If you prefer video content over text, I explain this material with fun, musical examples in my YouTube video.
“Charismatic” public speakers do much more than just be “loud” and “confident”.
In this article, I break down how great speakers use rate of speech to continually, subliminally sustain your interest.
What Not To Do
Think about your favorite pop song. Hum it.
- Notice it has parts that go faster – around the chorus with the most exciting, intense, and singable lyrics.
- It also has parts that go slower – around the verse where we give more detail and dive deeper in the story.
You would not enjoy that song as much if it had one speed the entire time. Like a rollercoaster, it’s the ups and downs – the variety – that keeps you interested.
Same goes for public speaking. Read the text below and pretend a speaker says it at the same, consistent rate of speech without pausing, speeding up or slowing down. Would you lean in, or tune out?
“Next time you use the restroom, you take your phone with you. Gross, I know, but it happens to be the number one location we actually take our phones. So, you properly sit and you decide, I’m just going to mindlessly scroll for a minute. And before you know it, your bum kind of hurts. Oh my. It’s been 32 minutes. Uh huh. That’s 1,920 seconds where your brain went numb”
Most likely, you’d tune out. No matter how interesting the words themselves are, a boring delivery will make for a boring experience.
What To Do
Check out how Sol Rashidi, bestselling author of “Your AI Survival Guide,” delivers the same text – musically. You only need to watch about 30 seconds from the video below to get a sense of Sol’s technique.
Below I’ve annotated how Sol adjusts the speed of her delivery, and how that affects your experience of her words:
[Regular spelling speed] “Next time you use the restroom and you take your phone with you …”
- You’re listening, and being pulled into her description.
[Faster] “Gross, I know, but it happens to be the number one location we actually take our phones.”
- Sol speaks and moves faster because that’s what we’d do if we saw something “gross” – we’d try to escape as fast as possible.
[Slower] “So, you properly sit and you decide, I’m just going to mindlessly scroll for a minute. And before you know it, your bum kind of hurts.”
- Sol again physically manifests her words. She speaks slower to help you imagine getting comfortable on the toilet and mindlessly scrolling.
[Even slower] “Oh my. It’s been 32 minutes.”
- By slowing down even more, Sol makes you dwell on this realization. You’ve been on the toilet a very long time.
[Faster] “Uh huh. That’s 1,920 seconds where your brain went numb.”
- Then Sol speeds up to snap you back and make you see the consequence: you’ve put your brain on autopilot for 1,920 seconds.
Every adjustment in speed was done purposefully to engross you in the scene, and pull you along for the ride.
Summary
Use the speed of your voice to make your words sing.
- Speed up for the exciting, intense parts of your material.
- Slow down for the most poignant, most contemplative sections.
Your voice must be interesting for it to be heard.
If you’re looking for further guidance on how to differentiate your communication skills and stand out in the workplace, take my free self-assessment.
I’m writing a book on thinking quickly, speaking clearly, presenting convincingly, and supercharging your executive presence. My current focus: a section on how to deliver presentations that get remembered. This will be a deep-dive into how to successfully adapt to your audience in real-time during a presentation to give them a memorable experience.
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