“Gavin, I am afraid to pause – I just can’t get comfortable with pausing. The silence feels like ages and it is too awkward.”
How can you overcome this?
Let’s deal with each part of that concern in turn.
Why Pausing Feels So Long
Yes – it does feel long.
The first thing to be aware of is that a pause will feel longer for you than it will for your audience.
A lot longer.
A five-second pause can feel like a minute when you’re standing in front of a room.
To your audience, it feels like… five seconds.
So while it may feel like ages, it rarely actually is.
Despite the cartoon above, it is pretty rare to pause for too long!
Why Pausing Feels Awkward
The key to improving this is learning how to get comfortable with pausing.
The fastest way to get used to the feeling is simply to do it more regularly.
The more you pause, the more natural it becomes.
But don’t wait for a big, high-pressure presentation to try it for the first time.
Use smaller, lower-stakes opportunities to practise.
Build the habit gradually.
Learning to get comfortable with pausing can significantly improve your delivery.
Conclusion
Like most presentation skills, pausing improves with repetition.
Start small.
Use it often.
And your confidence will grow.
Silence feels longer to you but more powerful to them.
If you’re working on where to use pauses, these previous articles may help…
