We live in the age of information overload. Countless emails, articles, reports, and books rain down on us daily. Most people, however, still read as they learned in primary school: word by word, slowly, and often with inner vocalization (subvocalization). Speed reading is not magic, but rather the optimization of the way your brain and eyes process visual information.
The 3 Biggest Brakes
Before we get faster, we must understand what is braking us. The three main causes for slow reading are:
Science Corner: Oculomotor Classics
In ophthalmological research, eye movement during reading is divided into saccades and fixations. Saccades are the fast jumps, fixations the phases of standstill in which the actual information intake takes place. Speed reading aims to minimize the number of fixations per line and to shorten the duration of each fixation. Interestingly, no visual intake takes place during the saccade itself – a phenomenon known as saccadic suppression.
Studies by the United States Air Force investigated as early as the 1950s how fast the human eye can perceive symbols. It turned out that the brain is capable of decoding images in fractions of a second if the conscious articulation (subvocalization) is bypassed.
Practical Techniques for 2026
With these methods, you can significantly increase your speed within a few hours:
The Focus Aid (The Tracer)
Use your finger or a pen as a guide. Move it steadily under the text. Your eyes follow the movement and are forced not to skip back. This eliminates regression immediately.
Using Peripheral Vision
Do not try to fixate directly on the word on the left and right margins. Start your fixation two words after the beginning and end two words before the end of the line. Your peripheral perception captures the rest automatically. You save valuable milliseconds per line.
Digital Speed Reading
On screens, we read about 25% slower than on paper. Nevertheless, there are special tools here. Apps that use the **RSVP process** (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) show you words individually at high speed in the center of the screen. In this way, eye movement is completely omitted.
When Speed Reading Makes Sense
It is a widespread fallacy that one should read every book in high-speed mode. Scientific texts or poetry often require slow, reflected reading. Speed Reading is ideal for:
- Emails and daily news
- Sighting of specialist literature (skimming)
- Preparation for exams
Summary: Practice Makes Perfect
Speed Reading is like sports. In the beginning, your eyes might feel tired, but with daily training of only 15 minutes, you will make amazing progress. Start today by using your finger as a guide – you will be surprised how much faster you can really be.