How to Pace a Speech | Public Speaking

So what's the best way to pace your speech? Well, you don't want to do what I just did. You don't want to rush. The big problem most people have when they get nervous is they start speaking too quickly, and that destroys the pace of their speech. What you're looking for in a speech is conversational tone. You want to sound like you are when you're talking to your best friend at lunch. Maybe the topic is different, but the pace should be the same. Meaning sometimes a little faster, sometimes a little slower, sometimes louder, sometimes a little softer, and occasionally a pause. When we're nervous, we stop doing all these things. It's as if we're trying to get through this. As soon as I finish all this, the sooner I can sit down and get out of here. That's not how you want to be. You don't want people focused on you, seeming nervous or uncomfortable. You don't want to speak so quickly they can't understand you. You want to speak to them like you're having a one on one conversation, even if you're speaking to a room of 10,000 people. Now, the easiest way to really monitor your pacing and make sure it's right is you've got to rehearse, and you have to rehearse on video. There was a time when video cameras were so expensive, you had an excuse. But not anymore. I mean, these days we're surrounded by video cameras. Use your cell phone, use a webcam, an iPad. Everywhere there are video cameras. Practice your presentation and look at it. And if you think you're speaking too quickly, you probably are. If you think you're rushed, you probably are. So you need to look at a video of yourself and say, hey, that person sounds interesting, engaging, and conversational. When you get to the point of watching your rehearsal video like that, your pacing for your actual speech should be fine.