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COMPETENCIES
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PUBLIC SPEAKING resources for you
Public Speaking: Pauses
A true NO ZZZZZs presenter doesn't feel that he or she must jabber away constantly to keep the audience awake. Skilled presenters in public speaking use silence (or pauses) to add to the effectiveness and polish of public speaking. Theatrical folks have identified a whole bunch of neat pauses which I'm sure they have a ball playing with. I'm only going to address some of the most obvious and important ones, for public speaking, here.
Short
The shortest pauses, which last anywhere from one-half to two seconds, are for
the simple purpose of separating your thoughts. All you have to remember is
to slow down. Give the audience a fighting chance to absorb what you are saying.
Change your voice inflection slightly at the end of each thought to cue the
audience the next thought is coming. Also, use a short pause before and after
any phrase (punch line) or word you want to emphasize.
Spontaneity
Another neat pause is known as a spontaneity pause. This is a planned "unplanned"
pause used so that you don't look too rehearsed in your public speaking. You
might apply this pause when you want to pretend to search for a word or phrase
that you already know.
Long
Long pauses of more than three seconds are very powerful. They command the audience
to think about what you just said, that is if what you just said was worth thinking
about.
Please[pause][pause][pause] don't be afraid to be silent once in a while. It can dramatically increase the impact of your public speaking.
