Pauses

Silent pauses can be a particularly powerful way to get the point across.  Pause for a couple of seconds before you make a significant statement.  People will pay more attention to it.  By interrupting the rhythm of your voice, your audience sub-consciously recognise that something is about to happen and it makes then listen even harder.

At the start of a presentation before you make your opening remarks, pause, look around the room smile at your audience and gather your thoughts.  Instead of diving straight in, a pause at the start will ensure everyone’s attention is on you and that they are ready and eager to hear what you are going to say.

People who are new to presenting or public speaking, often feel that they cannot stop talking and that any pause seems to last a lifetime.  They want to get the presentation over with as quickly as possible and by stopping talking not only are they delaying the finish, they are not doing what the are there to do, which is talk. It is as if leaving a pause is drawing attention to themselves, rather then their speech.  They would be right but it is a very useful thing to do.

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

Give me a day and I’ll change your presentations, forever

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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.

Give me a day and I’ll change your presentations, forever