One of my more eccentric hobbies is improv comedy. I realize that this confession ranks up there with “I’m an aspiring DJ,” or “We don’t use the spare bedroom because that’s where we store all of our Beanie Babies.
In addition to teaching me that pretty much anyone can do a passable Schwartzenegger impression, improv has gifted me a handful of lessons that I’ve been able to apply directly to my career: how to think on your feet and adapt, the art of active listening, and perhaps no greater lesson than simply how to take a beat.
Beats, Bears, Battlestar Galactica
On stage with a scene partner the instinct is to fill every void with words or actions. That frenetic pace sounds great for comedy of course, but it’s difficult to sustain and can actually inundate an overstimulated audience. As true for film and literature as it is for live arts and presentation, proper pacing means leaving gaps for your narrative to breathe.
Learning how to take a beat is actually less of a practiced skill and more of a simple realization that the value of a short pause outweighs the negative perception in a nearly illogical way. Sticking with the lens of a live performance, five seconds feels like an eternity when you’re on stage, but the perception of time is less hyperbolic for everyone else. Those few moments can grant you an opportunity to collect your thoughts, let a punchline land, or simply convey command of the floor to your audience.
Exiting stage left and getting back into a cubicle setting, a well-timed, intentional pause during a presentation can let an impactful conclusion register or signal confidence. It can also buy you a minute to form an assertive response to a challenging question. The trick–as with so many forms of communication–is in the execution. Absolutely there is a distinct difference between a meaningful pause and an awkward silence; to help you stay on right side of that divide, consider the following tips to hitting the pause button:
Take a beat intentionally | Predict where you will want to insert a beat so that you can head into the silence with impact. The words preceding a pause will echo, so rehearse them when you can.
Exit the pause with gusto | The words you say following a pause will be judged as intently as the ones that preceded it. You just hit CTRL + B on your next sentence so it needs to be worth the wait.
Avoid hesitation markers | Fillers like “so” or “uh” completely undo the impact of an effective pause and telegraph discomfort. Resist the urge to fill the gap with meaningless syllables and reserve that space for body language only.
Empty space can be scary, but you’ll get more comfortable with it over time. Practice elongating these gaps in regular conversation with your friends and take beats before answering questions (especially from strangers ‘cause who cares if they think you’re a weirdo). Soon, you’ll grow less anxious with brief moments of contemplation, and hopefully you’ll make use of the time to form more eloquent responses. In a world oversaturated with instant gratification, let your contributions be something worth waiting for.