In this video we continue with voice variables, focusing on your speaking rate. For almost everyone, a comfortable speaking rate lies between 130 and 160 words per minute. Speaking too fast can cause poor diction, running words together, slurring words, and dropping word endings, which could result in listeners complaining, what did you say? speaking too quickly. That's a bad habit. And it can be difficult for people to keep up with you, or even understand what you're saying.
That makes it easy for them to turn out and stop listening. When I was a beginning student of public speaking, my speech evaluators described my speaking as being staccato. It wasn't aware of its meaning until I looked it up. staccato speech is where you speak in fragments of sentences that are punctuated by pauses which interrupt to the point of destroying The flow of your speech. Such speech is abrupt, broken, and usually quite hard to follow for long periods of time, and may make the speaker look confused or focused on something. A machine gun delivered like this can easily lose your listeners.
When I self reflected on while I was delivering my speeches this way, I determined that the cause was the way that I memorize my speeches. I would memorize a speech in chunks, or paragraphs. I would memorize the content word for word. When I was delivering my speech, each piece would come out into my memory as a chunk, I would deliver the chunk, then move on to the next chunk of the speech. To resolve this habit, I learned a different way to memorize my speech. My new way may seem somewhat counterintuitive to memorize the content don't memorize the content.
I create my presentations. So they are like a roadmap. I start off with an introduction to get the speech going. Then they move into the first stop on the trip. each topic or variants on the story becomes a chunk, or a story in its own right. I practice each chunk of my story that I know it inside out.
It isn't memorized word for word. What happens is that I'm prepared to deliver that chunk in multiple ways Should I need to adapt it? I do memorize the order have the speech in chunks, like following the towns and cities on a roadmap so that I can easily follow my overall speech, going from one story to another. Your rate should be appropriate for your material. As you would expect, serious content is going to be paced more slowly than which is light and upbeat Be careful not to let yourself get too fast or you'll stumble and get sloppy. You'll also risk wearing out your audience.
On the other hand, talking too slowly, is just as bad. Actually, it can irritate your listeners even more than talking too fast. When a speaker takes, like what seems five minutes to Dre go to phrase or sentence, they're setting up their listeners to yawn or mind wonder. A sluggish speaker can easily convey an impression of shyness, lack of confidence, intelligence, or illness. Speech rate is simply the speed at which you speak. It's calculated in the number of words spoken in a minute.
That's also called WP n. Good pacing means having an interesting rate of delivery. With enough variation to hold your listeners interest, while in your head, you might think your pace is perfect. In reality, you might be off the mark. This is where finding out your speech rates can be helpful. To describe excitement, you would speed up your delivery, and maybe your pitch as well. As we've mentioned in an earlier section.
When quoting statistics, or emphasizing several points, you should slow down the pace. This gives your listeners a chance to process the information you've just given them. Speaking at a constant rate, either fast or slow, can only lead to monotony, and loss of your audience. If you're a rusher, practice your material very slowly. It should feel painfully slow to you. When you get in front of the audience, you probably speed up again, but not to your previous rate.
Practice reading stories at unobvious Wrong pace. Read an obituary very quickly. Read the results of the four h fair very slowly, etc. Then go back and read them at an appropriate rate. This exercise will sensitize you to feeling what is most right. Let's look at the power of pausing, make use of the dramatic pause.
Pausing, is one of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal speaking techniques because this unspoken word can take a well written speech and make it come alive for your audience. If done correctly, a pause is an unspoken word. pauses, keep listeners in suspense, and add variety, excitement and interest to your delivery. we pause for one of four reasons to provide emphasis to breathe Provide variety and delivery and to pull your thoughts together. For example, let's say you've been devoting yourself and finding ways to clean up the environment. You want to share that information with other people.
So you're right your speech, and in that you include many powerful statements. The speeches delivered. However, you did not receive the enthusiastic response you were hoping for. What was missing from the delivery of your speech? What the audience may not have seen the visible and auditory clues that your presence on the stage did not convey your whole demeanor. Your whole body has to show your enthusiasm.
Before your audience can see that you are truly passionate about your topic. The passionate statements you deliver demand a long pause at the end of each sentence. bind with purposeful icontact. As you scan the audience, this will solidify your connection with your audience because it all comes down to being credible and authentic towards your audience. It's not enough to simply stand there and regurgitate words. When you're presenting very impactful statements to your audience that may be shocking and content, or you're telling them something they know nothing about.
