What’s The Best Speaking Pace For Presentations?
Think of a good public speaker. How fast do they speak? Quickly or slowly? In other words, what’s their pacing like?
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some fantastic clients in my recording studio – CEO’s rehearsing town halls, lawyers rehearsing for their partner selection process, and TEDx speakers, preparing for their big day – coaching them to discover their perfect pace.
So, what’s the best pace for presenting?
When you’re presenting you need to speak at a slower than normal conversational pace. This is important because:
- You allow the audience to take in your information
- You come across as confident and authoritative
But, many people make the mistake of speaking slowly all the time. This is not advisable as after a while you might sound a bit boring, and your audience won’t be engaged with your words. So you need to vary your pace too.
Next time you’re presenting keep these points in mind:
- Speak at a slower than normal conversational pace overall
- Slow down even more – to add emphasis and gravitas
- Speed up – to add excitement or intensity to your delivery
This is what I teach all my clients – how to vary their pace to sound dynamic, engaging and confident. It works every time.
Effective pacing is just one of the skills covered in my best-selling video course Unlocking The Power Of Your Voice – a complete voice transformation system that will give you powerful vocal techniques that you can start using immediately.
Find out more here: Unlocking The Power Of Your Voice
Watch the video to learn about why you should vary your pace.