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Originally posted by ploppsdman:
1. i can get the blip page very easy when im standing up, but cant do diddly when im sitting down at the desk. X? what X? i see no stinking X.

The imaginary X technique! You use your imagination and think of what points the tips and center of the X would touch if you were to draw one. It would touch the outer corners of the book and the intersection of the 2 diagonals would be right in the folds of the gutter in the middle of the book.

Those are your points of reference when you use a soft gaze to look at the open pages. The idea is to be aware of 'seeing' those parts of the book while you photoread. The 4 corners and the middle of the book.

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2. how the heck do i hold onto books at a 45 degree angle and turn the pages? i try and all i get is a tremendous pain in my arms, from the pressure acquired from resting them on the desk; practice wont take that away unless i develop giant callouses.

I found an empty arch lever file with a 2.5 to 3 inch spine works as a nice prop. Alternately you could elvate the book with one or 2 other books to get the desired angle.

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3. it took me somewhere around 18 minutes to preview a 200 page book. im not reading for comprehension ... im reading the index, the headings, the subheadings, looking for italic/bold words, the first/last page and covers ... im suppose to do that in 5 minutes .. AND write down 25 trigger words? it aint happen.

You do not look at every single page flip 20 or so pages and notice what you see on that page pick a trigger word and move on... detailed preview isn't what we are after just an idea of whether you want to read the book... it is quite possible to collect 25 trigger words in 8 minutes when you make that your primary goal. Unncessary to read every subhead or heading. Also 8 to 12 trigger words is enough to start with if you find 25 difficult to find in that time.


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4. relax? have fun? play with it and dont be too hard on myself? easier said then done!

You're the boss if you want to make it difficult its your choice Try doing something that you find relaxing and fun before photoreading. Let go of needing it to all happen perfectly first time round. While not appropriate to the photoreading steps try using humour before you attempt to photoread. Listen to some fun music (smurf, alvin and the chipmunks come to mind and my current choice is snoopy -v- the Red Barron) Yes I'm serious... how much more unserious can you about learning to photoread?

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5. my purpose usually stinks b/c its so vague. "i want to know the main points in this book. I want to learn this skill." whoever has great purpose/questions ... let me know! i want to know the stanislavski method. too vague$@@# but how do i come up with more specific questions?

'I intend to know the important information from this book' is a pretty useful purpose for me... Or I want to learn the fastest way too... (e.g. 'fix a car problem', for a mechanical book, 'solve maths problems', for a maths book etc.)

For questions turn the headings and subheads into questions... just place the word who, what, why, when, where of how at the beginning of the subhead. Do the same with your trigger words.

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6. sub-vocalization!@$@ i dont feel ive read crap without sub-vocalization. grrrr.

I've never felt that subvocalising is really and issue I just do it (subvocalise I mean) I never worried about getting rid of it and personally find it quite useful I am just very selective in which words I do subvocalise. I skip to the ones that have the most meaning. I don't think you need to worry too much about the subvocalisation while learning the rest of the photoreading step. If you must... just keep saying the letter 'A' over and over while you read after about 30 minutes of practice you'll probably notice that subvocalisation gets out of the way. Another technique is to play nature sounds while you are reading, (ocean, rainforest, waterfall sounds).

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(book death tally from frustration: 1 dictionary ripped in two)

time for a break from this .. suggestions though will be blah blah blah .. you know the drill.

ploppsdman@yahoo.com

Oh? Does your dictionary now come 2 convenient parts , mine took flying lessons took a couple of months to find where it landed. Forget the dictionary game it is afterall just a game. Just keep going through the course step by step it will all come together. You're allowed to do the course again whenever you want to iron out any wrinkles in your style.

Alex

[This message has been edited by AlexK (edited December 18, 2002).]