Appropriate Pausing

IN SPEECH, properly placed pauses are important. This is true whether you are delivering a discourse or speaking with an individual. Without such pauses, what is said may sound like babble instead of clear expression of thought. Appropriate pausing helps to impart clarity to your speech. It can also be used in such a way that your main points will make a lasting impression.

How can you determine when you should pause? How long should pauses be?

Pause to Punctuate. Punctuation has become an important part of written language. It may indicate the end of a statement or a question. In some languages it is used to set off quotations. Some punctuation indicates the relationship of one part of a sentence to other parts. A person who reads to himself can see the punctuation marks. But when he reads aloud for the benefit of others, his voice must convey the meaning of whatever punctuation appears in the written material. (For further details, see Study 1, “Accurate Reading.”) Failure to pause when required by punctuation may make it difficult for others to understand what you read or may even result in distorting the meaning of the text.

In addition to punctuation, the way thoughts are expressed within a sentence has a bearing on where pauses are appropriate. A famous musician once said: “The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes, ah, that is where the art resides.” It is similar with speaking. Appropriate use of pausing will add beauty and meaning to your well-prepared material.

In preparing to read publicly, you may find it helpful to mark the printed material from which you will read. Draw a small vertical line where a brief pause, perhaps just a hesitation, is to be inserted. Use two closely spaced vertical lines for a longer pause. If you find that certain wording is awkward for you and you repeatedly pause in the wrong place, make pencil marks to tie together all the words that make up the difficult phrase. Then read the phrase from beginning to end. Many experienced speakers do this.

Pausing in everyday speech usually does not present a problem because you know the ideas that you want to convey. However, if you have the mannerism of pausing at regular intervals regardless of what the thought requires, your speech will lack force and clarity. Suggestions for improvement are given in Study 4, “Fluent Delivery.”

Pause for Change of Thought. When you are making a transition from one main point to another, a pause can give your audience an opportunity to reflect, to adjust, to recognize the change in direction, and to grasp more clearly the next thought presented. It is just as important for you to pause when changing from one idea to another as it is for you to slow down when turning the corner from one street into another.

One reason why some speakers rush from one idea to the next without pausing is that they try to cover too much material. For some, the habit reflects their everyday speech pattern. Perhaps everyone around them speaks in the same manner. But that does not result in effective teaching. If you have something to say that is worth hearing and worth remembering, then take enough time to make the idea stand out clearly. Recognize that pauses are essential to speech that conveys ideas clearly.

If you are going to give a talk from an outline, your material should be organized in such a way that it is obvious where to pause between main points. If you will be reading a manuscript, mark the places where there is a change from one main point to the next.

Pauses for change of thought are usually longer than pauses for punctuation​—however, not so long that they make the delivery drag. If they are too long, they give the impression that you are ill-prepared and are trying to determine what to say next.

Pause for Emphasis. A pause for emphasis is often a dramatic one, that is, one that precedes or follows a statement or a question delivered with a measure of intensity. Such a pause gives the audience opportunity to reflect on what has just been said, or it creates expectancy for what is to follow. These are not the same. Decide which is the appropriate method to use. But keep in mind that pauses for emphasis should be limited to truly significant statements. Otherwise, the value of those statements will be lost.

When Jesus read aloud from the Scriptures in the synagogue of Nazareth, he made effective use of the pause. First, he read his commission from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. However, before applying it, he rolled the scroll up, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Then, with the eyes of all in the synagogue intently fixed on him, he said: “Today this scripture that you just heard is fulfilled.”​—Luke 4:16-21.

Pause When Circumstances Require It. Interruptions may also occasionally require that you pause in your speech. The noise of passing traffic or a crying child may require an interruption in conversation with a householder you have met in the field ministry. If a disturbance at a place of assembly is not too severe, you may be able to raise your volume and continue. But if the disturbance is loud and prolonged, you must pause. Your audience will not be listening anyway. So use pausing effectively, with a view to helping your audience get the full benefit of the good things that you want to tell them.

Pause to Allow for Response. Although you may be giving a talk with no provision for formal audience participation, it is important to allow the audience to respond, not audibly, but mentally. If you pose questions that should make your audience think but then you fail to pause sufficiently, much of the value of those questions will be lost.

Of course, it is important to pause not only when speaking from a platform but also when witnessing to others. Some people never seem to pause. If that is your problem, put forth earnest effort to cultivate this speech quality. You will improve in your communication with others as well as in the effectiveness of your ministry in the field. A pause is a moment of silence, and it has truthfully been said that silence punctuates, it emphasizes, it commands attention, and it refreshes the ear.

Everyday conversation involves a two-way flow of thoughts. Others are more inclined to listen to you when you listen to them and show interest in what they say. This requires that you pause long enough to give them opportunity to express themselves.

In the field ministry, our witnessing is often more effective when it is done in the form of conversation. After an exchange of greetings, many Witnesses find it good to identify their subject and then pose a question. They pause to give the other person opportunity to reply, and then they acknowledge what the householder said. During the discussion, they may give the householder a number of opportunities to comment. They know that they can usually do more to help a person if they know his views on the matter being discussed.​—Prov. 20:5.

Of course, not everyone will respond to questions in a favorable way. But that did not deter Jesus from stopping long enough to allow opportunity even for opposers to speak. (Mark 3:1-5) Allowing the other person opportunity to speak encourages him to think, and he may, as a result, reveal what is in his heart. One of the purposes of our ministry is, in fact, to stir a heartfelt response by presenting people with vital issues from God’s Word on which they must make decisions.​—Heb. 4:12.

Use of appropriate pausing in our ministry is indeed an art. When pauses are used effectively, ideas are more clearly conveyed and are often lastingly remembered.