When pitching prospective clients or speaking to an audience, it is sometimes uncomfortable to listen, be quiet or pause. Three seconds of silence can feel like an eternity, as if we were DJs who keep talking so that listeners don’t change the station. We use fillers, like “you know, well, uh, or um…” Or, we race through our content, diminishing the impact of our words.
Silence gives you time to think ahead, to allow the weight of your statements to register, and bunch your ideas into discrete sections. Listeners can catch a mental breath, better remember your material, and appreciate the variety between sound and the lack thereof. Silence is golden; trust it.
WORD OF THE WEEK:
Quiescent (kwee-ES-uhnt) Adjective. Being at rest; quiet, still; inactive or motionless.
Use in a sentence: The gecko looked like part of the wall, quiescent as stone, waiting for the tasty evening mosquitoes.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“Well-timed silence hath more eloqence than speech.”
Martin Fraquhar Tupper, English writer and poet (1810-1889)
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WEEK:
Drum roll, please. The title of our upcoming book to be published by McGraw-Hill Professional is Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage and Get Results.
Brian Hemsworth of Newman Grace came up with this title, which was chosen by McGraw-Hill. He wins a weekend in Tahoe for up to ten friends. Thank you so much Brian, and to all of you who submitted creative titles.
June 30, 2009 at 1:18 am |
Congrats on the new blog! And congrats on the new book (and title)! All good things shall come to those who are pure of heart and have the patience to wait!