"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause." - Mark Twain
This is one of the more quote by popular Mark Twain. It's not so much knowing when to speak, when to pause is equally powerful and effective in public speaking. Momentary silence is golden in public speaking, so to speak.
The power of the pause in public speaking is one of the most effective skills a speaker or presenter should acquire. This seemingly unimportant device can bring impact in to your message in your speech.
The next time when you are lost for words in the midst of your speech or presentation, just keep mum for a moment. Yes, just pause and smile. Act as if you pause deliberately, rather than stammering and mumbling. When you pause, in fact it gives the impression that you know what you are talking; that gives you authority.
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| Power Of Pause In Public Speaking |
If suddenly you have the fear of public speaking, instead of rushing it to quickly finish it off, you should instead slow down and fill in the pauses. When you rush through your presentation, your audience will know that you are nervous and lack of confidence.
Same goes for filling up your speech with those irritating "ah", "uhm", "you know..." fillers or better known as speech crutches. They sound unprofessional and distracting.
Take advantage of the pauses to calm yourself down, take a breath and steal that time to organize your thoughts. You also give your audience time to digest what you've said. Do not worry that pauses will make you as if you have forgotten or nervous. You just look straight at your audience and give a gentle smile. That momentary silent is in fact powerful; it adds a dynamic and commanding element to your speech or presentation.
As a speaker, you should always deliberately punctuate the pauses whenever you think it is required. For instance, right after a question. Then you just look around (with a smile) among the audience as if you are eager to get answers from them.
Your pause can be two to four seconds. Interestingly, when you are the speaker or presenter, that few seconds may seem very long, but to the audience it is a bliss. Believe me. The power of pause in public speaking is indeed louder then you know.
Same goes for filling up your speech with those irritating "ah", "uhm", "you know..." fillers or better known as speech crutches. They sound unprofessional and distracting.
Take advantage of the pauses to calm yourself down, take a breath and steal that time to organize your thoughts. You also give your audience time to digest what you've said. Do not worry that pauses will make you as if you have forgotten or nervous. You just look straight at your audience and give a gentle smile. That momentary silent is in fact powerful; it adds a dynamic and commanding element to your speech or presentation.
As a speaker, you should always deliberately punctuate the pauses whenever you think it is required. For instance, right after a question. Then you just look around (with a smile) among the audience as if you are eager to get answers from them.
Your pause can be two to four seconds. Interestingly, when you are the speaker or presenter, that few seconds may seem very long, but to the audience it is a bliss. Believe me. The power of pause in public speaking is indeed louder then you know.
Here is one great classic book "The Art of Public Speaking" by Joseph Berg Esenwein and Dale Carnegie . It was first published in 1915 and the book is still relevant till today.
You will get to learn how to become a confident and effective public speaker. Find out how to develop your personality, acquire confidence, how to stay away from being monotonous, build up your delivery, utilize your voice and gestures and many more valuable tips and techniques.
You will get to learn how to become a confident and effective public speaker. Find out how to develop your personality, acquire confidence, how to stay away from being monotonous, build up your delivery, utilize your voice and gestures and many more valuable tips and techniques.
