Silence is Golden & Important When Engaging Others!

Organizing your agenda, preparing meaningful topics, and practicing how you will deliver your notes are all important elements to leading office meetings. When it comes to presenting to a large or small group, we sometimes forget that what we don’t say is just as important as what we do say. Nonverbal communication is critical to being an effective presenter.

Remember the old phrase “Silence is Golden?” Well it’s an important element when you’re speaking. A pause can be very powerful because it allows your listeners to absorb the message you’ve delivered, and then anticipate what is coming next.

Using silence as a tool can be vital to a successful presentation. Here’s a few tips to remember:

• Silence is your friend. A pause in conversation may seem like it goes on forever, however our sense of time is distorted when we are under pressure. One second may seem like one minute. A 2-3 second pause is helpful to our listeners.
• Take a breath at the end of a sentence. This delivers more oxygen to your brain and helps you relax under pressure. Your listeners will appreciate the pause, whether your material is complex or simple.
• Get rid of fillers. When we use “like, uh, um, you knows,” they weaken what we are saying. Instead of filling your pause with these words, fall silent for a moment and focus on what you will say next.
• Praise the short phrase. Your listeners will appreciate you more if you speak in short phrases. When sentences keep running on, your audience will most likely have trouble keeping up.

Learning to effectively prepare and deliver a message is challenging. In the long run, if you pause and give yourself a moment to cherish the silence, you will feel like a more confident, relaxed, and effective speaker—and your listeners will feel like a more inspired and effective audience.

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