Do you use pauses in your speaking? If you don’t, it’s okay. There are not many speakers who take advantage of the power of the pause. You should

Below are three reasons you should use pauses when speaking:

Pauses Improve Audience Comprehension and Retention

A well-placed pause is like hitting the “save” button for your audience’s brain. When you deliver dense or technical content without breaks, ideas can merge into a blur, leaving listeners struggling to keep up.

Pausing—especially after complex points—gives people the mental breathing space they need to process, connect, and remember.

Just as good designers use visual whitespace to make text readable, skilled speakers use vocal whitespace to make ideas digestible.

These short silences prevent cognitive overload, reduce fatigue, and help your audience separate one idea from the next.

This is especially powerful when presenting formulas, step-by-step processes, or conceptual frameworks.

For example, after explaining a three-part model, a brief pause allows your audience to “catch up” and mentally rehearse the information before moving forward.

In doing so, the pause doesn’t just help comprehension—it increases the likelihood that your ideas will stick long after the talk ends.

In short, pauses don’t waste time—they invest time in making your message more memorable.

So, one reason to use pauses is that it improves your audience’s comprehension and retention.

Another reason is that it signals your confidence and command of the room.

Pauses Signal Confidence and Command of the Room

A well-timed pause is more than a break in speech—it’s a display of mastery.

When you pause, you demonstrate that you are at ease with silence, unafraid of the space between words, and entirely in control of the pace.

This quiet moment replaces distracting filler words like “um,” “ah,” and “like,” which can erode credibility and dilute authority.

You may often rush, cramming words together as if afraid your audience will slip away. In contrast, skilled speakers understand that pauses are a form of punctuation for the ear—an opportunity to reset rhythm, gather thoughts, and project self-assurance without uttering a sound.

A pause placed just before a key point acts like a highlighter in speech. It draws your audience’s focus forward, creating anticipation for what’s about to be said.

This deliberate silence tells your audience: This matters—listen closely. It’s a way of holding the moment, letting the weight of your words land, and ensuring your message doesn’t just pass by—it resonates.

In short, a pause is not an absence of speaking—it’s a powerful tool that commands attention, builds authority, and transforms the listener’s experience.

So, two reasons for you to use pauses are that they improve your audience’s comprehension and retention, and they signal your confidence and command of the room.

A third reason to use pauses is that they deepen emotional impact and connection.

Pauses Deepen Emotional Impact and Connection

In powerful speaking, silence is not the absence of words—it is the space where meaning takes root.

Strategic pauses act like spotlights, drawing attention to moments of emotional weight and allowing your audience to feel what you’ve shared fully.

When telling a story, a pause can become the heartbeat between tension and release.

It creates room for listeners to picture themselves in the moment, to empathize with your experience, or to absorb the gravity of what’s been said.

Without that space, emotions can be rushed past instead of being allowed to settle.

For example, after sharing a personal story of failure and recovery, a few seconds of silence can let your audience process their struggles in light of yours.

Similarly, after asking a rhetorical question—“What would you have done?”—silence invites curiosity and self-reflection before you move forward.

These moments are not breaks in your message; they are the amplifiers of your message.

A pause here becomes the underlining, the italics, the bold print—non-verbal emphasis that ensures your words don’t just pass through ears, but find a place in the heart.

So, three reasons for you to use pauses are that (1) it improves your audience’s comprehension and retention, (2) it signals your confidence and command of the room, and (3) it deepens emotional impact and connection.

Use pauses, but use them for a specific purpose.

Pauses are powerful!

Call to Action

• Pause to give people the mental breathing space your audience needs to process, connect, and remember.

• Pause before a key point to draw your audience’s focus forward and to create anticipation for what’s about to be said.

• Pause to invite curiosity from your audience and allow them to self-reflect before you move forward.

References

• Cynthia Starks, executive speech coach, says: “Pauses are essential for clarity. When you don’t pause, your audience can’t keep up. They’ll miss something important.” — Forbes Coaches Council, 2017

• Chris Anderson, head of TED, writes in TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking: “A speaker who’s willing to pause… signals confidence. It adds gravity to your words and gives the audience time to digest them.”

• Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen, explains: “The pause is powerful. In the silence, listeners reflect, engage, and connect. It’s one of your strongest tools as a speaker.” — Presentation Zen, 2nd Edition

Being a confident, engaging, and effective technical speaker is a vital personal and professional asset. With more than 40 years of engineering experience and more than 30 years of award-winning public speaking experience, I can help you reduce your presentation preparatory time by 50%, overcome your fear of public speaking and be completely at ease, deliver your presentations effectively, develop your personal presence with your audience; and apply an innovative way to handle audience questions deftly.

Working closely with you, I provide a customized protocol employing the critical skills and tools you need to create, practice, and deliver excellent technical speeches and presentations. Let’s connect and explore how I can help you become the exceptional speaker you were meant to be. Please reach out to me at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com or 703-509-4424 for a complimentary consultation. Schedule a meeting with me at calendly.com/frankdibartolomeospeaks