A pacer is just something you guide your eyes with as you read. For print reading, the most common pacer is your finger. You could also use a pen or some other small object. On a computer, you can use the mouse cursor.
So why does this work to help you read faster? Because it virtually eliminates one of the major habits that keep most people reading much slower than they’re capable of. That habit is regression.
A regression means to reread words that you’ve already read. Now it’s one thing to do this consciously because you didn’t understand something or because you recognize important information that you want to reread. The real problem is unconscious regressions.
An unconscious regression is when you reread one or two words as you’re reading without being aware that you’re doing it. You might do this once or twice per line!
Why would you do this? It’s a result of the way we learned to read:
- Subvocalization – This means sounding out the words in your head as you read them. Sounding out words was an important part of learning to read. But after you become a competent reader, it’s not necessary for comprehension and severely limits your reading speed. Because your eyes can see the words much faster than you can speak them, they frequently get ahead of your inner voice and then must go back.
- Reading one word at a time – This is also unnecessarily slow and you probably give each word equal time and emphasis. This reduces understanding as you focus on the words instead of the meaning. You then need to reread the key words that really give the sentence meaning.
- Pressure from teachers to get comprehension from reading something only once caused you to unconsciously reread some words to try to remember it all.
Thankfully, reading with a pacer effectively eliminates the tendency to make unconscious regressions. You just need to train your eyes to follow it. Then only move the pacer forward from left to right along each line.
Reading with a pacer has other benefits besides reading faster. It can improve comprehension because you’re not rereading words. Rereading totally messes up the flow of the sentence. Imagine someone talking to you and randomly repeating a word they’ve already said!
You will also experience less eye fatigue from reading. You will make few or no unconscious regressions, so the number of fixations you make will be less. And your eyes will move smoother, since eyes have an easier time following a moving object.
Learning to read with a pacer can be done very quickly – If not hours, then a few days. Initially, you may find yourself thinking about moving the pacer and not about understanding what you’re reading. But with a little practice, it will become automatic and normal for you.
Richard Franchini is the editor of http://www.learn-speed-reading.com/ a free resource for becoming a more effective reader. More information about speed reading techniques can be found at http://www.learn-speed-reading.com/speed-reading-techniques.html – Copyright: You may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact.
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