Why Do I Read Slowly ? 10 Reasons Why You Read Slowly?

Have you ever asked yourself this question: why do I read slowly? What is wrong with my reading?  You may ask this or these types of questions to yourself to determine whether you read slowly or not.

Traditional School System teaches you reading word by word, and Traditional School System teaches you reading by Subvocalization. That’s a big problem on reading, because these facts keep you at a low reading speed. Because of these facts, you are not truly satisfied with your reading ability. 

In reality, you should never be satisfied with your reading ability, because the traditional school system doesn’t encourage you for speed reading or the traditional school system doesn’t support you to improve or strengthen your reading skill. 

I guess if you ask this question to yourself over and over again, and as a reader you are not truly satisfied with your reading speed.

I guess it, because I have educated a lot of people, and all of my previous clients, and students asked this question to themselves a lot of times.

Let’s have a lot the facts that why you read slowly;

1- Subvocalization

Subvocalization is the little voice between your mouth and your brain. Subvocalization is the repetition on your inside of what you read. Subvocalization is the first, and the biggest reason that you read with extreme low reading speed. Most of the readers do subvocalization while reading because the traditional school system teaches you reading by vocalization. From your childhood, you have adopted vocalization, and this vocalization causes you to do subvocalization while reading. You repeat what you read unconsciously from your inside that this subvocalization problem keeps you low reading range.

During reading, you move your tongue while reading unconsciously, and even though you are not aware of it, most readers in the world do subvocalization.

Some readers are aware of this situation, and they try to quit subvocalization while reading, but once they try to do it, they fail. The reason why most readers fail is that they may think that they don’t understand the word if they don’t do Subvocalization while reading, but in reality, there is no scientific benefit to do subvocalization. Subvocalization keeps you only in the low reading speed range. On our 21 Days Speed Reading Course, we teach you how you can eliminate Subvocalization easily while reading. Please keep in mind that, for effective reading, you have to eliminate subvocalization completely in your reading life.

2- Traditional School System

As we mentioned in the Subvocalization section, the traditional school system teaches you reading word by word. The traditional school system teaches you also to stop on comas, question marks, points etc.These unnecessary stoppings only cause you slow reading range. These stoppings only affect your reading speed negatively, and there is no logical reason to do it. Most readers do it because of the school system. It doesn’t matter wherever you are from, all countries in the world teach you reading in the same way.

Moreover, the traditional school system also encourages you to read slowly. In primary schools, once the teachers teach you how to read, they don’t teach you any speed reading techniques or they don’t teach also how you can improve your reading ability.

To have high reading ability, you have to not follow traditional school system reading techniques.

3- Not Using Visual Placer While Reading

Most of the readers in the world don’t use visual placer while reading, so they don’t support their eye movements while reading. During reading, if they don’t support their eye movements, their eyes waste time while reading. And this happens all the time, they face this problem on reading, and most readers stay in a low reading range. 

To increase reading speed on a higher level, readers have to use visual placer effectively while reading. On our Speed Reading Course, we teach the most effective techniques to use visual placers while reading.

With the techniques that we teach on the course, you are going to be able to learn how to support your eye movements while reading, and you are going to be able to use your eye movements with the most effective techniques.

Please don’t forget that not using a visual placer will only cause you to waste your eye movements during reading.

4- Distractions On Your Reading Area

In your reading area, there can be some distractions that may affect your reading speed negatively. For example; you may be at a public place, and there can be some voices in this public space. These voices only disturb you while reading, and you cannot keep your reading comprehension on the highest efficiency level. Because of that reason, these voices only keep you in a low reading range.

There can also be some visual distractions like videos, or visual materials that take your attention, but please don’t forget that these distractions only cause you negatively while reading. The weather in your reading area may affect you either as well. The weather can be cold or hot and if your body isn’t adapted to cope with these temperatures, you will get distracted as well.

Most readers face only voice distraction problems while reading. These voice distractions affect your reading speed extremely negatively, and they also keep your focus, and attention ability on low level ranges. On our Speed Reading Course, we teach you how you can eliminate these distractions easily while reading.

Please be aware that if you don’t protect yourself from atmospheric voices while reading, these distractions will keep you in a low reading level range.

5- The Book Language

The Book Language may affect readers negatively during reading, because some of the authors don’t use general speaking language in reading. For example; if the author uses a high level of academic terms of vocabulary in the book, you are going to definitely read slowly, because you will struggle to understand the words and sentences. 

