Reduce the subvocalization
Subvocalization won't affect the reading process negatively, and it's a normal process. However, to say the words in your head will make you read slowly. If you answer every word in your head, then you can not read faster than you talk. And there's a limit of your talking speed, which is the same as the average reading speed (200 wpm).
The fact is that your brain can think much faster than 200 wpm, and it can manage to feel up to 1,200 wpm.
Now it is known that human beings cannot remove subvocalization altogether; you can try and reduce it instead. The way to minimize subvocalization is to only say some of the words in your head, in which case your reading speed will get less limited by your talking speed.
Stop regression
Regression could slow down your reading speed tremendously. There are two types of regression: unconscious regression and the conscious one. The former one usually happens because you do not believe that your brain has captured the information right the first time. That means you don't trust your mind, and you go back and double-check what you have read by rereading the materials you just read. The later one occurs when you realize you failed to get what you read, or that you missed some key points.
In both cases, the amount of time you spend on rereading accounts for 33%, which means that out of every hour, you spend 20 minutes out of 60 rereading the same stuff, and sometimes reading it repeatedly. That is to say; you just spend 40 minutes of every hour to read forward.
So dump this habit and read your stuff differently. Surely there is a better way for you to read, and that better way is reading faster.
Read more
You should spend time to improve your reading skills. The more, the better. You will read faster if you read more books. Of course, keep it in mind that the best way to enjoy a book is to learn at your speed.
The adage, "Practice makes perfect," just hits the point. If you read more books, you will be better at reading them. If you are better at reading books, you will increase your reading speed tremendously.
Increase your vocabulary
Vocabulary influences your reading speed. You should not only know the dictionary definition of a lot of words but also have a deep association with terms so that you can fluently understand them as written in a lot of contexts. When you are reading, if you always meet a new word and stop to figure it out, you are slowing down your reading speed dramatically.
If you can manage to increase your vocabulary, you will grasp a lot more words. The more terms you have in your memory list, the faster you can read. If you can learn more quickly, then, in turn, you can read more and more.
Preview the reading material beforehand
Look at main headlines, chapter divisions, and other relevant material to catch the main points of your reading. One of the significant obstacles to reading speed is only content cognition. If you know more about the topic being read, you can learn faster with greater understanding since your mind already has a framework about what you're reading.
One experiment was held to test the students' reading speed on a soccer game-related text. It showed that the students with "high verbal skill" scored only slightly better than those with "low verbal skill." What made the big difference was their knowledge of soccer. Students who had more experience with soccer got many more points than those who didn't. So preview your reading materials will let you know more about what you are going to read and thus make you learn faster.
Skimming & scanning
You can use rapid eye movement and keywords to move quickly through text by skimming & scanning. Skimming is used for getting a general overview of the material, while scanning is used for finding specific facts. Skimming tells you the main idea in a section, and scanning helps you locate a particular event.
Skimming can save your time in reading, and it is instrumental when you preview a more detailed text or when you review a selection heavy in content. But the weak point is that when you skim, you may miss some critical points or overlook the more beautiful shadings of meaning. So you can use skimming to overview your textbook chapters or to review for a test, and you can use scanning for research and study.
Use a timer
Get a book that should lay flat when open on a desk and set a timer for one minute, generally reading as time goes by. When the timer goes off, calculate how many pages you have read. Now sum up all the words you read, and you can get your current reading speed (wpm).
Keep doing this, and beating your previous count each time. Set your daily or weekly or monthly goals. Go on with this exercise, and you'll be able to increase your reading speed in a short period!
Be focused and concentrated.
It requires focus and concentration for you to read faster with proper understanding. Reduce the outside interruptions and be concentrated when you read. If you notice that you're thinking about something else instead of focusing on the book, stop that immediately and drag yourself back to the reading.
If you read a few sentences passively, without focus, then you have to go back and reread to make sure you get that. This is the so-called regression which will significantly slow down your reading speed and make it difficult for you to get a framework of the chapter. If you read a book carefully and attentively, you'll find that you can quickly understand the critical points of the section, which will save you a great deal of time.
Use a pointer, indicator, or forefinger.
When you were a kid, you always used a finger to guide yourself while reading and dumped that when you grew up. However, this method is tremendously useful if you want to learn quickly.
When using a finger, you should not stop it or slow it down. It should merely slide from one side of the text to the other at a very even speed. By doing this, you could notice when you are off the track much more comfortable than that without utilizing this trick.
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