Whether you’re delivering a presentation, asking questions of others, speaking to a customer or just having a chat, I’m pretty confident that you don’t pause often enough.
Many people find silence really difficult to deal with, so fill it as quickly as they can. They speak very quickly, ask a 2nd or 3rd question before the other person has taken in the 1st or start speaking again not because they have something to say but simply because they don’t like the silence!
The problem with that is you miss the golden nuggets in what the other person has to say or maybe worse, your audience misses your golden nuggets as you have moved straight onto the next point.
We all need time to take onboard what the other person says and the fact you’re uncomfortable with silence often means that they don’t get the chance to process your point. Some people also need to reflect on what you’ve said to be able to take it on board, so not giving them time to hear and reflect could mean you don’t get their buy-in and/or you make your job harder.
When Shakespeare wrote his plays, he wrote in pauses … usually before something important is said or straight after. This allows the audience to metaphorically look up as the character is about to say something that moves the play on or explains something that has or will happen. Alternatively, they could be taking on board what has just been said to accelerate or enhance their understanding.
I reckon that if it’s good enough for Shakespeare it’s good enough for me.
A pause in a presentation is never as long as you think.
A pause when giving information allows your audience to assimilate what you’ve said.
A pause in a conversation will often illicit additional thoughts from the other person and that is usually where the nuggets of gold are!
Try it and see how you get on.
