GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR READING ENDEAVOUR

In this post, and subsequent posts, I would like to take the opportunity to share my personal learning experiences as a fast reader. I will also share my systematic approach to reading and other fast reading techniques.

I reckon the most important thing to do before you sit down to read, you need to define your purpose in the first instance.

In other words, you need to ask yourself mentally a few simple questions:

- What is my ultimate application of this reading material? (Other possible variations: 'What is the purpose of my reading?'; 'Why am I reading this material?'; 'What is my end goal in this reading?';)

- How important is this reading material to me?

- What do I want: a global overview or detailed information?

- How much time am I prepared to invest in my reading?

Examples of end goals:

- for a client presentation;
- for a project assignment or discussion;
- for general ideas only;
- just for the pleasure or the fun of it;
- for taking a certification examination;

Your answers or responses to the foregoing mental questions will serve as your reading objectives.

In turn, they will  influence and ultimately determine your reading method, entry point, depth of navigation and reading speed.

For example, if you are just reading for the pleasure or for general ideas only, then you don't have to read the whole book, but skim &/or scan through the book to get what you need.

But, if you are reading for a client presentation or for a certification examination, it will be a different ball game, as you need to read the book or each chapter or lesson slowly and carefully.

From the brain-based point of view, you are essentially setting precise commands for your brain.

Your reading objectives will automatically activate the reticular activation system (known as RAS for short) in your brain.

The RAS is an integral part of your lower brain, known scientifically as the Reptilian Brain, which sits on top of your spinal chord. 

Operationally, it's your sensory switching and gate-keeping station, and more importantly, it's always alert for life-threatening events. It also regulates all your vital body functions, like breathing, as well as all your instinctual and social behaviours. 

In theological terms, it is often believed to be the centre of your consciousness.

To understand how the RAS actually works, just think of a Tomahawk cruise missile with the guidance computer in its servo mechanism. 

Analogically, the RAS shares  more or less the same working principle with the servo-mecahnism of the cruise missile.

To put it in perspective: Your reading objectives will become your dominant thoughts. 

Your RAS will always follow the direction of your dominant thoughts (in fact, it is genetically hard-wired that way!).

Bettina Soulez, a French expert in high performance reading, shares her thoughts:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIGH PERFORMANCE READING:

1) The eye moves by leaps & bounds;
2) The brain, or rather the mind, is faster than the eye;
3) Reading faster means better understanding;
4) The brain can grasp up to 15 words at a glance - especially with the aid of peripheral vision;
5) It's OK to sift & select what to read - be active & selective!;
6) The printed word is not sacred - it's there to be challenged!
7) Understanding takes less time than reading;
8) The mind move spontaneously from synthesis to analysis - always get the big picture first!; 

9) Reading is a personal activity: our past determines what kind of reader we are;

WHAT YOU NEED TO AVOID IN HIGH PERFORMANCE READING:

1) Sub-vocalising - this is a fact: 'tongue' speed can never match 'mind' speed;
2) Regressing - this is probably part of the 'kiasu' syndrome & is counter-productive;
3) Feeling guilty for not reading everything - in today's context, it's not feasible to read everything; we need to read what we need;
4) Reading only one type of text - different text calls for different strategies;
5) Reading without a reason - starting with a purpose for reading sets the tone;
6) Arriving neutral before a text - this explains the significance of prior knowledge;
7) Reading everything at the same speed - this is counter-productive as, again, different text calls for different strategies;
8) Neglecting practice - it's important to read regularly;
9) Neglecting reading the end of a text, especially the end summary or questions, if any;

READING INTELLIGENTLY & SELECTIVELY IN DAILY LIFE

I love to read, even though most of my current reading is confined to business non-fictions.

I read specifically for information, and more importantly, for ideas that come about from the reading.

In that way, I can say that I read for entertainment too, as I am entertaining my brain, intellectually of course.

It is important to read purposefully, meaningfully and productively.

Reading must always serve a purpose. For me, I read only what I need, essentially to meet my personal objectives as a knowledge adventurer & technology explorer.

For productivity, I always make concerted efforts to adapt and apply what I read to my work and my life. As a consultant and trainer, this is a very important sharpening process.

