Personally, I read the words silently in my head while typing. I find that it helps me process my upcoming words better, and it's almost like reading a book which makes it fun! Still, I'd suggest finding your own style, and figure out what works best for you. :D

Yeah, i would think reading silently would be the default option, which is also what I do.
But I wonder if reading it is holding me back from going faster.
I am now stuck at around 75 WPM for almost a year and trying to see what I can do to improve it to 80 WPM.

I get what you're saying, sometimes my brain goes on autopilot mode too. But for me, I don't see much of an improvement when I do that.
If you wanna break past 80 wpm, my best tip is to practice common words and letter combinations. Try and type things like "ing", "ment", and simple words like "the", "and", and "have" in one large burst, instead of going letter by letter.
Take the word "thing" as an example. I think "thing", and my fingers automatically transcribe the entire word, instead of going "t-h-i-n-g". If it seems too challenging, try and break up the word into chunks (like "th-ing"). Practice some more, piece the chunks together and I'm sure you'll get there in no time!

Thanks for your tip! It really works to bring up my speed to 80 WPM when I do burst mode.
I will keep working on it.

I checked your profile and your speed is crazy insane! Just wow!

Awwww shucks! Thank you so much!

I actually have one last tip: start reading a word or two ahead of the word you're currently typing. Process them so that by the time you press space, you're ready to type it out.
For example: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
As I am typing "quick", my eyes are already looking at "brown". I go, "Okay, so the letter 'b' is coming up first, I'll have my left index ready on the 'b' key so as soon as I press space, I'll have it ready to go." It'll definitely seem weird at first, but as you type faster, you'll naturally get it!

Good luck on your typing journey! Hope you join the 100 wpm club soon!

That was something I used to do, thanks for reminding me about it.
Reading ahead + burst mode typing has given me new zest in my typing quest.
Full steam ahead!!!