The Importance of Voice When Presenting Virtually (Part 2)
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We’re continuing our series of posts about voice with another important topic: pace. Intentional pacing in your talk is essential to its success. Unfortunately, there is no concrete, agreed-upon range of speech that we could find in our research; we can tell you, however, that recommended ranges from different sources suggest anywhere from 120–225 words per minute. (1, 2, 3, 4) For instance, according to one study, normal conversation lands in the range of 140–180 words per minute. (5) Another found that the delivery of a prepared script can exceed 200 words per minute. (6) For us, a good rule of thumb to strive for the 150–200 range. If you would like to see what an average pace of 235 words per minute looks like (and take note of your own reaction), watch this Tony Robbins TED Talk. In his TED Talk, Tim Urban uses a much more measured pace (177 WPM), but is just as engaging. Perhaps most important, your pace should be varied; in other words, you should purposely speed up and slow down throughout your presentation, as opposed to remaining mechanically consistent throughout. The key, as we mentioned at the beginning of this post, is intentionality. Your speaking pace is a critical element for keeping your audience engaged and on the edge of their seats. It’s also a critical ingredient for comprehension. (7) Many speakers do not intentionally pace themselves. Rather, most default to a pace that is often too fast or too slow.
When the pace is too slow and accompanied is by a monotone pitch, there is a high likelihood the speaker will be perceived as boring. If the pace is too fast, the speaker can be difficult to follow. Their sentences may run together or listeners may experience them as frazzled. Likewise, a fast pace can also communicate nerves or immaturity. Remember, too, that your listeners will be accessing your presentation on a variety of devices and WiFi (or cell phone data) speeds; if you are speaking too quickly and a listener’s internet speed or cellular connection is poor, that person may miss a lot of content. Maria has also witnessed presentations (and even meetings) where a presenter’s is poor and freezes—and then when it reconnects, the sound “catches up” by transmitting very quickly everything the presenter said while they were frozen! This, of course, it not to say that you as the presenter should speak very slowly or pause for long amounts of time; we just want to remind you to be as conscious of your audience (and your own devices and connection) as possible! The ideal approach when you are planning your speech is that a measured pace provides listeners with a break, an opportunity to follow along better, or (as we mentioned earlier), a moment to reflect on what was just said.
We are consistently amazed by how much better some speakers do when we coach them to slow down their pace. Their mind has more time to stay ahead and interestingly, other delivery challenges (e.g., jerkiness, space fillers, verbal mistakes, excessive movement) tend to diminish. As you are designing your next presentation, identify the areas where you may want to speak with a faster pace (perhaps to excite or “perk up” the audience), and the areas where a slower pace may be more appropriate (like an area where you want a thought, idea, or question to “sink in” for a few moments). Practice a number of times, recording yourself—and then listen back to those recordings until you feel that you have those differing paces exactly right. We guarantee that intentionality with your pace will positively impact your listeners!
References
(1) Toastmasters International (2011). Your speaking voice: Tips for adding strength and authority to your voice. https://toastmasterscdn.azureedgenet/medias/files/department-documents/education-documents/199-your-speaking-voice.pdf
(2) Gallo, C. (2014). Talk like TED: the 9 public-speaking secrets of the world’s top minds. St. Martin’s Press.
(3) Anderson, C. (2016). TED talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
(4) Enge, N., & Enge, M. (2018). The science of speaking. Cioppino Press.
(5) Miller, J. L., Grosjean, P., & Lomanto, C. (1984). Articulation rate and its variability in spontaneous speech: A reanalysis and some implications. Phonetica, 41, 216–225.
(6) Stine, E. A. L., Wingfield, A., & Myers, S. D. (1990). Age differences in processing information from television news: The effects of bisensory augmentation. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 45, 1–8.
(7) Gordon, M. S., Daneman, M., & Schneider, B. A. (2009). Comprehension of speeded discourse by younger and older listeners. Experimental Aging Research, 35(3), 277–296.
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