Prepare a one-minute speech. Record it on your phone. Now, take that same speech and add three purposeful pauses. One after your introduction. One between two supporting points. One before your conclusion.
Record the speech again. Listen to both versions. How differently does it sound with the pauses? Without your written outline to refer to, how easily could you tell where each thought started and ended? In which version do the ideas come across more clearly?
Adding even one brief silence between two sentences makes those sentences easier to follow. It’s not what you say, but when you pause that makes a difference.
When we listen, we need time to absorb what you’re saying. Silence helps the listener to make sense of your speech and follow the flow of ideas. Purposefully placed pauses separate one thought from another.
You can use pauses to divide your introduction from your supporting points. Then, use a brief pause after you explain each point and give an example. Another good place for a pause is immediately before you deliver your conclusion.
By marking these important transition points with silence, you outline the structure of your speech. These pauses are like paragraph divisions in a written essay.
It is normal to perceive silence as lasting longer to the speaker (standing in the front of the room) than it does to the listener (sitting in the audience). That’s exactly why purposeful silences are so effective.
Because silence is so uncomfortable, we fill it with words: “um,” “so,” “you know.” By speaking throughout the speech, we remove the spaces between ideas. Without silences, the listener can’t follow the structure of the talk. And we often rush, sounding out of breath, because we’re speaking without taking breaths!
When in doubt about whether to pause, it’s better to pause and then take a breath. This break also gives you a chance to catch the eyes of new listeners in another section of the audience.
Don’t pause after every sentence, though. If all the pauses are the same length and happen at the same points, your speech will sound choppy. Save longer silences for dramatic effect. If a pause is too long, it will take the audience’s attention away from the message.
How and when you should pause is determined by meaning. You give space to your important ideas and let less crucial or closely-related ideas flow together. A purposeful pause can also emphasize a point, especially if you stress a particular word and then take a short pause before moving on.
Listen to your speech again. This time, listen to your use of silence. Is there adequate space for your meaning to come through and have an impact?