In the last posting, I talked about the process of becoming successful at impromptu (off-the-cuff) speaking. This process is:
In this post I am going to talk about PAUSE.Listen-Pause-Confirm-Tell-End
In the general context of public speaking - "Pause" is an extremely effective method of keeping an audience's attention and focus on the speech. It is also very effective at keeping your nerves under control. When someone is suffering from a bit of nerves or stage fright, their diaphragm tends to tighten up, they tend to breath from the top of their lungs instead of from their diaphragm and they constantly run short of breath and tend to gallop along on their speech just to get it over and done with.
This is NOT good speech making - the masterly use of the pause slows things down and focusses attention on the speaker and the speech. When you first begin using pauses, it seems as if a two second pause is 15 minutes long but once you become adept at using pause a two to five second pause feels quite natural. It allows you to take a deep breath and let it out to relieve nervous tension and get ready for what is coming next.
I have found that a pause of five seconds works very well... as most people rush to fill in silences and when this doesn't happen, the audience becomes alert and focussed, wondering what is going to happen next.
A big No-No is to rush and fill any pauses with speech fillers... those sounds and words we make that are like a tap dripping loudly in a nearby sink. Sentences beginning with words (often drawn out so that 'and' becomes 'aaaaaand') such as:- and; so; now; but; and phrases such as 'and so'; (plus many others) and vocalisations or sounds we make such as um; ah; er; plus others such as a 'tsk' sound or a clicking sound made by your tongue against teeth or a sucking sound made by lips and teeth.
Once mastered - the pause becomes a very useful tool in public speaking.
HOWEVER
This is the not the use of 'pause' I want to talk about briefly. This other form is an action when you are faced with a question or called upon to speak without any prior notice being given.
First you listen - really heed what the question is and then you PAUSE. This does a number of things - some of which are:
- Gives your brain a chance to refresh
- Adds drama
- Gives time to think about the question
Next post: Confirm