Would you rather be heard or understood? There’s a big difference there if you want to make an impression as a public speaker. We’re surrounded by big talkers, chatter boxes, and caffeine fueled ADHD coworkers that have a lot to say and yet nothing to share.
It’s true that being an effective speaker means using every minute and every sentence in your speech to setup and convey something of value to your audience. But when someone is thirsty, there’s a big difference between giving them a refreshing glass of water and spraying them with a firehose.
Understanding when to employ proper pausing helps speakers to punctuate key points, to make changes in thoughts, to give people time to process what’s said, and to help them follow the flow of the speech.
Useful to Monotone or Soft-Spoken People
Monotone or soft-spoken people in particular can greatly benefit from proper use of pausing. A monotone delivery can drone on and leave the audience easily distracted and disengaged mentally. But amazingly, a soft-spoken person can go from a babbling brook to a thoughtful sage just by adding properly placed pausing.
One of the biggest obstacles to proper pausing technique is the outline of the speech. Trying to cover too much material in the allotted time forces the speaker to begin racing through the material with hardly a moment to catch his breath. This can exhaust the audience.
This is where identifying your most important points becomes vital. You may have tons of wonderful supportive research and whimsical anecdotes and experiences, but do you feel like you’re running a sprint from the beginning to the end? Perhaps it’s time to make some edits.
Your Normal Conversational Speaking Pace
Is a fast delivery style a reflection of how you normally speak in day-to-day life? That’s natural and a part of your personality. But just remember, if you have something to say that you think is worth remembering, then take the time to help the audience see it, and remember it, by pausing.
And pausing is more than just stopping after making a point. Pausing can be used to create drama, to slow down, or to buildup to a point. This is especially helpful for people that speak quickly. The audience will notice the change of pace and focus their attention on what’s coming.
Ask Yourself: Has someone ever waited for me to respond to something they just said, but I can't remember what it was?
Wait, What’d I Miss?!
If you’ve ever asked yourself- “Wait, what did he say? What did I miss?!” Then you know what it’s like to miss a point because you’re distracted. It happens. In any case, the person pausing to wait for your response brought you back so that you started to focus again on what was being said. Public speakers can employ this same technique when preparing their presentations to keep bringing people back to what you’re saying.
Pausing to set-up a main point can cause the audience to pause mentally and prepare them to receive the point. Pausing after a main point can then give the audience time to reflect on the point and decide if they understand or agree. This can all happen in milliseconds, but you still need to provide the space for your audience to absorb what you’re saying.
Using Questions to Create the Space
One way to grab the audience’s attention and take a dramatic pause is by the use of rhetorical questions. This can work very well when the question is slightly shocking or borders on the extreme.
For example, perhaps you’ve just reviewed some dense supporting data regarding paper waste and how it affects your company’s bottom line and the environment. Data. Exciting. But this data supports one of your main points, and you need the audience’s attention before delivering it.
Ask them: “Do you want paper waste eating away at your pension accounts?!”
Pause.
Look to the other side of the audience.
Your Main Point: “The data shows that our paper waste has a measurable impact on our company’s resources.”
Pause.
Of course, you can acknowledge when a question is ridiculous. But that was the goal. You tricked the audience into paying closer attention without them realizing it, all because of well-planned pausing.
Prepping a Statement with a Statement
Another useful technique is taking advantage of the “Wait, what’d he say?” reaction that we all experience. Again, this is really helpful after covering mind-numbing data.
When you need the audience’s attention, raise your voice slightly and make a setup statement.
“Let’s face it, money is made out of paper, and we’re wasting it.”
Pause.
Look to the other side of the audience.
Your Main Point: “The data shows that our paper waste has a measurable impact on our company’s resources.”
Pause.
Again, you will trick the audience into paying closer attention, even if they initially disagree with the setup statement. (This is also an opportunity to create and release tension, adding to the impact of your speech. It’s a technique we teach in Our Courses)
So let me ask you again. Would you rather be heard or understood?
Pause.
Well-planned pausing techniques ensure that your audience hears, understands, and remembers your points.
Pause.
So by all means, be yourself in your presentations, but plan your delivery to make your main points stand out with proper pausing.
