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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Wednesday Number 74: Can You Use the Concept of Selective Reading with Audiobooks?
Dear Reader,
What’s your preferred book format. Do you enjoy reading print books, e-books or audiobooks? Because I’ve been reading mostly e-books, I now find it difficult to read print books, but I’m trying to get back into them. My least favorite format is audiobooks because they put me to sleep.
In this issue of The Invisible Mentor Weekly newsletter, I answer the question, “Can you use the concept of selective reading with audiobooks?” And while answering the question, I had an epiphany.
On a different note, on June 1, 2021, I’m hosting a reading challenge in my Facebook group. You’ll read eight books during June, however, I’ll teach you selective reading. And you’ll also learn how to synthesize the text from the books you read. Join today! This training will make a difference in your career and business.
Ask Avil
Can you use the concept of selective reading with audiobooks?
I’m getting interviewed on podcasts and speaking at events, and one of the questions I’m being asked is if you can use selective reading when listening to an audiobook. I cringe every time and I let people know that whenever I listen to an audiobook it puts me to sleep. That’s not my preferred way of taking in information.
Interestingly enough, one participant in my reading challenge successfully applied selective reading, or should I say selective listening to audiobooks. So I have to say that it can work. Will I try it for myself? I really don’t like audiobooks enough to give it a try. And most people who listen to audiobooks are multitasking – they’re working on another task as they listen. My comment? Multitasking doesn’t work.
However, having said that, I have close to 50 audiobooks in my Audible Library. I used to subscribe to the service, but I stopped my subscription. A few years ago, I learned that another technique to read a book faster, is to increase the speed of the audiobook while reading the print or e-book. And I started doing that and it worked fine until I stopped.
I stopped after my experience with How to Suck a Lemon. The problem is that the audiobook and e-book weren’t even closely related. It was a frustrating experience because I couldn’t follow along. I have no idea what the author was doing or even thinking. I should not have allowed one bad experience to prevent me from using a technique that worked for me.
Over the weekend, I decided to read Time Management in 20 Minutes a Day while listening to the audiobook. And I was reminded how much I enjoyed the experience of reading and listening simultaneously. This time around, I changed things around a bit. I approached the e-book, the way I approached any other e-book. I wrote down my one-sentence purpose for wanting to read the book, I did my jumping jacks, and then I previewed the book. I read the relevant sections. Next, I virtually flipped the pages of the e-book, then I went back to the beginning of the book.
At that point, I started to listen to the audiobook at twice the speed as I worked my way through the e-book. Then I noticed that the audiobook was a bit slow, so I increased the speed to 2.5 times. I paused the audiobook a few times to give myself the opportunity to make notes of important information.
Now as I’m writing this answer for you, something clicked. You can forward the audiobook. It didn’t occur to me to do that before. That’s what the reading challenge participant did. In Time Management in 20 Minutes a Day, there were a few sections where I intentionally zoned out, and at those points in the audiobook, I quickly moved through the e-book to sections that were relevant to me. I should have hit fast-forward.
Two of the sections where I moved ahead in the e-book, the author talked about time-blocking and the Pomodoro technique. I had already read books on the two techniques and felt confident that I understood them. Going forward, I’ll fast-forward the audiobook. I have several audiobooks that I now have the accompanying e-book.
Use this technique and please let me know what you think. Next time when I get asked, “Can you use the concept of selective reading with audiobooks,” I’ll respond yes, and tell the reader to fast-forward. I’ll also advise people that if they don’t want to buy the e-book, they could use the Kindle Look Inside feature to preview the book, so they know which sections are relevant to them.
What I’m Reading
I finished reading:
- Time Management in 20 Minutes and Day
- The Crew: Bounty Hunters
- The Ninja Daughter
- Twisted Justice
I also read some books on Mail Order Brides. For some reason I love reading them. This week I have to return to reading The Art of Opportunity, Hook Point, and Bulletproof Problem Solving. I stopped reading these books to read other books and never returned to them.
The Invisible Mentor Blog
I’ve mentioned The One Problem Series that I’ve been doing and it’s slowly getting traction. People are sharing the interviews on social media and some of them are now reaching out to me to interview them. I think that’s news worth sharing. The videos are short, so they’re easy enough to listen to.
I have some excellent ones in queue, and cannot wait to share them with you. I’m amazed at how much good information you can pack in 10 minutes. Here are the Episodes that I’ve published on my blog so far, why not listen to a few and let me know what you’ve learned from the guests.
- The One Problem Interview: Melanie Russell Talks About Partnership Agreements
- The One Problem Interview: Anthea Rossouw, Founder of Dreamcatcher
- Germain St. Denis, Consultant, Change Leadership: The One Problem Interview
- The One Problem Interview: Sandra Lisi, Leadership Coach
- The One Problem: Deena Baikowitz, Business & Career Coach
- The One Problem: Kelli Wingo, The One Problem Interview: Kelli Wingo, KMW Catalyst
- The One Problem: Patricia Roberts,Chief Operating Officer of the Gift of College
- The One Problem: The One Problem: Patti Pokorchak, Small Biz Sales Coach
- The One Problem: Adrienne Harris, Managing Partner, Portage Sales
- The One Problem: Kristy Wallace, CEO Ellevate Network
- The One Problem: Margye Solomon Talks about Aging and Relevance
- The One Problem: Deb Boulanger, Launch Lab for Women Entrepreneurs
- The One Problem: Sharon Horne Ellstrom – Stop Being Like Others, Be YOU
- The One Problem: Liz Kitchell from SheMoolah Talks Money Conversations
- The One Problem: Avil Beckford, Author of Digest 30 Books in 30 Days
- The One Problem: Interview With Kelly Daring, Author of Is Love Enough
Blog Series On Selective Reading
To get the most from reading books, it’s important to master selective reading. The technique will be a game changer in your life, career, and business. Go back through a few of the old newsletters for detailed steps on how to read selectively. Remember, selectively reading is about reading with purpose.
5 Common Reading Mistakes You Don’t Realize You’re Making
How I Came to Teach Professionals How to Read Selectively to Accelerate Their Business
5 Things You Never Knew about Reading Books
Before And After You Learn How to Read Selectively
Thinking About Investing in the Business Knowledge Accelerator Program?
Additionally, I just published Turn the Page by Chris Brady, Book Summary, on my blog. The book is one of the best books I’ve read on the topic and it supports the work I do.
New Products Alert
I’ve created new programs, Business Knowledge Accelerator, Career Knowledge Accelerator, and I updated the Sales Knowledge Accelerator. Besides previewing a book before reading it, I also recommend that you read a good book summary to get the helicopter view of what the book is about. With so much information online, I was surprised that I couldn’t find summaries for some books on the list.
I often participate in the Knowledge Accelerator programs, so I make sure that I choose books I haven’t read. Now I have to read the books that I couldn’t find summaries for.
Why not participate in one of the Accelerator Programs. I’m also working on the Knowledge Accelerator for Women. It should be ready in a few weeks.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!
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