How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 284

A carefully planned pause usually comes before the point you want to
highlight. It is a common mistake to not hold the pause long enough. Be
sure you allow enough of a pause that the full effect will be felt. When
you do this, the audience anticipates and listens closely to what you will
say next. They can tell something important is about to happen. This
strategy is made even more effective when you combine it with pitch
strategies: Be sure that as you come to the pause, your pitch is high,
thereby building suspense and giving momentum to what will follow.
Inflecting your pitch downward will defeat the purpose, providing a
feeling of resolution instead of suspension.
[11]Steven Beebe and Susan Beebe, Public Speaking (New York: Allyn and
Bacon, 1997), p. 293.
[12]A. Mehrabian and M. Williams, "Nonverbal Concomitants of Perceived and
Intended Persuasiveness," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 13

(1969): 37–58.
Dental Verbal Packaging
As a final example of the power of verbal packaging, think about what
you hear during your appointments with your dentist — not a particularly
pleasant situation in general and sometimes downright frightening.
Dentists have mastered the art of verbal packaging to put patients more at
ease.

What you won't hear

What you will hear

Painful

Uncomfortable

Does that hurt?

Does that bother you?

Blade

#12

Hatchet

Big H

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