And they impressed with your knowledge on the subject, you'll want to make sure that you're getting your message across. Now I'm going to demonstrate why a well written speech with its powerful statements can be far more effective. When we use the technique of pausing. I will show how one sentence when repeated in different ways, and change the impact of that statement, pausing and icontact work in unison to make that vital connection with your audience. They will now give you an example of an impactful statement using pauses. And then I will repeat the same example without pauses, and then compare the two.
Obviously, I won't be able to demonstrate the icontact part of the example. If we as a society don't do something soon to stop the threat of global warming, polar bears could become extinct. We need to act quickly to prevent that from happening. The reason we need to pause after an impactful statement is to show respect for our audience, by allowing them to observe the impact of what you just said, before you carry on at the same time, making eye contact with your audience. This is an acknowledgment between the speaker in the audience which forms a bond. You're showing through this technique that you truly believe in care what you're telling your audience and can instantly make that connection.
Even if they don't realize it's happening. When I come Text is made, each person can feel as though the speaker is talking only to them, which again, cements that bond. You as a speaker will need to help the audience feel the impact of the statement the same way you felt the first time you heard or read it. Therefore, you have to bring yourself back to a time in history when you first became passionate about the topic, and let the audience feel that passion as well. Now, I'll repeat the sentence the reader sense without pausing. If we as a society don't do something soon to stop the threat of global warming, polar bears could become extinct.
So we need to act quickly to prevent that from happening. With no emphasis on the content, I can't convince you to see the importance of what I just said. You may not trust my sincerity on the subject, you run the risk of losing your audience. The audience may be thinking that you were not authentic with the statement because your physical delivery did not show that you put enough emphasis on the impactful statement you just delivered. The sentence is impactful, but it was not reflected that way to the audience. So the speaker loses out on making that important connection.
When you what your risk by putting emphasis on an impactful statement, and not pausing long enough for the audience to absorb what you just said, is losing the audience's attention immediately after the statement. The audience may start thinking to themselves, what I didn't know what bears were at risk. Now they're deep in thought and not listening to your comments. That's why it's very important to give the appropriate time to pause. Allow them to absorb what you said, and then carry on. That way, whatever you say, will hopefully keep the audience's attention.
When you're reading your speech, you need to look at where pauses will need to be inserted, as well. Add them as you practice when the speech is completed. Whatever if you're speaking at a lectern with notes and you're presenting a speech with impactful Famous, how would you handle that? It can be done. But you may not be able to make that connection because of the barrier between you and the audience. Again, it comes down to how to integrate your notes with eye contact and using pauses.
If you look down at your notes a lot, you're not making eye contact. So if you deliver an impactful statement, and then that by end up, and it sorry, and then ended by looking down on your notes, then you've lost the connection. If you have to use notes, you have to practice with that in mind, ensure you do use pauses and eye contact at the appropriate times. Then there is the speaker delivers a speech with an effective but unintended pause. A newly elected US Senator was giving his maiden speech. When he got to the point in the speech where he said, consider Mr. Chairman.
Then his mind went blank and he paused with his arm outstretched. After people came up to him and said that this was a very powerful part of his speech. Remember this. People who have listened to someone deliver a speech won't always remember who the speaker was, or what he or she looked like. But they remember the message the speaker was trying to convey, even years later. This is very powerful.
The next time you sit down to write a speech, I want you to remember the phrase, the power of pausing, because the words you Don't utter may be more important than the words you do. Let's hear some final thoughts for using effective pausing in a speech. A speech is not only the words you say, but how you say them. An excellent speech on paper has minimal effect with a rushed delivery. pausing is important in all speeches as it can add dread A suspense. A pause can emphasize your message.
Always pause. Always pause after an impactful statement. you risk losing the audience's attention if no pauses used immediately after an impactful statement when writing a speech, typing the word pause at the end of a sentence for practicing purposes. Avoid orgasms at the end of a sentence. makes room for a pause. Use powerful icontact when pausing.
Using notes may create a barrier between you and your audience. Find or listen to speakers on YouTube or TV and see if you find their pauses to be effective speech speech is considered successful if you're able to connect with your audience. You want your audience to leave remembering what you said. And the next lesson lesson seven, we focus on your speaking volume.