If there’s one bit of feedback I have to give to participants more than any other in the media training and presentation training courses that I run, it’s to slow down.Adding examples, stories and anecdotes is probably the second most common piece of advice but up there at number one is not speaking too quickly.
So, I’d just like to reiterate why speaking slowly or at least not going too fast is important and then offer some advice on how to control your speed during media interviews and presentations.
Given that so many people do it and it’s widely accepted as just one of those things that happen when people do media interviews or presentations, what is wrong with speaking too quickly?
Speak too quickly and your points will be lost
The first and most obvious problem is that your audience fails to take on-board something that you are saying. In a press interview this could simply be that the journalist, however good his or her shorthand, cannot keep up with the person being interviewed. In order to qualify as a journalist it used to be necessary to attain a shorthand speed of about 100 words per minute. This sounds pretty impressive but don’t forget that we naturally speak quite a bit faster and when people get excited, passionate or nervous the speed increases even more.
Speak too quickly and the journalist will miss an important point that you’re making or will write down a fact or figure incorrectly as its spewed out along with less important information.If you’re doing an interview on radio or television your audience can again miss an important point or, if they do catch it, as they ponder it they’ve missed the next point that you’re making. So, speaking more slowly will ensure that your audience takes away and digests what you say. You’re also less likely to stumble over words or not to articulate them properly.
There are other disadvantages to speaking too quickly. For instance, it reduces your authority and gravitas.The fact is that higher status individuals speak more slowly. This, it is thought, is because they do not fear being interrupted and they’re usually in control of the timing of a meeting or conversation.
You're speaking faster than you can think
When people speak quickly they’re quite often going at a faster rate than they can think and that’s when those annoying “fillers” creep in.If you’re going like a train you’re more likely to include phrases such as “you know,” or “like,” or “I mean.” Not only do these irritate and distract audiences but they also reduce the status and authority of the speaker.
Speaking slowly also gives the impression – hopefully a correct impression – that you’re thinking about what you’re saying. Very often the criticism we hear during our media coaching sessions is that politicians and other interviewees do not appear to be listening to the question. Instead they’re simply waiting for a pause so that they can trot out their next key message.We recently trained a woman who was concerned that her pauses and slow pace made her sound indecisive. The opinion of our trainer, as well as her PR consultant and fellow participants was that, on the contrary, it simply meant that she came across as thoughtful, sincere and considered.
The right speed during media interviews
According to a study presented in 2011 to the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research by a team from the University of Michigan, a speed of about 3.5 words per second was considered ideal. This is approximately the speaking speed of most broadcasters, by the way.
So how can you learn to speak more slowly in media interviews and presentations? Well, it might sound obvious, but you can simply practice and rehearse in the same way that you would with the words and messages that you want to use.As we say in our media training sessions, it’s one thing to see your key messages and supporting examples written down as bullet points but it makes much more sense to then say them out loud. This will improve your “muscle memory” and ensure that you feel more comfortable speaking them. Practising talking at the right pace while you do this will help here.
How to stop speaking too quickly in presentations and media interviews
In some cases we’ll ask people to clap all their hands or tap their thigh as they say each word. Again this slows down the delivery.
Breathing properly is another small change that can help reduce your pace. If you breathe slowly and deeply right down to your abdomen during a media interview or presentation you’ll actually find it quite hard to speed up as you speak.The same is true if you add energy and a variation or “light and shade,” as we often call it, to your delivery.By doing these two things together you’ll find that your pace slows.
I find that actors’ techniques can help people to really use their voices and vocal delivery to the best effect.Voice warm ups such as relaxing the jaw, the lips and the face generally will help you open your mouth properly (don’t worry you won’t look like a mad thing) and enunciate the words correctly.All of this slows down the delivery.
Finally, speaking too quickly is often caused by nerves.Controlling your nerves and redirecting that energy so that instead of driving the speed of delivery it adds to the liveliness, resonance and conviction in your voice will also help slow the pace and improve your performance in media interviews, presentations – and in your general, daily business communications.
