Pace Yourself in Presentation

By James A. Baker 
Founder
Baker Communications

One of the biggest public speaking blunders is poor pacing. Inexperienced presenters often do not give a lot of thought to the pacing of their speech, but this is a factor that can make or break your presentation. Imagine this:

You're waiting for your turn to speak, and your mouth has gone dry. You wipe your clammy hands on your pants and try to remember to smile as you ascend to the podium.

As you get into the spotlight you can hear your heart thumping. Your dry mouth opens… and you start talking a mile a minute. It's like the words are a flood that you can't stop pouring out.

You finish what should have been a twenty-minute presentation in about seven minutes, and as you sit down shaking, nobody has any idea what you said.

Does this sound familiar? This is a very common experience for people who are unused to public speaking. 

Motor Mouth

The most pervasive problem, especially for inexperienced presenters, is speaking too quickly. Fast speech is a natural effect of fear or nervousness, as well as excitement. The fight-or-flight response kicks in, adrenalin starts pumping, and you turn into a motor mouth - sometimes without even realizing it. The effects of adrenalin can skew your perception and make time seem to slow down. If you are nervous, it may seem like you are talking more slowly than you really are. A good pace for the audience will probably seem very slow to you!

Speed Reading

Overly speedy speaking can also result when the presenter is reading from a script. Reading occurs at a different rate than oral communication; most people read faster than they talk. Remember that it takes longer for the audience to hear and understand your message than it takes for you to read it. Your listeners cannot absorb auditory information at the same rate that they could absorb visual input. Give them time to hear and understand what you are saying before you move on to your next point.

Mumbo Jumbo

Speaking too quickly, whether from nervousness or because you are reading your speech, often results in mumbling. When you speak too quickly, the audience will only catch about 10% of what you say; if you are also mumbling, your listeners will have to strain to figure out any of it. You need to be heard clearly for your message to come across, or your presentation will fizzle.

Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to counter the tendency to rush through your presentation is to practice doing your speech, slowly, ahead of time. Going over the presentation at a slower speed will make that pace seem more natural. You will always tend to speed up in front of an audience, so practice a bit slower than you actually want to talk. Practice the entire speech, multiple times. The more familiar you are with your material, the less nervous you will be, and the less time you will spend mumbling into your script.

Make sure to also enunciate clearly when practicing; you might even try doing some tongue twisters or other vocal exercises. Open your mouth wide enough to let sound escape effectively. Keep the size of your audience in mind; practice projecting to fill the room where you will be presenting.

As you practice your speech, you also have a good opportunity to work out where you should pause. This is part of pacing yourself; pausing will allow you to catch your breath and not rush headlong through your material. Pauses can also be used to create tension and interest or to highlight important points. Pause whenever you want the audience to take a moment to absorb what you have just said.

Pace Your Presentation

When crunch time finally arrives, do some relaxation exercises and try to keep it cool. Remember that you will have a tendency to speed up and that adrenalin may be affecting your perception of time; talk a little slower than you actually think you need to. Even if it ends up being slower than your usual speech, it will keep you from appearing nervous and rushed.

If you control the pace of your presentation, enunciate well and pause appropriately, your presentation is likely to be more successful. You will appear more confident, and your audience will be better able to understand and connect with your message.

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