and do it all the time.
When I write reviews, I have to come back to them the next day and read again because I will swear and argue that there is nothing wrong with what I have written.
Now I always get my business partner to read first and then he makes suggestions which I correct the next day.
I do the same for him because you can never see your own mistakes.....lol

Neil

Oh Neil
You're so right. It is so difficult to see your own mistakes. Sometimes I'm thoroughly embarrassed even though I think I have checked and checked again!

I am jealous I wish I had a business partner. LOL
My husband is so tired when he gets home. the last thing he wants to do is read for me.
can't blame him really.

really it is funny, the way that you formatted this blog is great for the skimmers. I love this post
Thanks you
Kymee

Thanks Kymee
Glad you enjoyed it.

It's really tough to NOT skim on the internet. I'm an intensive reader by nature, so it takes me FOREVER to read a book. They I started getting involved in the IM community and reading blog - there's sssoooooo much content out there, it's hard to get through it all.

I find myself simply scanning things to get the information from them and deciding whether I want to share or not. I don't particularly like it, but I get through a lot more info this way (still not sure if I retain it though).

It's a tough decision - read less, get less info, know more details, or read more, get more info, know fewer details.

I guess that's why it's good to use bold titles as you have done here. That way people can skim your article, get the main points, read more intensely the sections they are interested in, and find the information they want. By playing into short attention spans, it's a win-win for writer reader.

Hi
I agree and I skim all the time too - and that's only natural. As you say it is good to use bold titles and also bullet points to allow people to navigate information quickly.

It is hard to get through the vast amounts of information - so skimming and scanning make sense. But whatever reading technique we choose the most important thing is to use it effectively.

Thanks for taking the time to comment

Beverley,.great post. I am certainly guilty of scanning and skimming and you're right, we don't get the entire message that way. I didn't skim or scan here; read every word and took it all in. Thanks very much. ~Lisa

Hi Lisa
Thanks for reading and commenting. That's actually funny that you read every word. Only 16% of people are likely to ready the entire content of a blog post. That's why we need to use headings and bullet points because we do skim and scan so often. And a lot of the time it works very well for us - but if we're missing a lot of information, or making mistakes it's worth taking the time to consider whether we're using the right strategy.

Hi Beverley! Guilty as charged. I have often fallen into the bad habit of both skimming and scanning so that I missed something I should have seen. I hadn't really thought about it to the extent your post explains so thank you for yet another thought provoking post. I see the importance because it does have much to do with accuracy which saves time and frustration. Thanks again for a great read!

Hi Kathy
Thanks for reading - Glad you enjoyed it. I think that most of us are "Guilty as charged" and a lot of the time it works very well for us - but I know how often I'm frustrated because I've missed something important just because I actually didn't read a little more carefully.

Excellent post Beverley.

I often find myself re-reading things two and three times because I am both a skimmer and scanner the first time I read something. If there seems to be some value in what i've read, I will either slow down while reading or continue skimming until I've finished and then go back and read the message again. Usually with a pen and paper to write down what I'm interested in.

This only seems to be true if I'm reading something online or emails, if I'm reading a book, regardless of whether or not it's a reference or novel, I read it slowly, correctly and enjoyable the first time. I guess online reading just doesn't feel the *same* to me.

I wasn't really aware of how often I do this until this post had me start to "think" about it.

Thanks for opening my eyes to another "problem/habit" that I should be "aware" of and take heed and pay mind to when I'm reading. If we can understand or accept that we have these little habits then we can work on changing them if we see a problem.

Patty

Hi Patty

Glad you enjoyed it.

It sounds as if you're naturally adapting your reading technique for different situations which is what most of us do. However, there's time when we spend a lot of time keep skimming when we might have been better off doing a bit of intensive reading. I know sometimes when I'm doing some research that it's tempting to skim and scan but I'd actually be more productive if I switched my technique.

Good advice, Good article. As in reading with i'ts own technique, how about writing an article. What are the steps in a good article, Like Who, What, Where and When. Can you help in this matter Thanks.

Hi
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

If you want to know about writing articles - have a look at this piece of training by @Labman https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/how-to-write-an-article

Aces on this blog, Beverly. I do a lot of the skimming and scanning when it's something I'm not particularly interested in, but need to gleen a small bit of information. I only slow down to read when It's something I will enjoy. Guilty!

Hi Meredith. You and me both - and they're good techniques - but only if we use them properly.

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