Howard Berg is the world’s quickest reader holding a reading average of nearly 25,000 words per minute when speed reading. What is the story behind this illustrious man? Where does he get this speed from and how can you harness your inner speed reader to manifest for your academic and professional life?
Howard Berg’s early life was difficult, growing up in Brooklyn, Berg was constantly subject to violence of the criminal nature. Many children would never turn to their education or even visit the library, that is where Howard Berg starts his journey toward being the fastest reader. During his academic life both in school and college, Howard could read 80 pages per minute which was considered at the time, the quickest average speed to read any book. For him, reading was his way of being safe and away from the violent world outside.
A graduate of S.U.N.Y., Binghamton where he majored in Biology and then completed a four-year Psychology program in one year. His graduate studies at several New York City colleges focused on the Psychology of reading.
After a graduate course in psychology where he cleared a test in 15 minutes with a B+ grade, he set his sights on larger goals such as learning Chinese in only 3 weeks. He realized that he had developed inherent techniques at speed reading which gave him an ability to accelerate his learning without losing comprehension.
Beyond this, he has given many standardized tests where he scored in the 99th percentile in biology for example. It is then he realized that he has a passion for learning and teaching, he realized that people never wanted to be quick at reading but wanted to take lesser time in understanding a concept completely.
Record Holder and Accolades
Before Howard knew it, he was a regular on many major news publications and media outlets which was furthered by him winning the world record at speed reading, clocking a speed of upto 35,000 words per minute.
Howard’s world record from 1990 began to show the world that speed reading without losing comprehension or what you have learnt is a real skill that can be developed under the right guidance. He holds several other records including reading 500 pages in 5 minutes.
Howard was also the spokesperson for the SONY E-reader along with Justin Timerlake and Amy Sedaris.
He stated in an interview with Fox News that a human brain is able to comprehend the ability to multitask, citing an example of how we are able to drive a car, while listening to music, chatting with our friends and are still able to mind the road, read traffic signals and so forth. He further stated that reading is taught as a chore in schools and academic institutions and that is the primary reason.
He remarks that by making reading a visual and creative experience in your mind, reading is quick and comprehension is never a question provided, you are interested.
Mission in life
Howard Berg’s mission is to foster the thirst for knowledge and improve a person’s self improvement through a strong foundation of studying and learning. Having spent over 40 years in the education and entrepreneurial industry, he carries specific skill sets that have made him a world record holder in speed reading and memory.
He says that he does not observe any obstacles, he only witnesses opportunities and each one will always be a stepping stone to personal success. All it requires, he says, is commitment to self improvement and enhancement of personal skills.
Howard Berg’s strategy to speed reading and memory
Howard Berg’s strategy is quite simple, always make reading a visual experience and any person can read at breakneck speeds without breaking character or discipline. He has crafted the following skills over years of training and research.
This strategy will allow any person no matter what academic or professional background to learn anything at a quicker rate. Want to learn a new language that will be possible using the Berg strategy.
VAK technique
VAK stands for Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic learning. This technique remains the forefront of Howard Berg’s principle for accelerated learning. As stated earlier, he believes that the best way to learn is to make every visual experience. Interactive readings using imagery, using handouts. This is why comics are much more interesting than perhaps a novel to the average human.
By using the VAK technique, you would be required to create a visual experience from everything you learn. For example, if you are learning Chinese, then imagine that you are talking to a Chinese person in your mind.
Finer Pacer Technique
The finer pacer technique is the most common technique that comes to us naturally, by using your finger to pace yourself as you read. You will be able to modulate the speed at which you read. If you wish to read quicker, pace the finger further from when you are currently reading and you will notice a gradual increase in speed without losing your comprehension.
Howard Berg, himself prizes this technique as it remains a very natural way to read quickly and is innate in everyone.
Page Dividing Technique
Page dividing technique requires the reader to divide the page in columns and paragraphs. He suggests that the best way to implement this technique is to use two chopsticks or rulers which are calibrated to a single line by placing them horizontally to each other. By only focusing on one line at a time, Howard Berg realized that a person is able to read much quicker as at any given time, he is only privy to that one line of information.