Over the years, I have learned, adapted, experimented, fine-tuned and practised many types of reading strategies.

In this post, I like to share with readers what I have gone through: major types of reading, tips on reading fast, and information gathering techniques, etc.

1) General or light reading:

This applies mostly to newspapers, magazines and newsletters, in addition to popular fictions.

For me, it's always a quick browse. A very quick one for newspapers - about the same time when I sit on a toilet bowl as a morning routine.

I reckon the key in general or light reading is to have a broad brush of what's going on.

For newspapers, I will only slow down when I am reading the editorials, political analyses, economic commentaries and technology reviews. Oftentimes, depending on the content and complexity, I may even reserve or tear them out for later bed-time reading.

For magazines, I often apply razor-blade reading: I will tear or cut out the good articles, which I often like to keep for future reference.

Sometimes, I may jot down the key ideas in my scratchpad. I often make use of them in my weblogs.

I may also convert them into maps or diagrams for further exploration, using MindManager, SmartDraw and/or Inspiration.

I have stored magazine articles as well as newspaper clippings in my personal library that go back to even the eighties.

2) Previewing or surveying:

This is a very good technique to prepare for a fuller reading, and also faster navigation, which leads to better comprehension of the material.

The purpose of this technique is to get the big picture or bird's eye view in the first instance. A quick snapshot of the information landscape, so to speak. Excellent for preparing oneself to read new books, especially business non-fictions.

Analogically, it's best to think of it as "reconnaissance", i.e to understand the new or unknown terrain of the book, to use a military jargon.

For me, the best way is to start from the end of the book. That's the end summary or epilogue. The latter will always give me a quick overview of whether the book is worth investing my time in reading it.

If proven worthwhile, I will proceed to preview or survey the table of contents, preface, introduction; and flip through the pages to go into those interesting sections, using headings, sub-headings, bold and/or italic prints, chapter summaries, if any, as guides.

From my experience, a preview or survey offers a broad overview of the structural layout of the book, its pattern of organisation, stylistic devices, and also the various locations of useful information, which help collectively in the way-finding navigation when I start to read.

I may even run through the bibliography and/or the index at the back of the book to get a better feel of the new or interesting stuff, if any.

For academic reading, this is really a good technique, especially when one is starting to read a new textbook, as part of coursework for the first time.

Previewing or surveying can also apply to reading magazine articles or newsletters.

3) Scanning:

This applies when I am looking for something specific in my mind, or a single piece of information, just like an entry in an encyclopedia.

I reckon the key is a quick and targetted approach to locating information or answers in satisfaction of a query or requirement.

This technique is particularly useful, especially when one already has some prior knowledge of a subject, and when one is just looking for something to, say, update or fill-up the knowledge gaps, if any.

For example, I already have a fairly good understanding about "developing strategic foresight".

Whenever I come across new book titles in this genre, either hard or electronic copies, I just scan them quickly as I already know what I need to look out for, e.g. novel approaches.

In other words, I am looking for what else is out there on "developing strategic foresight".

I do scanning very often, whenever I hang out in the bookstores.

To do scanning, I suggest first do a preview or survey as described earlier.

4) Skimming:

Skimming is a bit slower, but more thorough when compared to scanning.

From my perspective, I reckon the purpose of skimming is to have a quick round-up of key ideas. It's also useful to use this technique to check out the relevancy of a given text or book.

Generally, it sets the scene for more concerted efforts on my part to read a book more thoroughly.

In contrast to scanning, and for skimming, I will glance through the key sections, just to pick up the main ideas in the book.

I may do some quick scanning first, particularly of the table of contents, the index, and/or the bibliography, then follow by skimming of the inside pages, whenever I am hanging out in book stores.

Generally, skimming is great to use, especially when one has a huge pile of books of more or less the same genre to go through. I often do skimming when I am doing a syntopic read.

For me, I like to consider scanning and skimming as reading on the run, so to speak.

5) Rapid reading:

Rapid reading is slower than scanning and skimming, but more thorough. In a way, one is going for relatively depth in the entire book, in the shortest possible time.

From my experience, it always follows previewing and surveying, especially when the book is found to be worth reading in greater depth.

I reckon the key is to have an adequate understanding of what's in the book within a relatively short time-frame.

