The sound of silence

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Plain bread is good but finding a hidden goodie is always a treat and you want to pause and savour it. So it is with your presentations. You need to give your audience time to think about and ponder on your pearls of wisdom. How do you do this?

p...a...u...s...e!

Make your point. Stop speaking. Look around the audience. Measure their reactions. Carry on with your speech.

The benefits are multifold. Your audience has had time to process your point and is more likely to retain the information. You, the speaker, have had time to digest the reactions you are getting and you may want to make a swift re-adjustment to your approach based on them. You also have time to catch your breath.

Words are wonderful, pauses perfect them!

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