You can use this technique to pursue speeds that are normally not possible due to the overcrowding of information your brain receives.
Chunks and Schema
Chunks and Schema remain Howard Berg’s best techniques and tools to read a summary or such works that are more complicated in nature.
By chunks, Howard Berg says that the best way to read is to divide any sentence into pieces that can be grouped. For example, if a sentence says, ‘he went to drink coffee’ then the chunk system would only recognise ‘he’, ‘went’ and ‘coffee’. Similarly, another way to use the chunking system would be to create groupings that can be attached. For example, An effective way to use the chunk system is when you can read long and large sentences in different parts. So if a sentence describes a certain action, a chunk system would identify the person as one chunk, and the action itself has another chunk.
This schema system works a little differently. While it follows the same principles of the Chunks system, it essentially involves the process of skimming through the schematic or outline of any given reading. Harvard Berg states that the best way to understand any given text is to understand the summary in its entirety and in detail, which can summarize and effectively help you learn nearly 50% of the reading itself. He further states that an effective speed reader must always read the summary first before they continue to read the main text, as when questioned about the main text, the summary will often provide the answers required. A person can only achieve full comprehension when they focus on both the summarized text and the main text in order to get the learning in its entirety.
Subvocalization
Subvocalization is a process that we use when we read and remains as an innate ability that all humans possess. When we read, we instinctively find ourselves reading it internally, as if we are speaking to ourselves in our minds. This is exactly the process of subvocalization. By making this an active process you would be able to increase your reading speeds more than what you were able to do before. Try to always read and speak to yourself in your mind as you go through any text. By doing so, you are narrating to yourself the text by which you can both remember effectively and read. Quicker leading to the accelerated learning process.
Focus Widening
Focus widening is a process by which you can increase the amount you can read. Often the cyclic reading system, wherein a person rotates their eyes in a circular motion to read not only the sentence that they are currently reading but the surrounding text.
Howard Berg’s technique in cyclic reading often requires you to read multiple sentences in various parts in different lines in the same paragraph. A master speed reader will be able to only look at a part in any paragraph at the center and be able to understand what the entire paragraph has to say.
To widen focus, you must read the entire paragraph in its entirety, not sentence by sentence, word by word. To do this, you must look at the paragraph in its whole text and be able to piece together certain bits of information that tell you what the paragraph is about. By widening your focus and using the other techniques of Howard Berg, you are able to read only those parts that are important to understanding the entirety of the text given to you, and ignore such text that act as fillers and do not contribute to learning.
How can you get started with the Howard Berg strategy to speed reading?
Please do not think that the Howard Berg tricks and techniques to reading fast are difficult. They are in fact very simple techniques that you can achieve through dedicated practice and interest.
To start off, we have with us a few techniques that you can implement in your daily life in order to improve your learning
Conversation
Howard Berg believes that the best way to learn anything is through conversation after reading any piece of text or information, by engaging in conversation with your peers or your teacher, you can remember every single element of that text itself.
This conversation can be about anything. It can be about the practical applications of the text itself or about theoretical possibilities. The purpose of this conversation is to create interest that will further your mind to create better pathways neurologically and you have the ability to learn this with more passion and in turn lead to quicker learning
Writing it down
Another technique that Howard recognises is the need to write things down. By writing down your lessons, you can recollect what you have learnt and can dedicate that to your memory. A similar system is followed in the Method of Loci, wherein you dedicate your memory or any sort of information in your mind to a particular place or a particular object. You would have often wondered why many people who write exams carry the same pencils or pens that they used to study. This is because their memory is attached to that set object, and when you write it down, you dedicate your written text to the object that helps you write it down.
This technique also plays with subvocalization, whereas when you write, you are speaking to yourself in your mind and reinforcing that memory and information.
