Pace

Find a pace people can follow, and measure it. Lesson 29 of 70: Articulation, every level.

A pace people can follow

• For a talk, about 130–150 words a minute is easy to follow; conversation runs a little quicker, to about 160. Nerves push most people well above it, and the first things lost are endings and pauses. The fix is not to speak slowly all the time, but to slow down for what matters and keep a steady base pace.
• Let me slow down for this part, because it matters. (Saying it helps you do it)

Measure it

• Time yourself reading a passage aloud: words divided by seconds, times sixty. Do it on a normal day and on a nervous one. Knowing your number turns “I talk too fast” into something you can fix. If you are fast, mark pauses into your notes and slow down most on numbers, names and the key point.
• Our target is two hundred and forty thousand. (Numbers: slower)
• Tip: Say numbers, names and new terms more slowly than everything else. They are the hardest things to catch.

Lines to have ready

• Let me slow down for this part. (Before something important)
• To say that again, more slowly: (Repeating clearly)
• The number is two hundred and forty thousand. (A number, slowly)
• Let me give you a moment with that. (After a key point)

Your turn to speak

• Read the same one-minute passage three times and time each: your natural pace, deliberately slow (about 120), and a talk pace (about 140). Record the last one.
• I know my natural pace in words a minute
• I could hit a slow pace on purpose
• My talk-pace reading had pauses, not just slower words

Related

• Lesson 28: Open vowels
• Lesson 30: Pauses and phrasing
• The whole English course

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