Fast Results E-Zine
When you sign up, you'll get instant access to my article archives, exclusive content and other freebies. Plus, we will never sell, rent or share your information so sign up today.
Search
Bookmark this Page
Blog Carnivals
Blogroll
Resources
Categories
- Blog Carnival (5)
- Bullying (1)
- Career (31)
- Communicators in the news (15)
- General (13)
- Goal Setting (14)
- Inspiration (13)
- Interpersonal Communication (19)
- Job Interview (9)
- Leadership (4)
- Learning (2)
- Motivation (32)
- Networking (7)
- Personal (1)
- Politics (17)
- Public Speaking (66)
- Quick Tip (6)
- Review (2)
- Time Management (4)
- Toastmasters (13)
- Video of the Week (14)
- Writing (4)
Archives
- December 2008 (5)
- November 2008 (3)
- October 2008 (7)
- September 2008 (11)
- August 2008 (9)
- July 2008 (18)
- June 2008 (9)
- May 2008 (14)
- April 2008 (14)
- March 2008 (11)
- February 2008 (10)
- January 2008 (13)
- December 2007 (13)
- November 2007 (2)
- October 2007 (4)
- September 2007 (3)
- August 2007 (4)
- July 2007 (3)
- June 2007 (4)
- April 2007 (1)
- February 2007 (2)
- January 2007 (3)
- December 2006 (2)
- November 2006 (7)
- October 2006 (6)
- September 2006 (12)
Whenever I use the term “Pregnant Pause” among people who don’t speak for a living, it always raises eyebrows. It’s an odd term, but it essentially means an elongated pause (usually ten seconds or longer) used during a speech. Pregnant pauses aren’t always bad either; they can enhance a speech when used correctly. So let’s take a closer look at the pregnant pause.
A replacement for “ums” and “ahs”:
One of the things I do in my public speaking classes is ask my students to set some speaking goals. I find that many of them try to move away from filler words such as um, ah, so, you know, etc…. I recommend that they pause instead as it’s a cleaner alternative. When people say “um” every five seconds it becomes a distraction. If someone were to pause instead, it would be less of a distraction.
Keep in mind that in public speaking, there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing. So don’t go overboard with your pauses.
A cover up:
This is public speaking’s equivalent of the “uncomfortable silence” that occasionally pops up in casual conversation. You may have said or done something embarrassing, you forgot your place or the audience didn’t react the way you expected them to. Whatever the case, pregnant pauses are a way to gather your thoughts.
The trick here is to not let the pause get to be too long. A couple seconds is okay, but ten seconds of silence during a speech can seem like an eternity – for both you and your audience. You should never let a pause last more than six seconds unless you are purposely pausing for effect – perhaps it’s part of a demonstration or you’re using the long pause for humor. Otherwise, you’ll lose your audience.
The “Ponder Pause:”
This is an effective use of the pause to get your audience to think about something for a moment: You’ve made a profound statement and the audience needs a little bit of time to let what you’ve said sink in.
Again, you have to be careful not to elongate your pause too long. In some situations, primarily when you’re making a serious or shocking point, you might feel that a longer pause is necessary. A great way to handle this is to use multiple pauses but put some words between them. Perhaps you could pause for a few seconds, say “think about it for a moment” and then pause again.
Pauses are a great way to enhance a speech but just be careful as to how you use them. Pauses that are too long or too frequent can quickly become a distraction and take away from your speech.
Check out these Related posts:
calendar
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Aug | Oct » | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | |||||
Recent Posts
- Secrets Revealed: Debunking the Myths About Public Speaking
- How Ignorance Will Make Your Small Business Fail
- Presentation Success: Three More PowerPoint Mistakes to Avoid
- 10 Reasons Why Someone Might Walk Out of Your Presentation
- Useful Feedback or Toilet Paper: You Decide - The Three Types of Useless Feedback
Recent Comments
- James on 10 Reasons Why Someone Might Walk Out of Your Presentation
- James on How Ignorance Will Make Your Small Business Fail
- James on Secrets Revealed: Debunking the Myths About Public Speaking
- Peter Bowler on Secrets Revealed: Debunking the Myths About Public Speaking
- DaleK on How Ignorance Will Make Your Small Business Fail
- Secrets Revealed: Debunking the Myths About Public Speaking | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development on Her Fear of Public Speaking Ruined her Career
- Laura Bergells on 10 Reasons Why Someone Might Walk Out of Your Presentation
- Lisa Braithwaite on 10 Reasons Why Someone Might Walk Out of Your Presentation
Popular Articles
- Interview Question: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Public Speaking Success: How to Get Ideas for Speech Topics
- Presentation Success: Three More PowerPoint Mistakes to Avoid
- Motivation: The Power of Youth
- Personal Power: Should you Focus on your Strengths or Strengthen your Weaknesses
- Public Speaking Success: How to Speak with Clarity
- Job Interview Questions: Where Do You Expect to Be in Five Years?
- Motivation: How to Feel Better About Yourself
- Public Speaking Tips: Five Tips for ESL (English as a Second Language) Speakers
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Speech - Part 1: Your Speech Outline
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Powerful Conclusion for Your Speech
recent entries
- Secrets Revealed: Debunking the Myths About Public Speaking
- How Ignorance Will Make Your Small Business Fail
- Presentation Success: Three More PowerPoint Mistakes to Avoid
- 10 Reasons Why Someone Might Walk Out of Your Presentation
- Useful Feedback or Toilet Paper: You Decide - The Three Types of Useless Feedback
- You Can’t Please Everyone
- Happy Thanksgiving
- The Magic of Walt Disney World
- Review: Personal Development for Smart People
- Should You Give a Speech While Wearing Your Halloween Costume?
Wordpress theme by Wordpress Themes & made free by Internet Marketing Center
© 2006-2008 James Feudo All Rights Reserved.



1 user commented on " Public Speaking Success: The Pregnant Pause "
September 19 2008
Nervous speakers tend to only pause when they’re out of oxygen! The proper use of the pause will give the speaker an air of confidence as well as remind your audience that you’ve just said something important.