Public Speaking and the Need for Less Speed
Eight ways slowing down can help you speak more effectively—especially under pressure.
There are no panaceas in speech coaching—no One Simple Trick that will solve all speaking problems. But slowing down is probably the single most helpful adjustment you can make—and is the foundation of many other speaking improvements. Let me illustrate.
I like to imagine all of speaking as a race between the brain and the mouth.
Here’s how you want the race to go.
The brain comes up with ideas as fast as it can, and the mouth spits them out. If/when the mouth catches up, look out! Ums, y’knows and other fillers take the place of actual words; we repeat ourselves, pause awkwardly or say things that make little or no sense. We’re stalling for time, waiting for our brain to retake the lead. Sometimes it does, but other times it gets overwhelmed, and we freeze up. Nerves often take over, hampering our brain further, and speaking may grind to a halt. A disastrous outcome!
The “must think faster than you speak” dynamic also reminds me of a scene from one of the old Wallace & Gromit shorts where (in a masterful feat of claymation) Gromit is atop a runaway toy train, laying down tracks in front of it to make a route and avoid wrecking.
In this scenario, our brain is Gromit, laboring madly to supply us with coherent ideas—and our mouth is the train, rushing on headlong, using up those ideas.
Now, there are ways to work on generating thoughts and turning them into speech more quickly, but most of those take time and practice. In the moment, your brain’s maximum speed is pretty much static, or a given—it won’t accelerate just because you want it to. So a much more immediate remedy is slowing your speech and giving your brain time to think.
When you do so, a bunch of good things happen:
First and foremost, you can think ahead, plotting the next idea rather than just trying to survive the sentence you’re already in.
Fewer stumbles. Rapid speech puts a greater strain on your facial muscles, lips and tongue, making you trip—like what happens when you say tongue twisters. But everything’s a tongue twister if you say it fast enough. Also, these fumbles often exacerbate nerves, even though they shouldn’t. So reducing verbal slip-ups helps
You look more calm and in control. While many fear speaking slowly looks less prepared and confident, generally the reverse is true. Fast speech is associated with nervousness—and correctly, too, since speed is among the most common symptoms of nerves. It gives the impression you’re trying to get this over with ASAP. So even if you’re uncomfortable, speaking slowly helps project confidence to your audience.
You may feel more calm and in control--because you are. Going from a runaway train of thought to a sedate choo-choo (so to speak) can have a very calming effect, as your brain—eased of some of its burden—may dial back the stress response. Hence, training yourself to slow down when you feel the pressure can be a great way to counter nerves.
Pauses look better. If you normally speak very fast, if/when you pause briefly to collect yourself or think ahead—a common and normal occurrence--it may look like something is wrong and you’ve lost your way. Conversely, an occasional pause blends right in with a measured, deliberate speed. Likely nobody notices.
Counterintuitively, you may cover more ideas in less time. Talking fast makes it hard to pick the best/most accurate words and phrases. That’s why rapid speakers are often long-winded and repeat themselves. Choose your words wisely, and you won’t need so many of them.
The audience can better follow you. When ideas fly by, audiences get lost. Slowing down helps folks keep up.
More available mental bandwidth. Again, when speaking, your brain’s main job is coming up with stuff to say. This is hard enough, and takes up most of its processing power. But it may have to process other things also. Some are common features of public speaking—like reading the room, advancing the slides, sipping some water or remembering to speak loudly. Others may be unwelcome intrusions, like nervousness or that one guy clicking his pen. Every bit of mental capacity and focus is valuable, and you want to save it for the most important things—or reluctantly spare a bit for distractions without getting derailed. Slowing down is the best way to free up some cognitive bandwidth. No matter what you choose (or are forced) to use it on, this bonus brain space is immensely useful.
Bottom line: While public speaking is seldom easy, basically everything about it is easier when you slow down and give yourself time to think. In the race between your brain and your mouth, this stacks the odds in your brain’s favor—and yours.