The best way to accomplish rapid reading is to use a visual pacer, in more or less a deliberate zig-zag manner to encompass a broad terrain of the book. For me, I definitely like to use a marker pen - mine is a four colour type + a pencil.

A finger can also be used as a visual pacer, but not so useful, from my point of view.

In rapid reading, our eyes play a vital role as one needs to use them efficiently to glance at large chunks of text at one go. In other words, using the power of our peripheral vision.

Also, one also need to possess a confident mindset to go with it. Also, one need to trust own sense of closure since reading speed is of the essence.

During the rapid reading process, one also needs to zero in quickly on transition or signal words as way-finding guides to important passages in the text.

Since one has done previewing or surveying as a prelude, then rapid reading usually moves very fast.

I must add, though, it takes practise.

It is pertinent for me to point out that rapid reading is more suitable for business non-fictions as well as the self-improvement genre.

Incidentally, rapid reading is one of the principal components of PhotoReading.

6) Study Reading:

As the name implies, this is the most common approach to any serious form of studying.

Hence, it is more applicable to academic materials, either as part of educational coursework or preparing for a certification examination.

Naturally, MBA coursework also falls under this category.

I reckon the key is a thorough understanding of the contents of the book, as dictated by the syllabus, be it coursework or examination.

Prior to such reading, one must have access to the course and/or examination syllabus to make sure that you have all the right stuff with you.

Next, with the help of the syllabus, one must also know how to identify & segregate the 'core material' (e.g. principal concepts or theories, definitions, etc.) from the 'elaborative material' (e.g. illustrations, examples, anecdotes, etc.). Invariably, most examination questions come from the core material.

From my experience, the best tool to use is SQ5R, which I have already described in my earlier posts.

Additional tool to use with SQ5R: marginal annotations.

It is pertinent to point out that study-reading often entails sustained concentration of the mind as well as re-reading to grasp understanding of those difficult passages in the book, if any.

7) Critical or analytical reading:

To me, this is serious reading with a fine tooth comb, so to speak. So, deep appreciation of the subject is the end result.

In reality, this is a vital component of the study-reading process as described earlier, especially when one is needed to analyse, critique, react to, & understand more deeply the given material.

Again, just like study-reading, re-reading is quite a common feature in critical reading, as every phrase or sentence in the book may be studied in close detail.

I would say the key in critical or analytical reading is a systematic approach to really appreciating a piece of intellectual work, in written form.

Hence, this type of reading is more applicable to literary works, critical essays, legal papers, as well as applied science & technological subjects, include major articles in all fields.

Again, I must say that, in addition to a pacer to guide eye movement, SQ5R is very helpful here, especially the formulation of questions prior to the reading.

The previewing or surveying part of SQ5R will enable one to get a good sense of the structural layout, pattern of organisation, stylistic devices, typographical aids, etc.

A good understanding of common text organisational patterns & transition or signal words used by authors of such works is definitely useful.

Marginal annotations to flesh out key ideas &/or difficult passages as you read are helpful, too.

In the end analysis, I have realised that, even with PhotoReading & other accelerated reading technologies, it is humanly impossible to read all the stuff I am interested in.

Henceforth, I can only choose to read intelligently & selectively.

This is how I see the whole picture of reading intelligently and selectively.

For me, the focus of general or light reading reading, i.e. reading newspapers, magazines and newsletters is "knowing what's really going on out there" and not so much of truly "understanding" everything. Maybe, "keeping abreast of developments" is a better choice of words.

Study-reading as well as critical reading requires not only "knowing what's important", but also a deep understanding of the subject. Maybe, a "working understanding" is a better choice of words.

Comparatively, just for the sake of jogging the mind, I would reckon rapid reading falls somewhere between "knowing" and "understanding".

Previewing or surveying, scanning and skimming are just some of the intellectual means, at least on the selectivity basis, to go about the reading journey.

I like to share a few tricks from my reading method, which is drawn from my vast experience as a fast and versatile reader since the early 90's:

1. PREPARING THE MIND:

First and foremost, learn and practise some simple relaxation sequences, with slow but deep diaphragmatic breathing routines, so as to help center your mind from distracting thoughts, but more importantly, to help create a resourceful and superior state of mind, with a physiologically relaxed body to go along with it.

