Reading: How To Double Your Speed With No Extra Effort
The One Text-to-Speech App that changed my reading habits for the Greater Good…
Introduction:
When did you last fully immerse yourself in a stream of articles or a must-read book? So many of us read less than we should because a consistent pace is difficult to maintain.
For some of us, a sub-vocalisation is a breeze, but reading is a barrier to learning for others. Speechify is my new favourite desktop and mobile app because it makes learning fun again.
Here’s a lowdown of the product, its features and how it helps me as a Sales Rep!
The Product:
Speechify is a text-to-speech (TTS) mobile app and chrome extension that helps you dramatically increase your reading speech and engagement.
How did I find it?
I’ve been looking around the TTS market since I started in Sales. I spend a fair amount of time reading new posts, emails for work, and sales-related articles.
I stumbled across Natural Readers and was excited just to move through the material, but I couldn’t get past the clunky design, nor could I use it on my phone. That means no late-night Medium stints…
Then Speechify came through with the plug.
The tool is designed to empower people with reading difficulties like dyslexia and increase their average reading speed, removing reading as a barrier to learning.
Even though I don’t have dyslexia, I benefit hugely from reading faster and focusing on the stream of ideas being fed to me by the voice of my choice.
The Features:
Speed:
You can adjust the reading speed from 10–900 wpm (words per min). Given the average adult reading speed is around 300 wpm, you can easily read at an above-average rate with minimal effort.
I started using the app in mid-December, and I’ve gradually increased my reading speed from 260 to 380 wpm. You can comfortably sit at that pace for hours, drop-down when you need to stop and engage with the content.
Custom Voices:
You can choose from 9 high-quality voices with accommodating accents in 10 different languages, even on the basic package. If you upgrade to premium, you get even more, and the audio quality dramatically improves.
Quick Tip:
Trial the basic voices for a week or two first. See if you get the benefits I’m talking about, then go all in and get the premium readers.
Why?
Because you’re worth it.
Text Import:
This is my favourite feature by far. Speechify allows you to import PDF’s, emails, text messages and docs directly from google drive.
Anything that can be converted into a PDF can be read to you — You can also scan books and import web links.
Quick Test:
Import links from your Medium bookmarked list. After the document has been loaded, hit play and then go back to Medium and follow the words.
You can highlight and make notes directly into the app, but you might prefer to use Medium since it syncs up with other tools like Readwise.
Completely your choice.
Being able to import text and use other apps simultaneously means you’re much more engaged. Using your eyes and ears means fewer distractions and more time in The Flow State.
To top it off, you can pause and focus on a sentence or idea that’s interesting, and then jump back into the fast lane.
Why Sales Reps Benefit:
The Chrome extension lets you carry your reader around on the internet — that means Gmail, web pages, product pages, news articles etc.
So when it comes to blitzing through the news to find your next prospect — Speechify.
Need to go through all of Hubspot’s Objection Handling material before the next cold call? — Speechify.
Reading a bunch of customer reviews to understand the benefits of a product? — Speechify my guy!
Bottom Line:
- Reading doesn’t have to be a chore — if you’re a slow coach, you can still move in the fast lane.
- Barriers to learning like reading pace and low engagement are things of the past if you use the tools in the market.
- Sales Rep or not — focusing on your content anywhere on the web puts the fun back in reading.
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