Is it because they simply have nothing better to do?
Is it because they have taken a break from their trusty chess board?
Is proofreading a manic obsessive-compulsive exercise?

NO! It is actually none of these things.

Proofreaders read a document up to ten times because they understand the unconscious workings of the human mind!

You see, sometimes, we look at a word, or a sentence and we see its ‘shell’ rather than each word by itself. Our eyes glide over the writing and our brain becomes sure of what we think we have just written or read - rather than what is really there!

So we see what we want to see.

To really check thoroughly we must look at each word separately. It is most helpful to read slowly and OUT LOUD, as this forces the reader to …

…Slow.
Right.
Down.

The unconscious mind has a habit of seeing what it wants to see, rather than what is actually there. This problem is most prevalent when it is our own words we are reading.


Interesting hey?

I bet you never realised that proofreading could be so revealing of the human condition!

Also, reading aloud means that we are using more than just one of our senses to judge for accuracy and ‘flow’ – we can hear the words as well as see them, which makes t far more effective.

It is important for your words to FLOW, and sound natural. Why?

Because if YOU aren’t speaking … you can guarantee your reader isn’t listening!
This is particularly important when you are directly addressing your reader or customer (for example when writing direct response copy).


So here are the top tips for checking your own or others work:

• Read slowly and out loud.
• Doubt everything – take nothing for granted.
• Read, read and re-read.
• Check for habitual mistakes that your mind is used to making – for example words that you have miss-spelt since you were a child.
• Look at each word independently.

I teach my students the same techniques but add one more to the list:

Read backwards.

Start at the last word in the last sentence and read from right to left until you get to the first word of the document. This way, you see individual words and misspellings are more obvious. When you read "in order," so to speak, your brain sees what you think you've written instead of what is actually on the page.