Pausing - How To Pause Effectively

If you think public speaking is frightening, try public pausing! To stand silently before an audience requires more courage than to speak. This is why nervous speakers rush through their speeches without pausing. Great speakers pause, often.

Why You Should Pause Often

1. You look confident on stage.
2. Silence signals that you will say something important.
3. The audience gets time to think about what you said.
4. You get time to think about what follows.

Practice Pausing

• Pause before and after important words.
• Breathe in when you pause, to avoid Ahs and Uhms.
• Put big red dots in your script so you remember pausing.
• Pause longer - try pausing for three heartbeats.