2. BEGINNING WITH THE END IN MIND:

Decide on your ultimate application, and whether you want a global overview or detailed information from your reading, as well as how much time you are prepared to invest, as your decision will determine your reading pace.

3. VISUAL PACING:

Use a pen or pencil as a pacer, to control the visual sweep of the saccadic movement of your eyeballs, as attested by most fast readers.

4. ASKING QUESTIONS:

One quick way to achieve productive results in your reading navigation is constantly asking:

- what is the author talking about here?

- what is important and relevant here, in terms of my predefined objectives or desired outcomes?

5. MAKING NOTES:

Don't hesitate to make Marginal Annotations, by making notes in the white spaces of text passages, with personal relevancy to call-to-action.

Always express them in terms of: A2T (Actions-to Take)/T2D (Things-to-Do)/Q2P (Questions-to-Ponder).

6. CONSOLIDATING: Upon completion of your reading endeavour:

Recap and Summarise, preferably with an idea map or cluster diagram or graphic organiser, so as to consolidate and synthesise quickly what you have just read.

7. RELEVANCY TO ACTION: In conjunction with 5):

Think and Reflect:

- Where do I go from here?

- What's(are) my Next Step(s)?

- How can I use these learning takeaways from my reading to add/compound/multiply value to my life/to my work/to my business/even to my client(s)?

A word of expert advice:

Read only what you need, so as to fulfill your ultimate application and time urgency.

So, in a nut shell, you actually don't have to finish the whole book!

It's also pertinent for me to point out that, the fire test of your personal or professional reading actually comes from what you eventually do with the ideas gathered and insights generated from what you have read.

Godspeed! Enjoy your reading and assimilation!

 In his classic, Napoleon Hill made astute assertions as follows:

• “The way of success is the way of continous pursuit of knowledge!"
• " Successful people, in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession.”

which are also among my perennial favourite quotes about knowledge acquisition.

As I understand it, these assertions imply building and sustaining your strategic repertoire.

Drawing on my own experiences of having traversed the Highway of Life, for more than seven decades, there are four fastest routes to attain this ideal:

• ** get a coach;**
• attend a seminar or workshop;
• read a book;
• indulge in intellectual "pow-wow" with like-minded professionals;

To me, reading is a pretty good and convenient choice, for you can do it at your own pace, at minimal cost of the book.

Here are 5 ways to find more time to read (or listen):

1. Listen to audio books in the car (Interestingly, Zig Ziglar called this initiative, attending Automobile University!), instead of listening to the News . You will be happier and learn more.

2. Listen to audiobooks while taking a walk or exercising.

3. Read good books instead of reading general newspapers or at least replace some of that time.

4. Read instead of watching television, or at least swap some of that time.

5. Get up half an hour earlier to read;

Frankly, some combination of the foregoing routines will easily free up myriad hours a day.

Nonetheless, I like to point out that significant personal improvement and growth comes about when a book is:

• Read or listened to, with a personal relevancy to action;
• Key concepts processed and evaluated;
• Selected key concepts are put into some form of concrete action;

Enjoy!

[Author's Note: Readers may want to explore the Syntopic Reading methodology illustrated in the classic, How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading, by educator-scholar Mortimer J Adler. He shows you how to read multiple books simultaneously!]

A BANK OF EXERCISES: GATHERING, EXTRACTING & GENERATING INSIGHTS

I have created a bank of exercises to illustrate the importance of gathering, extracting & generating insights, using the book, 'Unleashing Genius, with the World's Most Powerful Learning Systems', by Dilip Mukerjea, as an intellectual platform in a personal coaching assignment.

The ultimate purpose of the assignment is creating concrete deliverables from the insights, such as a plan of action for building personal effectiveness & enhancing peak performance.

Any reader who has a copy of the foregoing book can make use of the exercises for his or her personal as well as professional development.

1. Read, if not skim & scan, ‘Unleashing Genius’. Pay particular attention to the 3 sections, namely, ‘01: The Brain’; ‘04: Reading Dynamics’ & ‘06: Creativity’.

2. What do you think are the significant ideas of the book mentioned in (1)?

Additionally, can you provide some highlights in terms of salient aspects, pertaining to each significant idea? You can use a mind-map to illustrate your response.

