Delivering a Speech: Pace and Purposeful Pauses

Read a speech aloud with a pace and pauses that help an audience follow.

Speeches are written to be heard, so they depend on delivery. Listeners can't reread, which means you must give them time. Most speakers rush when nervous; aim for a pace slightly slower than conversation. Use pauses with purpose: before a key point to build anticipation, after it to let it sink in, and between sections to signal a shift. Consider this original speech line: 'We could wait for someone else to fix the park. We could complain. Or we could pick up a rake on Saturday morning.

' The repetition of 'We could' builds a pattern, so pause slightly after each sentence. Then pause before 'Or,' because it turns toward the real point. Finally, slow down on 'pick up a rake on Saturday morning' so the call to action lands. A well-placed silence can be more powerful than any word, because it tells the audience: this matters, think about it.

• 1Speak slightly slower than normal conversation
• 2Pause before key points to build anticipation and after to let them sink in
• 3Slow down on the most important words