I believe the pause is the MOST underused tool in the speaker’s tool box. Speakers seem to think they have such great information and SO much of it, that they don’t have time to pause. Heck, they think, they’re wasting valuable data-dump time! Or, like most people, they are uncomfortable with the silence. The opposite is truer. If you’ve got new information or a new way of applying it (which you better have) you have to pause for it to sink in.
The Pause
Reasons for……………… The Pause:
- To allow time for your NEW information to sink in
- To give the audience time to sort it out – and find out where to put it
- For emphasis
- To mix up the flow – a change
- After a rhetorical question
- To cause a little tension (In this case it’s not a pause, it’s an emotional silence. You don’t stop talking just to let info sink in. You build up to an emotional moment and enhance it with silence.)
- To show that you’re comfortable with silence
Delivery
- Do it at unexpected times
- Pause longer than expected
- Add some facial expressions
- Add body movement
- Add gestures
* Using the PAUSE will make you look and feel like a pro. Go for it!!!