When I was growing up in my school, I was known as an impenetrable force. My hands were quick; I was able to block 90% of my opponents attacks (now counter attacking, that was another story). My hands were my pride and joy, and I took my "ultimate" defense as a special niche that only I had mastered.
Getting there is rather simple. Most of us who have been martial artists for a while have already learned the basics, which are your blocks.
Now there are of course your upward blocks, inward blocks and outward blocks and it is very (extremely) useful to know and use these correctly. But if you want to be faster, your best bet is to just use your hands and arms.
Well duh! Right? What I mean is get used to rotating your arms. Rotate your arms like windmills. This is a good way to stretch them and get them used to the movements. Another favorite of mine is from Karate Kid: wax on, wax off.
With that technique, you want to perform with both hands going the same direction, forwards and backwards as well as countering one another. Caution, you will look ridiculous doing this.
Paint the fence, another good one from Karate Kid, simple pretend you arm brushing a fence in an up and down movement or side to side.
Honestly the best way for me to describe how to get faster blocks is by using your arm's full motion. That is including your hands. Swivel and bend to practice but also be practical. Your hands are very important and they can be damaged easily if you goof off too much during sparing.
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