How to slow down when you’re speaking
The life of an entrepreneur tends to be pretty fast paced.
You might feel like you are constantly running at 100 miles an hour.
But the one place that speed should not be present is your pitch.
Why?
Because the speed you speak at and the speed someone can digest information are NOT the same.
We've all sat watching someone present when they suddenly lurch into 5th gear.
They instantly loose you in the dust of a jumble of words, that have almost zero chance of sticking.
When I ask my clients to identify what habits they have when they're speaking, over 90% mention speed.
It is usually routed in nerves or a lack of being connected to what they are saying. They are simply going through the motions.
Here's how to fix it.
The Barack Obama effect
Take a second to think of a speaker that you admire; Barack Obama always comes to mind for me.
Part of his gravitas and ability to influence comes from the pace he chooses to speak at.
For a speaker to be understood, they should aim to speak at no more than 140 words per minute.
Anything above this speed exceeds our ability to fully understand what's being said unless we exert some concentrated effort.
In a number of Barack Obama's speeches he uses on average 120 words per minute.
He has a measured approach which makes it feel like every word matters.
When Obama speaks, people sit up and listen.
How to use pace to your advantage
Speaking at a slower pace can indicate the importance of the message, the introduction of a new idea, or the gravitas or seriousness of what is being said.
But, speaking at a quicker pace can also be a helpful indication to your audience.
It can signal excitement, urgency and passion.
This is to say that you do not need to speak at the same pace throughout your presentation.
Always aim for your first sentence to be delivered at a steady pace.
People take a few seconds to dial into what you’re saying, so give them the chance to do this.
Whenever you are introducing a new concept, keep it slow.
If there are any sentences that indicate excitement, think about increasing the pace just slightly and notice the difference that it makes.
How can you take it slow(er)?
Use short sentences
These will be your greatest friend if you want to speak slower.
The longer your sentences the faster you will be forced to speak.
Chop long sentences in half, add a full stop, and then use it.
Breathe at the end of each sentence to maintain a steady pace.
Check your word count
How many words per minute are you being forced to speak at?
Use this equation:
Total words ÷ number of minutes = wpm (words per minute).
Here are some speech rate guidelines:
Slow: less than 110 wpm
Easy to listen to: between 120 wpm and 150 wpm
Fast: more than 160 wpm
If your word count is forcing to speak quickly, be ruthless in cutting out words to enable you to slow down.
Record yourself and listen to it back
I know it’s painful. Few people enjoy this exercise, but it will give you a helpful indication of the pace at which you’re speaking.
You only need to audio record yourself to do this.
Listen back, and without being critical of yourself note where you might be speeding up too much, or speaking too slowly.
Then run through your pitch again, being deliberate with the sentences where you need to adjust the pace.
Use a metronome
This is another great way of checking your pace.
There are lots of free metronome apps available such as Metronome beats, and Metronome by Soundbrenner.
Just set the click of the metronome to your desired speech goal per minute.
If you know that you naturally speed up under the presence of nerves then begin with 100 ticks per minute.
This might feel incredibly slow, but from here you have some wiggle room to speed up.
If you are a rehearsing a pitch or presentation at too high a pace you will only get quicker when you feel nervous.
Try these tips.
Adjusting your speed is not an easy fix, but considering the difference that pace can make, it’s worth putting in the effort.
When you do so, you enable us to capture and remember what you’ve said, and that’s never be a bad thing.