How Immersion Reading Can Increase Your Comprehension Up to 3 times

Written By Chris Josh

As I was working on my audiobook with my amazing narrator, Mark Williams, I discovered the power of immersion reading. Whenever he'd complete a chapter, he'd send me the file and I'd go over it while reading the book to check for any errors. And boy did I find errors!

I would have never caught the mistakes had I not read along. I would always send him an email with all the corrections needed by providing him with the timestamps where the errors occurred. 

He'd then notify me of the changes that were made and I'd go over the entire chapter again, combing for any other errors I may have missed. Of course, I would make sure to check the timestamps to make sure he got those fixed.

I have to mention that it is completely normal for a narrator to make some mistakes. It's the same with an author requiring proofreading.

What I found very interesting during the process of listening to the audio while reading is that it felt like I was fully immersed into the book. The mental images we see while processing the information were much more pronounced and stuck out like a sore thumb.

As a result, I found myself internalizing the words. This actually made reading and listening to the chapters for a 2nd and 3rd time a breeze. I believe the reason is when we don't know what to expect, we experience time going slower. 

For example, ever notice when you're traveling somewhere it seems like it takes much longer than when you're returning home? It has to do with our expectations. We're looking forward to the destination, so much so, that it feels like time is moving slower.

However, on the ride back home, there isn't much excitement or mystery. And usually you're taking the same roads except in the opposite direction. So you remember some of the scenery you saw on your way to your destination.

Similarly, because I was listening to the audio along with my own reading voice and my eyes taking images of each word, it left a deep impression on my mind. So when I went to review the chapters again and again, time seemed to go faster because I knew the chapters by heart.

This is one of the greatest discoveries I made. I have to note that immersion reading is a real thing - I didn't make up the term or concept. However, I came across it by accident.

Now, I made it a policy that whenever I read the print version of a book, I will also listen to the audio version if it's available - especially if it's a book with important information.

If it's just a book I'm reading for entertainment, I probably won't do that though.

Did you know that in order to master the contents within a book, experts say that one must read that book 15 times on average?

I believe with immersion reading, you would only need to read a book, while simultaneously listening to it, 4 or 5 times to fully internalize everything in the book.