Pauses are, not incidentally, your chance to breathe. Many singers mark their music to indicate exactly where they want to breathe, and especially if you’re giving a talk, I encourage you to do the same thing. Some very basic guidelines to keep in mind: Don’t keep talking when you run out of breath! Allow yourself to talk to the end of a complete phrase. Let yourself be silent, instead of producing a filler sound, when you are thinking. If you concentrate on speaking in phrases and using pauses thoughtfully, you’ll automatically shift your focus, and your listeners’, to the meaning of what
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