"What may be t he distinction between skimming and speed reading?" You will need to have the ability to separate the two. Unless you view the difference, you'll never learn how to speed read properly.
- Learning Speed
Skimming and speed reading are vastly different things, but also for some reason, they are generally listed as synonyms. Skimming is one thing you likely already understand how to complete; you quickly and lightly go over a text without a lot of attention to detail, so that exist an over-all idea of the text.
Speed reading, on the other hand, is really a much more complicated process. Speed reading is a "absorbing text." This is a good way of putting it, because speed reading isn't same as regular reading. It requires using some other part of your brain, and ingesting the text in another way.
For instance, if you wish to speed read something, then the proper way to do so involves multiple steps. If you just launch to the reading, you may find yourself unprepared for your material. To speed read most efficiently, the first step is always to eliminate all distractions. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe something will affect you - likelihood is, if you have whatever may come between you and the text, it'll.
So The first step is to buy gone as much distractions that you can.
Step two, is to buy as comfortable that you can. This could be considered part of The first step, because discomfort is distracting.
Step 3 is to setup it so that it is against something solid. The steadier the greater. Unsteadiness (among other things) is why "subway-reading" and bus-reading" don't work.
Step 4 would be to identify just what you would like to get from the book. If you don't specify a very good reason to learn the text, you may not be capable of focus very well.
Step # 5 is to SKIM With the text. Skimming is merely some speed reading. Skimming through will prepare you for the text over a couple of ways:
a) you might be able to find words you don't know, which you need to look up in a dictionary before you continue.
b) you can find a general notion of exactly what the text covers.
c) you might become sub-consciously ready for some important concepts and keywords from the topic.
Notice I made use of what "you may" rather than "you will". Skimming through the text doesn't guarantee any sort of thing. But generally, skimming may help your comprehension in some way.
Finally, The sixth step would be to actually speed-read. Due to the preparation steps, your comprehension will be maximized.
Many of these steps are covered in much greater detail within the Speed Reading Manual. In order to discover ways to speed read, I recommend you look it over. - Learning Speed