SPEED

In this installment, let's talk about SPEED.  Most beginners don't realize this, but when you speak in front of an audience, time speeds up.  In other words, you perceive that time is passing more quickly than it actually is for your listeners, and many speakers adjust by talking too fast.

My own theory as to why this happens is that your brain steps up its conscious awareness of your surroundings and thereby goes into overdrive.  I believe it's the same phenomenon as when someone witnesses an accident and later says that the whole thing felt like it was going in slow motion.  When something critical is happening, your mind takes note of details it would normally let slip into the background and so you have a lot more information to process.  

If you're in a conference room but just talking to one or two people, you have a heightened awareness of the facial responses and gestures coming from those one or two people, but the others around are of less importance.  When you're speaking to the whole room, EVERYONE's subtle reactions and nuances are suddenly high priority.

The obvious way of addressing this problem is to make a point of slowing down.  You may think you're talking too slowly, but try recording a talk in front of a group of people and then listening to it played back.  Of all the speakers that I've coached that have fretted that they were over-adjusting, no one ever wound up speaking too slowly.  (Your audience will let you know if that happens--though it probably never will--and you can then adjust the other way.)

Interpreters may have a case for talking more quickly than the speaker does.  If you're doing consecutive interpreting, your speaker should be the focus and it might feel more appropriate for you to insert the translation as quick parentheticals rather than steal the spotlight.  But remember: an interpreter that rushes through the text too quickly could sabotage the timing of the speaker.

Also, you won't want to go too fast because there's a limit to how quickly listeners can take data in.  I'll talk about that another time.  For now, try slowing down (and record yourself).  See if it doesn't make you a better speaker and/or interpreter.

Dr. Daniel Papia is a former journalist and screenwriter who coaches writers and speakers at Diplomatt.