Eyes:

You don't need to focus on one word at a time, as you might be used to doing. (see example #1) Instead you can use peripheral vision to get an overall view. The key is learning to soften your focus.

Practice by looking at a word on a page and note how much surrounding stuff you take in. When you read, follow the white space and not the letters. (see example #2) This is easier on your eyes and expands your peripheral vision.

Have your finger go back and forth down the page (see example #1) or like a slalom skier (see example #2). If you are reading a document on the computer screen, you might find it practical to use your cursor instead of your finger (putting your prints to the screen is both awkward and messy). Using your mouse, you can utilize your little cursor to draw your eyes quickly from line to line.

Reading "out loud" in your head. Many of us still have the habit, carried over from when we learned to read, of reading the words so that we can "hear" them in our head. This slows us down, for the brain is capable of reading words much faster than we are capable of speaking. So how do you stop this habit? By learning to focus on the meaning of words in a text, not the sound - words, after all, are simply visual symbols of ideas. Practice "shutting off" that voice in your head and read by absorbing the meaning of the word. You already do this for certain words that have become automatic to your brain, like road signs or familiar brand names...or your own name. (When you see it, you don't need to sound it out - you instantly recognize it.)

Reversing words. If you read "out loud" in your head, and you read too quickly, you may mix up the order of the words - which results in loss of meaning and rereading sentences more often to clear up the confusion. Once you develop the skill of recognizing words rather than "hearing" them in your head, this problem will lessen.

Lack of concentration. If you try to speed read and think about that great party last weekend, you obviously will not get much out of the text. Focus and concentration is required to read correctly.

Memory trouble. Building memory can only improve our speed-reading skills, since our objective is obviously to retain the information we read. Memory, thankfully, is something we can develop and practice!

Skimming. While speed reading does require that you scan the text before reading it and soft-focus your eyes to read more than one word at a time, this does not mean skipping over "unnecessary" words . If you skim read by skipping all over the place, reading random chunks of text, you will not get a real grasp of the meaning.