Students enrolled in technical programs prefer hands-on activities over reading and writing. While hands-on learning works well for conveying technical skills, most technical jobs will also require good reading, writing, and oral communication skills. Effective reading includes more than just "mouthing the words"--it calls for understanding and synthesizing material to complete an assignment or task. The author describes simple techniques to help students improve their reading performance dramatically. The first step toward successful reading calls for helping students develop a good strategy. Reading at a moderate rate suits most work and will give students good comprehension. After the complete reading, the student should review the key word list and completely answer all review questions, referring to the text as necessary. Then, student can create their own study notes, using a spiral-bound or three-ring notebook. It takes repeated experience to develop good skills at--and an enjoyment of--reading. Once technology students practice this process, they can both improve comprehension and reduce reading time. They will also likely find significant improvement in their grades and academic success. It is well worth students' time and effort--as well as the time and effort of the instructor who advise them.