Pace

When you are full of nervous energy, you tend to talk faster.  When you are presenting you actually want to talk slightly more slowly than you would in normal one to one conversation. This allows the audience to hear what you are saying, think about it and then listen for the next point. Speakers who talk quickly require much more concentration to listen to. Some people will stop listening if you talk too quickly because it has become too much effort to concentrate.

So make a conscious effort to slow down your speed of delivery and speak clearly.  However, do not over do it.  Speaking too slowly can sound monotonous and your audience will quickly lose interest.  The best speakers vary their pace throughout a presentation.

Pasuing before you make an important point works very well. This is because by pausing you are interrupting the natural flow of your voice, sub-consciously your audience will notice that you have stopped talking and pay more attention when you start again.

Presentation Training and Coaching is available from the author of this blog. Please visit my presentation training  website.

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