Mentoring Me Series

The Power of ‘Pause’(5 min read)

Everyone has experienced ‘pause’ in life. Perhaps plans were put ‘on pause’ while waiting for a pandemic to end. Maybe you had to pause a dream to attend to other necessary things, like something that pays the bills. A pause might be brief and momentary or it can be days or months. Pauses can be very powerful if you apply intention to them.

What is ‘pause’?

The dictionary definition of pause is the temporary interruption of activity before continuing. Stopping to start again. Doesn’t that sound inconsequential and a bit boring? Well, sometimes it is. Regardless, we experience this definition of pausing daily. For example, you might pause a podcast you were listening to in order to place an order in the drive-through. You pause a game to watch a movie. You pause a movie to get some food. We pause a conversation with someone who is with us, to take a phone call from someone who is not.

Let’s talk about planned pauses or unplanned ones in which you apply intentionality and meaning by how you respond in order to discover a benefit for you. In life, a pause can be the double-edged sword. On one hand, the pause gives the opportunity to stop the busyness, giving time to reflect and ponder, leading us to both simplify and strengthen our objectives. On the other hand, the pause can be used to invite more activity, more busyness, more voices into an ongoing internal conversation that results in greater complexity and greater distraction.

Today we are talking about the good pauses, the intentional ones. These pauses create meaning and value in our lives and, it just so happens, they create meaning and value within our public speaking and presentation skills too. These are pauses we need to strategically implement because they usually won’t happen on their own. Want to create a more effective life? Want to facilitate a more effective presentation? Create ‘pause’.

Why practice ‘pausing’?

In the pause space is where we find our most authentic selves. It is where we learn what we value most and who we most value. I’m talking about learning your ‘center’, the place you want to return to within yourself if something in life knocks you off balance. During the action of ‘pausing’ we notice things that we might not have noticed otherwise. This type of “take time to smell the flowers” moment can birth a realization or a solution to something that has puzzled you for a long time. In the time of pause, without outside distractions, you can evaluate and reflect on things that are important to you. You develop a greater appreciation and understanding from looking back and reflecting on your history of the particular situation. You evaluate the road you are on and make conscious choices about how you want to move forward. In daily life, it’s important to create a space, a pause, in your schedule to slow down and center yourself.

OK, Sold on the Pause - Just Tell me How!

A reflective, centering pause can be for a few minutes, or it can be much longer. Let each situation and the demands of your day inform the amount of time you can pause. You will absolutely benefit from just a few moments. Even if all you are able to do is turn the radio off during a commute so you can hear yourself think. Pausing can look like prayer or meditation, or practicing deep breathing exercises. It can look like going for a walk without a phone or podcast playing, sitting on a park bench people watching, or just sitting with a cup of coffee or tea at a café, at home, or on your front porch.

The most important thing is not to make pausing another ‘to do’ item on your agenda! Carve out the space, yes. Be intentional with that space, yes. However, do not turn a pause into a checklist of “the requirement to properly be present at this moment.” If you are worried about doing it properly, or most efficiently, you will zap all the benefits out of your pause activity. So for example, if you are meditating or praying, and your mind wanders, notice it and then return as soon as you can to your ‘pause’ time. Do not chastise yourself. Do not give up on the moment. Just notice where your mind is going and decide if you need to reflect on that. You will get better and better at pausing with practice. You might even surprise yourself at how you just started ‘knowing things’ because before you hadn’t taken the time to pause and absorb them.

Embrace the Pause -

The power of pausing introduces a great tool in your presentation arsenal as well as your personal life, your relationships, with others and yourself. Notice in the chart below, the benefit one can derive from a pause both in life situations as well as within a specific moment or task, like when you are giving a presentation.

Be a ‘pause’ professional!

The phrase ‘pause professional’ sounds absurd when we define a professional as one who is paid to do what they do. Let us pause now, pun intended, to remember the benefits of practicing the pause both in everyday life and in our public speaking. This is not marginal improvement - this is “leaps and bounds” stuff. The ability to be present in your presentation is reflected by your appropriate use of pausing. The more ‘present’ and in the moment you can be, while keeping your eye on the goal of your presentation, the better you are suited to carry the message to this audience. Remember, you are the professional, the person of choice needed for this moment.

When to pause in presentations:

After delivering a key piece of information.
After asking the audience any type of question.
When you notice expressions that might indicate your audience is not quite following the presentation.
When you deliver complex and interconnected information.
At the start and end of your presentation - It is good form to express grateful appreciation to your audience in your initial address. When you finish, don’t rush away from the podium or platform. Pause and thank your audience for their valuable time and attention.

So practice the 'pause'. In everyday life, you will notice an increased ability to be more intentional, to absorb information quickly and assimilate it to inform your interactions with others. When you create the habit, you’ll do it more and more subconsciously. You might notice how uncanny or serendipitous insights just ‘occur’ to you - but really, you just made space for them. You paused!

Your ability to deliver effective presentations that connect with your audience will also improve as you create pauses. Pausing gives your audience a chance to reflect on your presentation. A pause lets your audience have space to assimilate and process information. In that same space, you will notice where you need to focus your energy to best serve your audience. You strengthen your connection with the audience when they see that you care about what they need to process along their journey through your presentation. As a result, your audience will track better and connect to the implicit and explicit content of your presentation. This leads to greater retained knowledge and insight for everyone in the room and memorable presentations. Be a ‘pause’ professional!

READS

The Power of Pause: becoming more by doing less. 2009 Terry Hershey, Loyola Press. A Jesuit Ministry

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