The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
Mark Twain
The best and the most influential speakers in the world always rely upon pauses to command their audience. As shared above in the quote, words are not always the best course of action when engaging in a close and intimate conversation, and also when addressing a group of audience from a podium.
Hence, to exercise more influence in an interaction one should master the art of including pauses in speech.
A pause in a speech helps both the speaker and the listener. Firstly, a pause gives a respite to the speaker from continuous speech. Secondly, a pause allows a speaker to organise and manage her/his thoughts better. It enables the speaker to take in the nonverbal cues passed on by the listeners, as the speaker is speaking. Taking a pause at relevant moments, allows the speaker to leverage this unspoken message and improvise her/his speech for better connection, communication and command. Furthermore, pauses help to overcome the use of unnecessary and unpleasant gap-fillers, such as, umm, hmm, aa, and so on.
It is often found that those who are scared of public speaking or are plain nervous at times, speak faster; they feel that in the intermittent silence the audience can hear their nervousness, but it is not so. There are numerous techniques through which a nervous public speaker can be supported to become more confident and incorporate more pauses in her/his speaking.
Pauses aid the audience in myriad ways. Firstly, a pause allows the listener to soak in the important information shared by the speaker. So, taking a pause after sharing a new and essential piece of information is a good idea. Secondly, a pause also prepares the listener to be more attentive when used before delivering an important piece of information. Moreover, pauses can be used for enhancing the dramatic effect of the speech or conversation. A speaker can repeat an important bit of information and present it between pauses. Also, a pause is recommended when one has posed a rhetoric question to the audience, to allow it to ponder over its thoughts. Additionally, when one is taking questions from the audience in a public speaking scenario, one should pause before answering.
The use of pause can be effectively employed in every conversation – with a customer/client, a partner, a friend, a colleague, a spouse, a child, a parent – the list is endless.
To sum it up, a pause adds charisma to the speaker and should be used at relevant time in an intimate conversation or an inspiring public speech.
You may like to watch a video on the concept on the link below:
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