Speak Slowly

We have a lot to say, and only a short time to say it in. The natural
tendency is to try to pack as much in as we can. But communication
is not about the number of things we say, it’s about the number
of things that are understood. Good speakers master a practice that is
simple but powerful: they speak more slowly than others.
NEWSMAN DAVID BRINKLEY’S distinctive delivery is known to
generations.
He was a pioneer in network news, fi rst anchoring the original NBC
news report, then going on to host the Sunday-morning news-analysis
program This Week.
He credits a teacher’s simple advice for a great deal of his success:
“He said to me, ‘The faster you speak, the less people will understand
you. Take that to heart.’ And I did.”
People rate speakers who speak more slowly as being 38 percent
more
knowledgeable than speakers who speak more quickly. (Peterson,
Cannito,
and Brown 1995)