How do you pace your speech?

I've never thought about how I space my speech. I spent 28.5 years teaching K-8 special education, 8 years as an adjunct facutly instructor at a community college and a semester as a university professor. At the beginning of every school year the first day started with butterflies in my stomach. Now when someone hands me the microphone I just speak. I have never been able to stop myself from blushing when I have to speak, but I have learned to live with that.

I tend to read my audience's reaction and adjust accordingly. I tend to pick out 2-3 people in the audience and use them as my barometer.

I have recently been handed the microphone on the fly. There has been no time to plan. I am part of a mastermind group and one never knows when they will be asked to share something. There is no time for planning. I watch the audience to make sure I am not racing whatever I have been asked to speak on. I also make sure I am not putting anyone to sleep.

My suggestion would be to record yourself while delivering a speech. After you are done, watch the recording and analyze your performance. Ask yourself, if you were in the audience, would you have paid attention to your speech? If the answer is yes, then your delivery was perfect. If not, then try changing the pace and repeat the steps until you find the perfect pace.

I have found that as long as no one mentions the words "um," "uh," or "like" before I get up to speak I don't use them. The minute someone mentions them the get stuck in my head and come out my mouth. I speak with my hands which helps.

I find if I tell myself prior to speaking not to use filler words I don't. I also think practicing the speech again and again while video recording and rewatching to critique myself is another great technique. It helps me feel the pressure of what I'm doing and get comfortable with it while also being able to see and make appropriate changes.

I recommend really thinking about your audience when pacing. Public speaking is a complicated industry, and those with the most lucrative careers usually speak across a vast span of audiences. Things to be cognizant about are the native language of the audience, the country/jurisdiction you are speaking in, if you are in dialogue with someone else (for example with an interview), if you are running out of time but have significant content left, and more. It is okay to be a bit fast speaking or a bit slow speaking as everyone has their own style, but adapt to the audience to ensure that the message you are delivering is capable of being absorbed by the people it was designed for.

If I know ahead of time I will be speaking, I do write out what I want to say. I practice it so, even though I might have note cards, I really don't have to rely on them.

Often, pacing issues arise from speaking anxiety. I talk fast when in front of an audience. When I speak quickly, I stumble over words, use fillers or run out of breath. Knowing this helps me prepare and combat these tendencies. Before speaking, acknowledge the anxiety. Embrace it as a natural biological response to stimuli, and plan ahead. If you know you're a fast speaker, prepare for intentional pauses; if you tend to use fillers like "umms", practice replacing them with a breath. It might seem like you are pausing for an eternity, but to the audience, it sounds natural. Record yourself speaking and watch it back- you'll be pleasantly surprised by how l the extra breaths improve the pace.

BREATHE! The no one reason we speed through any speeches is because we STOP breathing. Give yourself permission to pause and breathe. That will also have the benefit of removing the um and ah’s and any other fillers that are so annoying for the audience. Humans speak twice as fast as we are capable of listening. Don’t worry about pausing, it will actually give your audience to catch up. Hope this helps

Audience and situation dependent ALWAYS. Sometimes I have been on a ship speaking to a whole crew on deck with rough seas. Conditions matter. At other times I've taught sailing, skiing, or diving. Methods as described are not universally effective.