Be Comfortable With Silence!
Steem greetings, fam! I hope we're all doing well today!
Today, I'd like to share a trick that can enhance our ability to deliver compelling presentations. I want to talk about the importance of silence in speechmaking.
Talking to student teachers of the Government Teachers Training College Bamenda
Pauses
These are the unsung heroes of effective communication that play a key role in the impact of a delivered speech. They are more than just empty spaces because they carry massive weight in conveying a message to an audience.
Here are a few reasons why pauses matter in speechmaking:
Pauses can be used to emphasize key points: You can tell the audience that the point you just stated is important without actually saying it. When you pause after stating a point, it emphasizes its importance and tells the audience to take note.
Pauses introduce unpredictability in your presentation and create eagerness in the minds of your audience members, thereby holding them spellbound. This is how you make them want the message before you give it to them. When you're introduced and get to the stage as a speaker, it's important not to start speaking immediately. When you're announced, people might stand to clap, and as you get on stage, there's still fidgeting in the room. So, pause for a couple of seconds to allow the audience to notice you. It also helps to create eagerness to hear what you have to say. One important thing to always remember with this technique is that while you're silent, you must maintain eye contact with the audience. This portrays confidence and acts as a catalyst for the eagerness to hear you speak. Make them want it.
Talking ceaselessly can leave your audience blank after a long presentation due to the lack of time to absorb the information. Pauses enable your audience to digest previous information.
Pauses help a speaker to recollect. It's possible to forget certain key points during a presentation, and when this happens, many presenters become agitated and nervous. When this occurs, don't be afraid to have a moment of brief silence to help you recollect your thoughts and smoothly jump back into the presentation. There's one very important rule to note as a speaker or presenter: no matter what happens during your presentation, it's wise to stay calm. The reason will blow your mind.
Fun fact: 90% of the mistakes you make on stage aren't noticed by the audience unless you call attention to them. This is because the audience wasn't there when you were practicing your presentation. So please, don't call attention to your mistakes on stage. Stay calm!
- Pauses before stating a strong point also tell the audience that this point is important. And even after stating the point, it's important to pause again for a few seconds to lay more emphasis on it.
My advice is to practice with pauses whenever you're rehearsing a presentation. Soon, it will become a habit even in casual conversations, thereby adding style to how we communicate. Remember to embrace the silence that follows a pause.
I hope you find this helpful for your upcoming presentations.
Until next time,
Cheers! ✌️