Leveraging the power of silence when pitching your business

Leonardo da Vinci once said "you are most powerful when you are silent." Yet being silent is one of the most underused tools when it comes to pitching. Even those who practice silence when they're alone can struggle to wield it well when the adrenaline kicks in and the spotlight is on. 

So if silence holds power, what do you loose when you don't use it, what do you gain when you do, and how can you practically put it into action?

Why does silence make us feel so uncomfortable?

When I was 13 I played the viola for my local orchestra. We would meet on Saturday mornings at 9am and practise for the next three hours. As you can imagine there was a fair amount of heel dragging to get there each week.

One morning, our conductor announced that we were going to learn a new piece called 4.33 by experimental composer John Cage. The piece is made up of 3 movements, all performed entirely in silence.

We were told to sit and be present as we counted the endless bars of music.

I scoffed and giggled my way through the piece; feeling uncomfortable to my core at the idea of not making any noise for four and a half minutes.

As an adult, I’ve begun to realise that my relationship with silence hasn’t really changed. Looking at others around me on my morning commute, I know I’m not alone. I'm met with a sea of noses buried in screens and ears plugged into headphones. 

It's as if we've grown to abhor the presence of silence - like it's something to be endured rather than something sacred. 

We rush to fill silence and, if not that, then 'we ensure our heads are always full', Neal Gittman says.

What do we replace silence with when we pitch?

In my job as a presentation coach, it's obvious to me that our obsession with noise spills into the way we communicate. This means we miss the opportunity to shut-up and leverage the power of silence, and instead replace it with the some of the following:

1. Filler words: 'um', 'ah', 'sort of', 'like', 'you know', 'er'

When pitching they distract from what you're trying to say because they add a tone of uncertainty; it sounds as if you're second guessing yourself. They also literally fill the space where you actually need to breathe, robbing you of silence in the process.

2. Long sentences

When you're pitching and a sentence spans more than a 1 1/2 lines it's too long. It means you'll either speed up or run one sentence into the next. It forces you to take 'snatch breaths' in the middle of a sentence because your lungs are gasping for air.

3. Unnecessary words

Some fall into the trap of starting the sentence speaking about one thing, and ending it speaking about something unrelated. For others, unnecessary words present themselves as muttering under their breathe. The audience is then exposed to information or expletives they don't need or want to hear! 

How can you make room for silence?

Sometimes we do the above because they are habits, other times adrenaline plays its role. But if we do nothing to address them then we miss out on silence's power to intrigue, draw people in and digest what's being said.

It's the difference between shoving an entire chocolate cake in someone's face and giving them bitesize pieces, allowing them to savour and fully digest each mouthful. Here's how you can move from filling silence to appreciating its power:

1. Record yourself pitching

Everyone hates listening back to themselves, but you can use this to assess:

a) if your sentences are they short and snappy

b) where/ if you are pausing

For some further tips on recording yourself pitching, check out Ten Tips for Pitching Well Online

2. Plan silence into your next pitch

Then shorten your sentences and mark moments to pause where necessary. 

Use this particularly where you're wanting to create a moment of drama or highlight something, and then practise it out loud. Think of Barack Obama and his 'mic drop' moments.

3. Practise breathing exercises before you pitch

Here is a brilliant example of some breathing exercises within our one minute warm up. If you breathe well before you speak, you set yourself in the right rhythm as you begin...

Once you've followed these steps, re-record yourself again and note where you hear a difference and where you can still improve.

Let silence do the work

When John Cage wrote 4.33 he wanted to get people to stop and listen to the world around them.

There is a purity to silence which strengthens our authority when we speak, takes our audience by surprise and can change the way we feel when we're speaking. 

So next time you pitch, take a second and let silence do some of the work for you.