Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.
Synopsis
This chapter distinguishes true rhetorical pause from mere stumbling hesitation, defining pause as 'silence made designedly eloquent.' The authors identify four effects of skillful pausing: it lets the speaker gather his forces before an important utterance, as a lens gathers heat before igniting; it prepares the hearer's mind to receive the message by giving attention a needed rest, since all nature alternates activity and rest; it creates suspense, illustrated by Bryan's carefully paused announcement of hearing 'the great evangelist... Dwight L. Moody'; and it allows an important idea time to penetrate after it is spoken, just as rain that falls too fast runs off without soaking in. Concentration is called the key requirement behind effective pausing — the mind must remain fixed on the thought at hand. The chapter also warns against overusing pause, which makes speech heavy and stilted, and against combining pause with trivial ideas, which produces unintended comic anticlimax, illustrated by the farcical 'Midnight Murder' declamation and a drunken orator's mishandled pause at Niagara Falls.
Key points
- True pause is 'silence made designedly eloquent,' not the stumbling of nervous hesitation.
- Pause lets the speaker gather mental force, like a lens concentrating the sun's rays.
- Pause rests and refreshes the hearer's attention so the following words strike with more force.
- Pause creates suspense, as illustrated by Bryan's deliberate pauses naming Dwight L. Moody.
- Pause after an important idea lets it 'soak in,' as slow rain benefits soil more than a downpour.
Key texts
- Genesis 2:2-3
- Ecclesiastes 3:7
- Habakkuk 2:20
- Psalm 46:10
From the book
Chapter VI — Pause and Power · Open the reader
- “Pause, in public speech, is not mere silence--it is silence made designedly eloquent.”
- “Silence has been called the father of speech.”
- “Silence is one of the most eloquent things in the world. Master it, and use it through pause.”
Put it into practice
- Pause deliberately before or after your most important word or phrase, rather than rushing through it.
- After delivering a significant idea, pause briefly to let the audience 'turn it over' before moving on.
- Avoid overusing pause or attaching it to trivial ideas, which can produce unintended comic effect.
- Comprehension
1. How does the chapter distinguish true pause from stumbling?
- Comprehension
2. List the four results of efficient pausing named in the chapter.
- Doctrinal Clarity
3. What word does the chapter call 'the big word' underlying effective pause?
- Scripture
4. Describe the example of Bryan's pauses about Dwight L. Moody.
- Scripture
5. What natural illustration does the chapter use for pause letting an idea 'penetrate'?
- Contrast
6. Contrast the deliberate pause of a skilled speaker with the pause of the drunken orator at Niagara Falls.
- Doctrinal Clarity
7. What warning does the chapter give about overusing pause?
- Comprehension
8. What does the chapter say about the relationship between punctuation and pause?
- Application
9. Choose a Scripture verse and practice pausing before or after its key word. What change in impact did you notice?
- Application
10. Where in your own speaking or teaching do you rush past important ideas without letting them 'soak in'? What would change if you paused there?