Sanjeev Jayaratnam has serenaded many a Sri Lankan audience; as the conductor and leader of World Champion male vocal ensemble the Revelations, he's no stranger to the local scene. What you wouldn't know about Sanjeev however, is that he is also a mentor to many. As an instructor of speed reading at Revelations Professional Education, assisted by his wife Anusha, he has mentored many students, professionals and individuals in the art of reading very, very fast.
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| Sanjeev Jayaratnam |
"Speed reading is not skimming," he stresses. "It's not about getting an overall idea of what you're reading. It means you read every sentence-you don't have to comprehend every word-but you read it faster, and your level of comprehension is also fast."
They've been doing it for about four years now. As an avid reader, Sanjeev is no stranger to words. When he was studying for his MBA, the time constraints he faced compelled him to learn more about the art of speed-reading, and he's been fascinated ever since. "I even went and bought myself a kit of learning tools, because I was so intrigued! But they just sat around doing nothing for a long time," he laughs.
His time as an instructor began when a friend asked him to teach speed reading to a group of advertising professionals. Sanjeev and Anusha decided that this would be a dummy model (Anusha even took part in the class as a student), and with the success of the programme they've been doing it on a professional level since.
Their recipe for teaching is simple. A programme is made up of three half-day sessions. Your current reading speed will be assessed first, so they have a benchmark to measure you against. Then you will be given a series of reading materials to work on, and Sanjeev will be with you every step of the way, gently pushing you to perform better and giving you tips to read faster.
"What happens when we usually read is distraction. The human mind is easily distracted-so then obviously you read slower as well. The trick is to remedy that," he explains with an example, "Say you were driving to work. When you're in the driving seat and you reach your destination you realize you didn't look at a single other thing besides the road on your way. That's concentration. It's that same intensity we want to bring into the reading process. With that and conscious effort, you can read faster and with better comprehension."
Their success rates are proof enough. The programme guarantees a 100 percent (or double) increase in your speed, but most of their students perform six to seven times better. "We want to under-promise and over-perform," Sanjeev laughs. Average performance indicates a 700 percent (sevenfold) increase in speed and 60 percent more comprehension, but many students have gone on to reach unbelievable heights. One 13-year old went from 270 words to 27000 words per minute. That's 100 times better than his original speed! And he still retained 60 percent of what he reads- which is very important. "A lot of people think speed reading is just that. Reading very fast," says Anusha. "But if you don't comprehend what you read, where's the point in that?"
They teach different techniques as well. Students are taught methods to increase their 'vertical' and 'horizontal' vision. When you read, your eyes take in blocks of words instead of just one. Speed reading will teach you to increase the dimensions of that 'block', so you read more within the same time space. Another great obstacle in reading faster is faced by those who move their lips when they read. This practice will only let you read as fast as you speak, which is a great deal slower than your speed of thought. This problem is often solved by humming, which is said to prevent you from mouthing the words. 'Meta-guiding', a form of reading faster by hand movements-more specifically tracing your finger across the words which will help you read swifter- is also taught.
Major obstacles they face in the course of teaching are the students themselves. 'Many of our students lack the confidence. They doubt themselves and that messes with their concentration,' Anusha smiles. 'If they just let go, they'd be surprised at the levels of speed they can achieve.'
Speed reading is certainly a technique that will stay with you for life. But it needs continuous practice if you want to maintain the levels of speed you achieve at their workshops, says Sanjeev. "It's very easy to make a habit out of it. We usually advise our students to read as much as they can-newspapers, research and novels. I read somewhere that a person must read at least a million words a week to stay up-to-date with the world-so there you go, ample opportunity for practice. We live and work in a knowledge economy, so it's very important that you absorb as much information as you can in the shortest space of time. Speed reading can help you with that."
Their next programme happens on May 12, 19 and 26. For more details contacts Anusha Malasekara on anusha@revpe.com |
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