3. How can you relate your personal insights from ‘01: The Brain’ with the concept of developing personal effectiveness & enhancing peak performance?

4. What do you understand by the following phrases mentioned in the book:

(a) ‘Reading on the lines’;

(b) ‘Reading between the lines’;

(c) ‘Reading beyond the lines’;

(d) ‘Reading beyond the page’ (or what I like to term as ‘Reading outside the lines’)?

From the standpoint of building strategic agility & operational versatility in a rapidly- changing, chaotic world of ours, I would consider (c) & (d) as very vital, as one needs to constantly come up with new & novel ideas, & also putting them to work (i.e. 'translating ideas to ca$h', as Dilip likes to put it!).

Do you agree? If so, what are your personal thoughts with regard to practical lessons you can draw upon?

5. Given a choice, how can you synthesise & factor in the key insights from (3) to build a long-term personal efficiency program for your own self?

6. Dilip has a favourite catchphrase: ‘Are You Busy Living or Busy Dying?’ in the book. What comes to your mind when you read it?

How best can you draw practical lessons from your understanding, within the context of your own personal & professional development?

7. In ‘06: Creativity’, Dilip starts off with the statement: “Elements of ‘Braindancing’ to help you kick-start your journey towards entrepreneurial excellence”.

Firstly, what is ‘Braindancing’ to you? What do you think is its association with ‘Creativity’?
Now, how can you synthesise these intellectual deliberations with what you had already completed earlier, in (3)?

8. On page 363 of the book, Dilip has outlined a simple exercise: “Convert these empty circles into meaningful images.”

Now, take out a blank sheet of A4-sized paper & replicate the page. Do the exercise as instructed.

How about doing a variation of the exercise: instead of ‘circles’, use ‘squares’ this time? What is your new outcome, when compared to the earlier exercise, with ‘circles’?

[We will debrief/discuss the outcome of this exercise to help you draw valuable lessons.]

9. On the inside back-page of the book, Dilip has created a mnemonic ‘CATSEYE’.
Think about its application possibilities, & share your personal thoughts, using yourself as a personal test case.

10. In association with key insights from (9), & combining them with the pictorial ’12-spoke wheel’ illustrating the “stunning array of learning miracles” on the back-cover of the book, explore how you can draw up a tentative implementation schedule, say for the next 90 days, as far as your own personal & professional development is concerned.

REQUISITE MATERIALS:

‘Unleashing Genius’, by Dilip Mukerjea;
One Drawing Block, preferably A3-sized;
One Lecture Note-pad;
Colour Markers;

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

[continued from the Last Post]

While 'reading on the lines' leads to literal-level comprehension, 'reading between the lines' leads to interpretative-level comprehension, whereby the reader needs to think, analyse & search for answers in the reading material.

Unlike literal-level comprehension, where the meaning is found directly in the reading material, i.e. a reader can literally put a finger in the reading & point to the answer, interpretative-level comprehension requires a little bit more intellectual effort, plus more careful reading.

The reader has to search for clues, textual as well as contextual, within the reading material to locate the answer.

That's to say, the answer cannot be found directly in the reading material. The answer is hidden somewhat "between the lines", so to speak.

In more explicit terms, the reader has to interpret what is implied or meant, rather than what is actually stated in the reading material.

Tactically, the reader will be:

- making sense of & seeing relationships among ideas;
- drawing inferences;
- making logical leaps & educated guesses;
- making generalisations;
- predicting outcomes;
- tapping into his or her prior knoweldge or past experiences;
- attaching new learning to old information;
- summarising key ideas not explicitly stated;
- selecting conclusions by gathering evidence to support the inference or deduction;

To me, to be able to do 'reading between the lines', the reader also has to attain a reasonably good command of the English Language, as he is expected to understand the figurative as well as connotative meaning of words, besides the denotative meaning.

In terms of reading material, reading literature or literary works requires a lot of 'reading between the lines'.

This is not to say that other forms of writings do not require 'reading between the lines'.

In any form of writing, one should always be aware of figurative language, connotation, nuances, imagery, symbolism, irony & satire within the reading material.