Method of Loci
Method of Loci focuses on using visualization and places that you are familiar with and tethering memories and information to those said places. For example, if your objective is to buy stationary for your studies and preparation of your exam, then the person would use the method of loci to reimagine their workstation and a book and a pen on the workstation. When you arrive at the stationary shop you will realize that you are to buy some stationary.
Howard Berg, Recognises the importance of visualization as making any learning experience. A visual experience is the best and quickest way to understand and further assimilate The contents of that subject. This is exactly how he was able to learn Chinese in 3 weeks and was able to crack his psychology graduate exam in 15 minutes.
Active recall
Active Recall is a technique that requires you to force yourself to remember what you have learnt after a particular period. What we use or call revision during our exams is a system of active recall. By putting yourself in a situation to force your memory to recover the information that you have learned. You are strengthening and reinforcing the pathways in your brain to create stronger and longer-lasting memories that are always ready at your disposal.
Howard Berg, recommends that one use this technique with the other to improve comprehension.
Spaced Repetition
Space repetition is similar to active recall in that it requires the person who is committing any information to memory to use repetition after particular periods. While research on this matter does not clearly show how long a person should live. Wait till reputation is conducted. It is clear that without repetition, memory committed to the mind will be lost and forgotten because the mind does not prioritize maintaining the memory pathways that help you remember that particular information.
A general rule of thumb that a person can use when incorporating the process of space repetition is to always do it everyday for 10% of the time taken to learn the subject initially.
Howard Berg’s course on speed reading
The Howard Berg Speed Reading course will focus on teaching you various techniques that we have discussed in this blog. The only catch is that you will be personally guided by Howard Berg through his interactive videos and personally designed exercise books and workbooks.
How is it beneficial to you
It is beneficial to you as a person, a professional or a student by allowing you to read at accelerated speeds and learn at quicker rates. Imagine being able to study an entire case brief in not less than 15 minutes, which is over 100 pages. Or imagine being able to ace your tests like Howard Berg in less than 10 minutes.
This speed reading course will teach you exactly what you need to focus on when looking at any text, without even knowing what the text contains in the first place. The course will identify focus points on where you can grow with an interactive timeline.
This course will also enable you to have stronger habits that will help you live a more healthy life. As the mind is, so shall the body be.
Conclusion
Howard Berg Shows that his illustrious career is living proof that speed reading is a dedicated skill and can be achieved by anyone with challenging work being put in. A graduate of psychology and a learning expert. Howard Berg specializes in the ability of a person to read and therefore improve themselves to be better than what they were. This is but the start of Howard Berg’s grand strategy for the speed reader.
FAQs
Here are five frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Howard Berg and speed reading:
- How does Howard Berg achieve such incredible reading speeds?
Howard Berg developed his speed reading abilities through dedicated practice and utilizing specific techniques such as the VAK technique, finer pacer technique, page dividing technique, chunks and schema, subvocalization, skimming, and focus widening.
- Can anyone learn to speed read like Howard Berg?
Yes, Howard Berg believes that speed reading is a skill that can be learned by anyone through commitment to practice and using the right techniques.
- How can speed reading benefit me in my academic or professional life?
Speed reading allows you to absorb large amounts of information quickly, which can be beneficial for studying, research, work-related tasks, and staying informed in today’s fast-paced world.
- What are some practical tips for improving reading speed?
Some practical tips include practicing with the finer pacer technique, using the chunks and schema method, minimizing subvocalization, and widening focus while reading.
- Is Howard Berg’s speed reading course worth investing in?
Many individuals have found Howard Berg’s speed reading course to be highly beneficial in improving their reading speed and comprehension. However, the effectiveness of the course may vary depending on individual learning styles and commitment to practice.
1 thought on “Howard Berg: Behind The Guinness Record Holder”
I have fond memories of having lunch with Howard Berg yrs ago ,when I took a memory course with Howard Berg.In downtown Toronto Ontario canada. I always wondered what year that was in Toronto. Is anybody doing the now like Howard did back in Toronto . Ty inadvance Massimo Dominutti
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