Pacing for Pitches and Presentations

And I’m not talking about walking back and forth because your anxious, I’m talking about pacing in speaking, ESPECIALLY in webinars, pitches and presentations but any meeting, any communication also counts.

One of the things I continue to see over and over and over and over…oh, sorry, you get the idea, is people presenting and not really getting the pacing right.  It’s probably the worst in webinar pitches.  What happens is, people don’t want to go to fast, perhaps they’ve been told they speak to fast so they want to slow down. 

Well, I commend you for that, going slower is good.  Notice, I said SLOWER, not slow.  Another issue is people are worried about their audience understanding them, getting all of the points they are sharing so they over compensate by going really slow.  Before I correct these issues and discuss why they are a problem and how to fix them, let’s make sure we are clear on what pacing is.

Pacing, can also be noted as tempo or rhythm is the rate at which your overall speaking takes.  This means, the rate at which you speak in general as well as when your making presentations, pitches, making videos etc…Often times your natural tempo is okay but the problem is you adjust it when your doing a pitch.  Often times your pacing is not okay but either way, the fix I’m going to give you will take care of all your pacing needs!

Going to fast doesn’t work for several reasons, one, we can’t understand you because we can’t keep up.  Two, we loose valuable bits that you need us to know but your going so fast you don’t present them to us.  When you speak, it takes a moment for our ear to catch up so there is a delay.  If your going really fast, our delay can’t keep up so we loose a lot of what your saying.  Plus, if we have to keep saying, what, could you say that again, it gets exhausting for you and us.

However, I think it’s worse when overcompensation kicks in and you go really slow.  The danger here is first of all, it feels like your hitting me over the head with your words to hammer them into my brain to make sure I get it!  But, your pacing ends up sound like block speak so there is nothing natural about it, no inflection, nothing real, warm and fuzzy or approachable.  It’s boring and gives me an opportunity to check out and not stay with you.  Actually, to fast or to slow both do that, give me an opportunity to go into my own zone. 

That is exactly what YOU DO NOT want me to do.

So, time for a solution.  What you want to do with regards to pacing when you speak is go at a moderate pace, which might not be YOUR moderate pace.  Not to fast, not to slow.  BUT, here’s the key, and this is important, find the places where you can add in fast and slow, certain sentences and sections, that way your entire pitch, presentation etc…will be full of alternating tempo which is interesting and makes me want to listen to you, which is exactly what you want!  THAT is how you build trust and rapport and in turn make more sales.

You can catch more such articles that help you become a better speak and presenter at www.theredsweaterlady.com