Hugh Culver

Business of Speaking

  • Blog
  • About
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Contact

Hero Habits

Get my free guide on the power of habits and improve your performance every day.

Download it Now (for Free!)

Do you pause in your speech?

Leave a Comment

Never miss another update.

In a presentation I attended about adding comedy to your speech, my friend, Ron Tite reminded us,  “There’s so much after the punchline.” But, of course given his training from Second City, that’s not how he said it.

This is how he actually said it:

“There’s so much after [pause] the punchline.”

You see, something magical happens when you pause in your speech…the audience tries to catch up.

Something magical happens when you pause in your speech…the audience tries to catch up. #keynote Click To Tweet

Just like my dog, Riley, waiting with me at a cross-walk, the audience knows something good is coming and they’re waiting in anticipation….for the punchline.

In fact, listen to any great comedian like Seinfeld, Gervais or Rock the power of their comedy is both in the set up, the pause and the punchline.

I’m not good at that – I still have my pack-in-the-content habit of rapid-fire rattling away at my material. But, when I

pause,

for effect,

everything changes.

Try this, close your eyes and silently say “one, one thousand”. Did that feel impossibly long? That’s how long you have to pause – it will feel glacial.

Tite also said, ”We don’t want them to laugh, we want them to learn” – that says it all.

 

BOSS Tips are quick lessons about the business of speaking. See more BOSS Tips by clicking the category “BOSS Tips”

Never miss another update.

Related Posts

  • Handouts or no handouts for your speech – what’s best?Handouts or no handouts for your speech – what’s best?
  • Death of a Public SpeakerDeath of a Public Speaker
  • So, you want to be a speaker…So, you want to be a speaker…
  • How to Keep Your Audience Leaning InHow to Keep Your Audience Leaning In
  • A Quick Easy Way to get Any Audience to Take ActionA Quick Easy Way to get Any Audience to Take Action

About Hugh Culver

Speaker, author, athlete and founder of BlogWorks. I speak and write about getting stuff done and the art of growing younger.

Categories: Blog, Speaking Tips Tagged: keynote, public speaking, speaker, speaking, speech, tips

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Blog
  • Books
  • Expert/Speaker
  • General
  • Habits
  • Life
  • Productivity
  • Speaking Tips
  • Wealth

My Most Popular Posts

BUSINESS

Want to make more money? Solve a bigger problem.
Hey, small business owner – are you trying to boil the ocean?
Why passion is overrated and what matters instead

MONEY

Why $100,000 won’t make you rich
How to make your first OnLine course
How to make money NOW as an expert

PRODUCTIVITY

3 daily rituals that will make you rich
13 shocking facts about how we waste time
Organize your life with Google calendars

SPEAKING

10 Easy ways to make Awesome PowerPoint

Meet Hugh

Speaker, author, athlete and founder of BlogWorks. I speak and write about getting stuff done and the art of growing younger.
Learn More…

As featured on:

As featured on:
  • Blog
  • About
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Contact
© 2022 Hugh Culver. All Rights Reserved · Website by ModernTraction.com
  • Legal Disclaimer
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter