memarsh wrote: ↑February 1st, 2018, 12:15 pm
Does anyone have tips on how to read slower? The feedback I've been getting is that I'm reading too fast, but I don't know how to make it sound natural when I read slowly.
A lot of readers fall into the same trap, and most don't get that feedback (or, if they do, they ignore it
). Really, it takes practice and conscious thought. Remember it's about the journey, not the destination. You could try imagining you're speaking to someone who doesn't understand English unless the words are well separated... but the risk is sounding choppy. Remember to breathe and take time to enjoy the words.
The problems with reading too fast are:
a) You run out of breath in the mad dash to get to the end of the sentence.
b) Listeners can't keep up with you... you are already on what Jane found when she got there, while listeners are still on why she went in the first place.
c) You will put less expression into your reading... and a monotone can be very soporific (great for a bedtime story, not so great if you're listening while driving, as I do
)
A lot of older texts lack punctuation to help, so make sure you think about the words and mentally add commas where you think there should be one. I often find myself re-reading a sentence 2 or 3 times to get the pacing and expression how I want it. But basically, it comes down to practice, practice, practice.