I suggest the following approach, from the standpoint of generating insights:

Think about the reading material in 3 ways:

1) Consider the text itself, the author, & the basic information given right there on the page;

2) Next, think about what is "between the lines", the conclusions & inferences the author wants you to draw from the page;

3) Finally go beyond thinking about the page. What new & different ideas come into your mind when you combine your prior knowledge & past experiences with the perceived ideas off the page?

Incidentally, 'reading between the lines' can also be applied in another situational context: while conversing with some one, or listening to a speech or presentation.

In this case, one looks out for the body language of the speaker, hand gestures, eye balls; also, listen to his or her tonality of voice, choice of words, equivocative expressions, inconsistencies, etc.

Naturally, this calls for a 'gut' check. For me, if something doesn't feel right from the speaker, then it probably is.

I like to call this phenomenon: 'reading the signals'.

[to be continued in the Next Post]

ANOTHER INTERESTING & YET PRAGMATIC PERSPECTIVE ABOUT READING

Educator Nancie Atwell, writing in her book, 'The Reading Zone', argues that, to be a skilled, passionate, habitual, critical reader, we need:

"... to learn how to make of reading, 'a personal art'... "

"... to become comfortable with the 'P' word — comfortable with 'pleasure' as a motivating force in reading... "

"... to read for pleasure, but not for idleness; for pasttime but not to kill time; to seek, & find, delight & enlargement of life in books... "

AN INTERESTING & YET PRAGMATIC PERSPECTIVE ABOUT READING

"The process of reading is not a half sleep, but in highest sense, an exercise, a gymnast's struggle: that the reader is to do something for him or herself, must be on the alert, must construct indeed the poem, argument, history - the text furnishing the hints, the clue, the start, the framework."

~ Walt Whitman, (1819-1892), American poet, essayist & journalist;

READING THE LINES

[continued from the Last Post:]

'Reading the lines' or 'Reading on the Lines' is generally considered the most basic level, when it comes to reading comprehension or information gathering at its crudest & simplest level.

I would consider 'Surface Reading' as another apt term to describe it, since our primary interest in the reading process is just the facts.

In most instances, I would say expositional & informational writings would fall under the category.

This is in fact the level at which most of us as readers can function quite easily, as one can quickly understand the reading material at hand.

In other words, one can understand what the author is actually talking about because all the needed information is there, just as the author has said it.

To put it in another perspective, one can, with a quick glance of the eye, easily point one's finger at the text where the information is located,

In the academic context, the "answers" to the "questions" are right there in the text.

More specifically, for a student, this is the reading level that tackles most common tests like 'Objective Tests', 'Multiple-Choice Question Tests', 'Fill-in-the-Blank Tests', as well as 'True or False Tests'.

Therefore, "retelling" of the captured information when needed is also quick & easy, especially in terms of Who? When? What? Where? How many?

Reading experts like to term this aspect as "literal comprehension".

[to be continued in the NEXT POST:]

THE RATIONALE FOR READING

Dilip Mukerjea writes in his book, 'Taleblazers: Imagination to Imprint':

"Research indicates that the average CEO of an organisation does not finish reading one book a year!

The average corporate executive needs to read over 5 milion words per month, or 60 million words a year.

Information anxiety has arrived! How are we to keep pace with the high-velocity world?

The average reading speed opf most people is about 240 words per minute (wpm), well below the rate stipulated by the United Nations for functional literacy, 400 wpm.

Today, knowledge doubles every year. We have received more information in the last 50 years than in the last 5000. There is a dire need for us to deal with 'information anxiety'.

The answer lies in learning to read a range of materials, at a range of speeds, enhance comprehension, acquire skills in writing and speaking, and boost overall mental literacy - all vital components for developing intellectual capital.

READERS MAKE LEADERS! and LEADERS ARE READERS... of books, people, situations, and possibilities."

Points to Ponder:

- Currently, how fast are you reading?

- How much do you know about the characteristic traits of a proficient reader?

- Proficient readers never use only one strategy, rather they fluidly coordinate a number of strategies to ensure maximum comprehension of their daily reading materials. Do you like to know more about their strategies?

- In essence, proficient reading necessitates three levels of reading comprehension: 'reading on the lines', 'reading between the lines', & 'reading beyond the lines'.

