Right now, when you look at a line of print, you focus straight at it. Sometimes your eyes feel like they get stuck. Maybe you even focus on every single word.
You can read at least 20% faster by using this method:
Instead of staring straight on the line, off-center your focus by looking slightly higher on the line.
Focus between the top half of the letters and the space above the line. (You will still see the entire line--this is just where you are focusing.) This method is faster because instead of your eyes getting stuck on a word here and there as they do occasionally, your eyes will glide along the line without that happening. You will also find that you are automatically seeing the words as clusters instead of individually.
To help you remember how to do this, just think of how one of our graduates described it: he referred to this technique as "surfing along the line." We also call it the "flowing technique."
Don't worry about exactly where your eyes are focusing as you try this. If you feel that your eyes are flowing as you read, you are doing this correctly.
You can surf both on hard copy and on the screen. Try it on this page. Some people learn to read 100 words per minute faster with just this hint!
Some companies advocate using hand motions to read faster, but they cover up the page and are awkward. After you try this hint a couple of times, you will find it to be a much more natural way to read than what you are doing now.
Bonnie James is president and founder of Advanced Reading Concepts. She conducts speed readng courses and seminars for corporations, associations and the government nationwide and open enrollment courses in Columbus, OH. Individuals come from all over the country to attend weekend courses. She can be reached at 1-888-524-0012. More information can be found at http://www.advancedreading.com .