One of the biggest rookie mistakes when on stage in front of an audience is rushing. Even if you enunciate clearly, if you talk too fast the audience won’t follow you. It is not only appropriate to build silence into your presentations, it’s necessary if you want the audience to assimilate what you’re sharing with them.

This may seem like a very simple tip, but I wouldn’t be sharing it if there weren’t a lot of people who needed to hear it! We human beings are, as a rule, afraid of silence. We find ways to fill the space (see an earlier post about fillers) or we leave no space. But when you’re sharing something that requires some processing, thinking or consideration of some sort, build in a pause. This gives the audience a chance to think and it gives you a chance to scan the audience and ‘read’ their response to what you shared. You can tell if people look confused or lost after you’ve made a point. You might need to repeat your point, or find a way to restate the thought.

Pauses also give you the perfect spot in a presentation to move. You don’t move on every pause, but you can use pauses to move. Pauses also help you gather yourself in those cases where you’ve lost track of what you’re saying…and let’s admit that happens to all of us. If you’ve become comfortable with pausing as a matter of course, then it won’t seem odd to an audience when you pause to gather yourself. At least it won’t seem odd as long as you don’t react…like smacking your head or stomping your foot and saying, ‘Dang, I forgot where I was!’ (That doesn’t qualify as a pause.)

As you prepare your next presentation plan for pauses and pace yourself. I’m going to pause now so you can think this over.