Dilip Mukerjea has highlighted them in his book, 'Unleashing Genius, with the World Most Powerful Learning Systems'.

Dilip has nonetheless concurred with me that a fourth level is even imperative, especially in today's world of accelerating change, increasing complexity & hyper-competitive marketspace: 'reading outside the lines'.

Game to know more?

Please stay tuned.

ACTION POINTS FOR YOU & YOUR BRAIN V

[continued from the Last Post.]

Dilip Mukerjea, writing in his book, 'Building BrainPower: Turning Grey Matter into Gold', offers the following Action Points for Your Reading:

1) Develop your reading program. Improve the general quality, breadth and depth of your reading. Strive to read at least a book a week.

2) Use established techniques (such as 'visual guide') to attain acceleration and smoothness in your reading.

3) Build your vocabulary, with at least 3 new words per day. Use these words actively, in speech as well as in writing.

4) Seek out key words within text. Equate this information with mental Mind Mapping (no paper and no pens) and other memory techniques, so as to monitor your progress in Mental Literacy.

5) Study about, and exercise, your eyes e.g. Bates Method, Yoga techniques, and so on.

6) Enhance your reading environment in line with the Mental Matrix. Consider reading in full-spectrum lighting so as to eliminate eye fatigue.

7) Learn to 'deep read' material that needs to be absorbed at a more philosophical level.

8) Monitor your reading speeds on a regular basis.

9) Teach other people to acquire these skills and to apply this process to their studies and work assignments.

10) Create and run 'High Eye Cue' Society! Remember, Readers Make Leaders!

[to be continued in the Next Post: Actions Points for Your Mind & Body.]

HOW TO BECOME AN EXPERT

[This blogpost has been extracted from my 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog.]

I note that success coach Richard Israel, a collaborator of Tony Buzan, shares quite an interesting, but generally broad idea, about how to become an expert in his book, 'Grass Roots Leaders: The Brain Smart Revolution in Business':

1) Pick a topic that interests you, an area in which you would like to become an expert;

2) Then, identify, collate, read & mind-map two books a week on that topic;

3) Review your completed mind-maps frequently to optimise your memory retention;

4) By the end of one year, you would have digested the expertise of at least 100 books, & know more about your chosen topic that almost anyone else in the world;

5) With all the knowledge, you can begin speaking & writing on the chosen topic;

In his book, he has used my good friend & fellow explorer Dilip Mukerjea as a case example.

Dilip had met Richard Israel (also Tony Buzan) in the mid-nineties during which the latter had personally shared his expert strategy.

At that time, Dilip was a marine engineer, who often spent long periods on the sea. Dilip needed a career change.

So, he applied the expert strategy by studying & mind-mapping many books on creativity, leadership & strategy during those long periods on the sea.

The foregoing episode probably explains why Dilip is so good in what he does today as a innovation strategist, in addition to becoming an accomplished author with so far 8 great books to his credit.

Currently, Dilip runs his own strategy consultancy outfit known as 'Brain Dancing International'. He has been highly acknowledged by Tony Buzan.

To be very frank, I dare to say that Dilip has today surpassed his mentor, who is apparently still dabbling with his old stuff.

I would like to throw in a couple of valuable suggestions, drawn from my own personal & professional experiences, to enhance the foregoing expert strategy:

1) Identify a small number of knowledgeable persons or experts in the field of your chosen topic, & discuss with them about what you have found in your reading pursuits;

[That's how I met Patricia Danielson, co-developer of the 'PhotoReading' technology, after I had brought her to Singapore to teach me & others during the early nineties.]

2) Contribute some interesting articles on your chosen topic to newspapers &/or magazines;

[I was a regular contributor of articles to the Straits Times as well as Business Times during the nineties, in addition to magazines.]

3) Publish & edit a newsletter on your chosen topic;

[I had also published & edited my own subscription newsletter for two years during the nineties.]

4) Set up a training consultancy to share what you have learned with others;

[That's how I started my strategy consultancy & training development outfit, under the trade name of 'Optimum Performance Technologies', as well as a small retail outlet, aptly called 'The Brain Resource', which provided a smorgasbord of books, audios, videos, tool-kits, & other resources "for the other 90% of the brain".]

