Big Moments are Created in the Pause

There are moments in every great presentation that don’t appear on the slides.

It’s not the main breakthrough idea, the jaw dropping statistics, or the opening graphic.

What is it?

It’s the quiet pause where everything stops for a beat. A moment of reflection, collection, and connection.

“Let it sit! Give it a beat.”

I remember those words said by a director trying make sure that we allowed the audience time to take in what was just said by the actors on stage.

A week later I stood in front a buyer and CEO delivering a sales presentation hoping to close this large deal.

I was doing my best to make the presentation clear and concise. But it wasn’t. I could see the confusion and frustration on the faces of executive team I was presenting to.

My nerves were on the rise. I started to speak faster and louder. I was no longer in touch with the room. Frankly, there were times I was not sure what I was even saying. I wrapped up the presentation.

No surprise… I lost the deal.

Afterwards speaking with the buyer, he told me that I was too confusing. I was trying to sound so smart. I got nervous, sped up, didn’t think, and I lost the room.

It was that moment in speaking with the buyer it hit me… ‘Let it sit! Give it a beat.’

The idea just doesn’t apply to the stage, but to a data heavy technical presentation.

Never underestimate the value in taking time to PAUSE allowing whatever it is you said to ‘sink in’.

I started to work a pause into all my speaking engagements.

This was not easy, after all, I’m in sales. The hardest thing for any salesperson to do is shut up! Especially in a world that values quick answers, zero silence and thinks being the expert means you respond quickly to questions. No pause. Nonsense.

You want to create gripping, quiet moments where the audience eagerly awaits your next move. Or pause, and let what you said resonate with the audience.

Making a Presentation Click

When working with my executive clients, they always ask how to make their presentations click.

Most people focus on the opening line, key messages, and a call to action. These are important parts of a presentation; however, the power comes when you build humanity and vulnerability into the space in between.

Remember humans are emotional beings. The audience will only remember what you make them feel.

How do you build that space? It’s built on three small details that demonstrate compassion and openness. These three details make all the difference:

The pause.
The reset.
The breath.

Honouring the Pause

When was the last time someone told you a secret?

There’s a good chance they paused before the reveal. The pause lets vulnerability in showing their human side ensuring you are connected before you hear the main message.

An intentional pause gives your audience a second to catch up, perk up, and connect to your content. That’s the power of the pause. Quiet, small, yet intentionally impactful.

Honouring the Reset

A reset is a physical release of pressure through body language and tone. Once you have an engaged room, relax your shoulders, take a deep breath, and invite your audience along for the next phase of your presentation.

The reset is a way to establish a structure without the need to vocalize it. You are taking your audience on a journey through your content with your words, your posture, and your connection.

Slow Breath for Human Connection

Have you ever been in a presentation where the speaker is rushing, breathing shallow, their voice is tight, and the content is being rushed?

When this happens, the audience starts to completely lose focus on the message. Your content gets lost.

Breathing calms the nervous system and strengthens your command of the room. You connect with humanity, not perfection and polish, giving the audience an invite to relate to and remember your message.

Elevate with the Space In Between

Think of your children, do you create meaningful connections with the loudest and wildest games, or in the quiet moments in between telling bedtime stories, giving a loving hug, or looking up at the stars holding hands?

Those smaller, impactful moments are what makes the message stick because they aren’t rehearsed or researched, they are felt.

At the end of the day, memorable speakers don’t deliver information, they create impactful moments between themselves and their audience.

Those special moments are built in the small spaces in between.

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Get comfortable with silence.