When speaking to an audience, pause frequently. Pause before you say something in a new way, pause after you have said something you believe is important, and pause as a relief to let listeners absorb details. #excellentadvice

When speaking to an audience
pause frequently. Pause before you say
something in a new way
pause after you have said something
you believe is important
and pause as a relief
to let listeners absorb details.

Take care never to speak what you have not weighed and pondered beforehand; nor interject your own words on the spur of the moment and in the midst of another’s; for you must listen and converse in turn, with set times for speech and for silence.

You have to give yourself at least three to five seconds of pure relaxation before you respond to some things, and if you say these words in bold slowly, aloud if possible, this practice will change your life. I have been saying this to myself for ten years, and each year it gets easier and easier to let things go, to never give your power away. Tell yourself these words: pause, breathe, and relax.

Sometimes the best way to help people is to slow them down long enough to examine their own thinking.

"I. Utilize the "two-minute rule" to avoid persistent interruptions. The two-minute rule specifies that you have to give someone an uninterrupted two minutes to explain their thinking before jumping in with your own. This ensures that everyone has time to fully crystallize and communicate their thoughts without worrying they will be misunderstood or drowned out by a louder voice.
j. Watch out for assertive "fast talkers." Fast talkers are people who articulately and assertively say things faster than they can be assessed as a way of pushing their agenda past other people's examination or objections. Fast talking can be especially effective when it's used against people worried about appearing stupid. Don't be one of those people. Recognize that it's your responsibility to make sense of things and don't move on until you do. If you're feeling pressured, say something like "Sorry for being stupid, but I'm going to need to slow you down so I can make sense of what you're saying." Then ask your questions. All of them. p367"

My basic rule is to speak slowly and simply so that my audience has an opportunity to follow and think about what I am saying.

Always when you are about to say anything, first weigh it in your mind; for with many the tongue outruns the thought. Let there be but two occasions for speech — when the subject is one which you thoroughly know and when it one on which you are compelled to speak. On these occasions alone is speech better than silence; on all others, it is better to be silent than to speak.

Prepare your mind and heart before you prepare your speech. What we say may be less important than how we say it.

Students, when you want to say something, think about it three times before you say it. Speak only if your words will benefit yourselves and others. Do not speak if it brings no benefit.

Take good care of your final word. If your final say will hunt you in day's ahead, then hold back the words, and let silence speak.

Let other people finish their sentences when they’re talking.

Timing is very important: words can only have a positive effect on others if and when they are ready to listen.

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.