Do you ever feel yourself speeding out of control when speaking? The best speakers take their time.

The best choice you can make in terms of presentation structure is to turn your presentation into a sincere recommendation. The best choice you can make in terms of presentation delivery is to slow down: speak so slowly you can hear the words you’re saying, as you’re saying them. People who are scared they’ll be boring if they slow down - it’s a false concern. And getting your energy level right will sort it.

One of the factors that set apart those speakers we feel drawn towards is that they are more awake than anyone else in the room. They have a clarity and an honest desire to communicate that carries us through all sorts of blemishes in their technique. All the advice in the world on the words you should choose, and the structure of your ideas are no use at all if you’re not conscious. Slowing down until you can hear the words you’re saying blesses you with consciousness.

It’s a great barometer too – a bit like when you’re driving and can’t remember the last 2 miles (I used to drive through Salisbury in England every day and negotiate 7 roundabouts without noticing) – if you can’t remember the last five minutes of your presentation, you fell asleep.

There are a tower of more prosaic benefits to slowing down too, some for you, some for your listeners.

Speaking slowly benefits you
You never run away at the mouth – you’re always in a position to choose where you’re going with a thought.
You come across as more credible – people with power take their time.
In order to speak slower, you’re going to have to learn to relax. The more relaxed you are, the warmer and richer your voice is going to come out, and the more in control you’re going to seem (and be!).
You begin to realize that there is plenty of time – time to notice what’s happening with the people you’re talking to, time to make decisions based on the verbal and non-verbal information you’re receiving, time to be smart, time to be real, time to be in the moment.

Speaking slowly benefits your listeners
No matter how many times you’ve thought your content through, this is the first time we’ve heard it – so the slower you go, the more we can take time to digest it. Don’t shove the whole pie in our face – slice it, give us time to take a bite, chew, take another bite, chew, come back for more.
The slower you go, the more in control you are of making the message relevant. The more in control you are, the more we can relax and follow you.
If you’re speaking consciously, and pausing between thoughts, we don’t get sick of you so fast. It’s easier for us to listen longer to you, because it’s less painful.

How to slow down

Seeing as this is the most vital delivery skill you can gain as a presenter, I’m going to give you some quite in-depth ways of developing it.

Become a slow-tempo speaking connoisseur:
An important part of being able to implement a new physical skill is being able to calibrate when you’re doing it. Taking music as a metaphor, we’re talking about changing the tempo, the speed. Think of a metronome – if you can’t tell that 60 beats a minute is slower than 120 beats a minute, you can’t speed up or slow down the music that you’re making. So… you gotta learn to calibrate.

I would recommend cueing up a few online presentations or some podcasts and listen. Listen only for when the person slows down. Listen and notice what happens when they lower their tempo – appreciate it, roll it around in your mouth, become a slow tempo speaking connoisseur. Notice the good things it does to your understanding of the concepts, notice the positive effects of what it does to you physically, even how it affects your perception of the person speaking.

You gotta repeatedly tag ’slowing-down’ in your physiology/neurology as a positive thing. Which means, you (a) notice it and (b) feel good about it when you do. You’re building your database of slow tempo (feeding your adaptive unconscious – the pattermaker – the basis of our work with people).

Calibrate your tempo in conversation:
See if you can become conscious of your tempo as you’re speaking in conversation. Notice when you pause, emphasize, when you speak slower. Please don’t start talking ve-ry de-lib-er-ate-ly to your family and friends – it’ll really annoy them. However, if you can grow a secondary, meta-awareness of your pace, you’ll begin to be able to do it in presentations.

Gently listen to your speaking pace on recordings (if it doesn’t kill you):
Only once you’ve developed the ability to find and appreciate slower pace in others, record yourself on an audio-only device (or switch off the picture on your webcam) and listen. You’re not going to like the sound of your voice (doesn’t mean it’s bad – it’s an automatic reaction – ignore it); however, this is not the time to be listening to your accent, your voice tone nor even the content. JUST notice when you’re slowing down and what that does. Don’t even compare your speaking pace to others – just notice when within what you’re saying you slow down. That’s all.

Plough a relaxation furrow:
If you want to slow down, you’re going to have to reduce your adrenalin reaction. To do that, you’ve got to know how to relax. So, get some massage, do some yoga postures, buy one of those relaxation tapes, Google “How To Relax,” whatever. You need to carve a relaxation groove so that it’s ready when you want to present.

In the heat of the moment, work out how to remember:
During your presentation, have something to remind you to slow down. This is a skill, people, and everything (your adrenalin, for one) is against you. It’s not going to feel natural, and you won’t get it totally right the first, the second, the ninth time. So cut yourself some slack. Most of the time, you’ll speed up because you’ve forgotten. Have a pace coach in the room who signals to you ’slow down’ by pulling their nose, stick a blank Post-It at the back of the room and slow down every time you notice it, have ‘SLOW DOWN’ written on your notes. Whatever works.

I promise you – if you want to be more credible, this is the most important investment you can make into your presentation delivery skills. Nail this, and the rest will follow.