(Now that many organizations have returned to in-person presentations and pitches, it’s time to polish up those delivery skills that may have gotten rusty with lack of use during the pandemic. So let’s consider that most workplace presenters talk to fast … )
That’s right, it’s time to slow you down. An important component of vocal delivery, your pace or rate of speaking can impact your audience’s attention, interest and opinion of you along with your ability to pause effectively.
Slow Down
Just as audience members tend to perceive a soft-spoken speaker as lacking in confidence or credibility, they react similarly to a fast-talking speaker. It doesn’t matter if this perception is accurate or not, because their perception is your reality. You are what they think you are.
Each of us has a normal comfort zone range of speaking rate, influenced by varying physical, psychological and cultural factors. And for some people, that comfort zone is too fast for the typical audience. It makes listeners work too hard to keep up with them. Since they don’t like to work hard, they often tune out and turn off. They also can perceive fast-talkers as insincere, nervous or inept.