I would also like to take this opportunity to share another powerful method to help you to enhance your acquisition of expertise.

I had learned this wonderful method from Patricia Danielson as part of my 'PhotoReading' instruction from her during the early nineties.

It's called syntopical reading, which had originally been conceived by educator Mortimer Adler in his classics, 'How To Read a Book' as wells as 'The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World', during the 50s or so.

As a result, it's sometimes called the 'Syntopicon Method'.

Very briefly, it works like this:

1) Inspection:

- round-up a large quantity of books covering a subject or topic of your interest; I often use the bibliography of my favourite books as a starting point;

- you may even include books, audios, videos, webcasts, podcasts, etc., that are remotely connected to your subject or topic, but you want them to be included as a eclectic mix, just for the purpose of stimulating your creativity - the idea is to stimulate the brain from both the difference/similarity of seemingly unrelated pieces of information or ideas;

- you may also include newspaper clippings &/or magazine articles &/or newsletters;

- quickly scan or skim through the books, resources, etc., & do your best to locate relevant passages in the books or other resources that are most germane to your needs;

[Now, you know why I love 'PhotoReading' so much; According to Mortimer Adler, it is you & your concerns that are primarily to be served, not the books that you are reading.]

2) Assimilation:

- jot down all those relevant passages that pique your immediate interest or curiosity;

- as you read further, develop your own terms of reference;

- make an attempt to bring as many selected author's passages to terms with each other, hopefully meeting your own terms of reference;

- this often involves not only finding the important words &/or vocabulary to the subject or topic, but also finding a common vocabulary among the many authors;

- according to learning experts, sometimes this can only be done by inventing new words or vocabulary by yourself

[Edward de bono & R Buckminster Fuller have been well-known to be great creators in this respect];

- the whole purpose of this exercise is to create a new synthesis of ideas or concepts from your varied reading, instead of just an analysis of the topic from a single book; also, to push & engage yourself in active exploration of the subject or topic by considering a myriad of inputs from many different authors;

3) Question(s):

- identify or formulate the key question(s) that come to mind, as your probe further with the view of extracting important insights to the subject or topic you are pursuing;

- you can use the journalist's questions as a starting point;

- sometimes they can come from those questions that often bug you at night while you are sleeping;

4) Issues:

- with your terms of reference, selected passages & key question(s) in place, make an attempt to define the major issues or salient aspects of the subject or topic;

- from my personal experience, the objective here is to find all the relevant issues, according to your own point of view, which will gradually takes shape as your probe further;

5) Conversation:

- sit back & analyse the discussion or conversation in your head, as you probe the many authors based on what you have found in your exploration;

- this is, in fact, the most important aspect of the syntopical reading process;

- also, for me, this exercise actually serves as an awakening experience, because you are bringing the key question(s) to the books to be answered;

- your job is essentially to find, hopefully, all the answers from the many author's works, in relationship to your key question(s);

- come to think of it, the answers are in the books somewhere, & all those authors are acting as your consultants, in away, to help in your search for the answers;

For me, the best way to do this 'Syntopical Reading' exercise is to get a large sheet of mahjong paper or butcher paper, & then lay it on the floor, together with all your selected books & resources.

You can start immediately with each author's principal premise, which you can readily find in the prefare or introduction or end-of-book summary or even back cover of each book. Use it as a springboard to build your own terms of reference, & proceed with your systematic probe from there.

Create a large map with the selected authors' principal premises as idea triggers along the outer edges of the paper. Jot down the selected passages as you find them against these triggers.

Gradually write down your key question(s) &/or major issues as you formulate them or as they come to mind in the centre of the paper.

Just be willing to explore, experiment & play with the information & ideas you have gathered along the way as you probe. Nothing is sacred.

For me, spontaneous juxtaposition is the key to this wonderful reading & exploration exercise.

With hindsight, & over the years, I have unconsciously applied Richard's expert strategy without his personal instruction, but I have combined it with the syntopical reading method as described to generate what I am doing today.

They have worked for me, & I am sure they will work for you. All it takes is some hard work from you, plus a little bit of self-discipline.

Thanks to the unknown wise guy who once said this:

"In business or life, everything is possible; it's only a question of strategy & discipline."