Now that you have a basic understanding of visualizing and vision expansion, it is time to discover their real benefits. Grouping has a very important role in speed reading. When you are able to take in a small group of words, and not just one word, in a single eye fixation, you are able to read faster. That group (of usually four to sixteen words) is called a ‘clump’- and reading a group of words per eye fixation is what we like to call ‘clumping’.

Here are a few tips for increasing your clumping abilities:

COLUMNAR READING

Newspaper text is published in columns so your vision span can be presented with ready-made convenient clumps to speed reading. To see the advantages of reading by clumps, try reading text that continues in adjacent columns (just take a go at your morning paper and notice how you are able to read better because of the columnar presentation of the text). Now what you need to do to take advantage of clumps is that when you read text in blocks, read it as if it were spread across invisible column divisions. As practice, draw two vertical lines across a page of your favorite book and ‘divide’ its block text into columns. Now when you read it, take in the text on both sides of the lines to emulate reading in clumps.

MULTI-AXIS READING

Clumping doesn’t just include reading more horizontally. Your vision doesn’t just span across a linear horizontal plane. You are also able to view objects above and below it. Hence, when clumping, you are reading left to right and top to bottom within your vision span. You can practice your vertical reading skills by rotating a book side-ways and trying to read it that way.

DUAL-VISION READING

When we fixate on an object (such as when reading a particular word in a book), we see it plainly but we can also see objects surrounding it- even if not as clearly. Practice observing and retaining the less-clear objects as well. Being able to recognize and process ‘background’ elements helps in getting the most out of a single eye fixation.
Once you manage to do this, you will be able to read across all directions more effectively by reading through your macular vision (primary focus) as well as peripheral vision (secondary focus- the objects visible to you beyond your primary focus).

Try the exercise in the box above to practice your dual-vision reading.