Pausing and Chunking¶
Our essential part of speaking well is knowing how to break your speech into short chunks -- usually a few words -- and pausing briefly after.
As English learners, we sometimes focus too much on our grammar or vocabulary and forget about pausing naturally.
If you would like to sound more clear and natural, the best place to start is intonation, including grouping and connecting words and pausing in the correct places.
Effective use of pausing and chunking is a masterful technique.
If you do it right, no one will be conscious of your pauses, but your ideas will be communicated more persuasively.
If you do it wrong, you'll sound like a robot, and your audience will struggle to comprehend your message.
In this article, we'll examine:
- Common Types of Speech Chunks
- Pausing Techniques
Chunks¶
Chunks are groups of words that can be found together in language.
They can be words that commonly go together, like grammatical structures, or words that are always found together, like fixed collocations.
Common Types of Speech Chunks
- Collations: e.g. strong tea, heavy traffic, the national soccer team
- Idioms: e.g. to get cold feet, against all odds
- Phrasal verbs: e.g. to put up a great fight, to put up with your boss
- A whole sentence/clause: e.g. Thousands took to the streets
Example:
Today/ I'd like to talk to you about a concept/ called chunking./ / Chunking is a strategy/ that great speakers use/ very effectively. It sounds effortless,/ but in fact, / it takes a lot of practice.
Pausing¶
Without pausing, it can be hard for listeners to foolow you and they may be overwhelmed with too much information.
Using pauses, on the other hand, helps to "package infromation" for the listners. It also gives your audiences time to reflect on your words.
Difference between Chunking and Pausing
Chunking has you focus on a rhythm that you can easily maintain. Once you're in that rhythm, the pauses come naturally.
However, deciding where to puase can be difficult. You have to remember each time you want to pause. Some people mark up a script to help them remember where to pause.
Pause Techniques
There are various types of pauses, and we should know when they should be used.
- The Emphasis Pause
- Rhetorical Question Pause
- Punchline Pause
The Emphasis Pause¶
When you want to draw attention to a key word (or phrase), try pausing immediately before and immediately after the key word (or phrase).
The preceding pause signals "listen up", while the succedding pause says "put that in your memory".
Rhetorical Question Pause¶
After asking the audience a rhetorical quesion, you should pause for a while. This encourage your audience to engage, and gives them time to come up with answers to your question.
On the other hand, failres to puase after a rhetorical quesion frustrates your audience. (They've been asked a question, and now you are moving on without giving them enough time to think about it!)
Punchline Pause¶
In stand-up comedy, the pause is often used just before and after a humorous punchline. The same strategy can be used in your speech as well.
Pausing immediately before your punchline creates heightened anticipation and signals a payoff. Pausing immediately after your punchline gives your audience time to laugh.
Listen and Repeat¶
The best way to learn pausing and chunking is by observing and imitating native speakers regularly.