2022.02.05 – 0401 – Pauses To Engage Attention After Significant Content
After significant content
A pause after a phrase or story gives listeners time to reflect on what they’ve just heard, to allow it to sink in, giving the audience time to digest information, not drown in it.
“The four people who died in a house fire this morning, were two sets of twin boys aged 4 and 6. In the last few minutes a woman from the same address has been arrested [pause]. The fatal fire broke out at around 2 this morning on a house on Collingwood Avenue…”
The pause in this kind of situation, after the news of the death of a prominent person or ‘shocking’ news story, may also indicate a sense of significance or respect. In a speech, a pause indicates you’ve just made an important point. Let it sit with the audience a moment…
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