You may also read in different languages as well, and your vocabulary knowledge may not be on enough level to support the book you read. For example, in 2018, after my graduation in the university, I was trying to improve my Spanish, and I was also reading Spanish books to adopt the Spanish language before I moved to Madrid, Spain. Well, this reading tactique is a good way to improve the language you try to learn, but while reading, there won’t be a high level of speed. I was struggling to understand the Spanish words, because I didn’t have enough Spanish vocabulary knowledge.

It is important to choose or read books that have normal level of text difficulties.

6- Destructive Thoughts

During Reading, many readers may sometimes face the thoughts in their mind. These thoughts can be either positive or negative thoughts. But it doesn’t matter whether they are positive or negative thoughts, these thoughts keep you on a low reading speed, and they affect your reading comprehension extremely negatively.

If they are negative thoughts, these can be self sabotaging thoughts as well. These kinds of negative or self sabotaging thoughts affect you only negatively, and you should always protect your focus and attention ability while reading. Any person may face these kinds of thoughts while reading, but if you have strong focus and attention ability, and if you know how to control your conscious mind, you can get rid of these thoughts extremely quickly and easily.

7- Poor Vocabulary Knowledge

It doesn’t matter which language you read, you may have poor vocabulary knowledge on the specific language. Even though it can be your own native language, it happens a lot of time. In the book you read, if you face a lot of hard words, or the words that you don’t know their meaning, please don’t spend a lot of time trying to understand all of them.

For example; if you are not a doctor, and if you read a book that is on the health area, and has academic words on the health area, it doesn’t matter which speed range you read, you are going to struggle it definitely while reading to understand the words.

It is okay to struggle with it, please don’t worry, and try to give your best performance while reading.

8- High Level Stress Low Level Emotional State

During life, sometimes we may get affected by stress or a low level of emotional state. It can happen to any person, and nearly every person in the world experiences stress.

It is important to know that when you have high level stress or low level emotional state, you won’t be able to read faster, and you won’t have high reading comprehension while reading.

Please always try to have a positive mindset or try to be positive before reading or after reading. You have to always protect your emotional state and stress level. You have to have a high level of emotional state, and a low level of stress.

9- Reading Position

Does reading position matter for reading speed ?

It extremely matters, and let me explain the reasons. During reading, if you sit in an uncomfortable position, and if you try to read something in these uncomfortable positions, it can affect your reading ability extremely negatively. This bad reading position always disturbs you while reading, and an uncomfortable position keeps you at a low reading speed.

There can be multiple uncomfortable positions in your reading life, but it is important that you have to eliminate these uncomfortable positions before beginning to read. You have to choose a comfortable or suitable reading position before beginning to read something. If you don’t choose a comfortable or appropriate position for reading, you won’t have a high level of reading, and you won’t have a high level of reading speed.

10- The Book Topic

The book topic that we read is also one of the factors of reading speed. Book topics may affect our reading speed either positively or negatively.

For example; if you choose a book that is not on the topic that you are interested in, it will definitely affect your reading speed negatively. 

If you choose a topic that you are interested in reading or you like the topic, you are going to definitely read the book with higher reading speed and comprehension.

Please don’t choose to read a topic that you are not interested in. If you don’t like history, you won’t be able to read history lectures with higher reading speed. You have to like the topic that you read so that there will be higher reading efficiency.

Even though you may choose a topic to read that you are interested in, there is still a chance that you may not like the book. Sometimes, it is normal to get bored of reading books. There is a term which is Reading Attractiveness.

Some books have a high level of reading attractiveness and some books may not have a high level of reading attractiveness.

If you don’t like the book you began to read, even though you are interested the topic, you may finish reading early, you don’t have to finish the book.For example; as a Speed Reading Coach, I have read thousands of books in my life. There have been times that although I am interested in the book topic, when I come to the middle of the book, I may not find the book attractive or useful for myself. 

I don’t force myself to read, and you won’t be able to do it as well. Plus, you cannot read with a high level of reading speed at this stage.

Please try to choose a book topic or book that you are interested in reading.

These 10 factors are the reason why you read slowly, and what can cause you to stay at a low reading speed. You can check out the 21 Days Speed Reading Course. From our course, we teach you everything that you need to know to increase your reading comprehension.