"What Next Level Communicators Understand about Pace"
A speaker's pace is like the score to a movie: Understated, but powerful, having the ability to emotionally move audiences from laughter one moment to tears the next. The best communicators are aware of the power of pace, and they use it intentionally to inspire their listeners.
Pace is the rate we speak, and when it comes to effective communication our pace must be varied to match critical moments in our presentation.
Next time you go to the movies, pay careful attention to the music (the score) played in the background of key scenes. Car chases will be accompanied by an up tempo song. Romantic scenes will be underscored by a slower tempo love song. And then there will be dramatic pauses, where there is no music or words, so the audience can digest what has just taken place. Can you imagine a movie where the whole thing is scored by a fast tempo or slow tempo song? That would be miserable, and it would actually work against the intended effect of the film.
And so it is with speakers who do not vary their pace. A communicator who talks at the same rate the whole message, is like the boy who cried wolf. At some point the message will not move the audience in the communicator's intended direction. But speed up over here, and slow down over there, and locate the right pause at just the right moment so your audience can take in what you want them to, and you have set the stage for a presentation that truly moves people.
So how do I know when to speed up, slow down or pause? Broadly speaking, I have found the following to be helpful:
Introductions should be slow to normal pace, as you are taking the strategic first few moments of your talk to connect with your audience, while you are allowing them to warm up to you. In most cases you don’t want to come out hot like a “car chase” scene. That will wear you out, and make it difficult to “rev” back up in key moments later on in your talk.
Humor, broadly speaking, should move at a faster pace (and when I say “fast” don’t hear that as not understandable).
Moments of application are strategic times to slow down and eventually pause. Newer speakers tend to not do well with pauses, thinking they have to fill the air at all times with words; but an appropriate pause at a moment of application is the perfect tool to allow your audience to soak in what you want them to receive.
Where the message calls for the right use of passion, feel free to “step on the gas” with your pace. If you’re talking about the cross of Jesus Christ, this is a great place to let it rip. If you’re moving towards the grand finale of your talk, this too, is a good place to speed up.
If your talk calls for a time where you want the audience to make a decision, this is normally the place to “ease up on the gas,” and slow down.
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