If you’re aren’t doing so already, start getting in the habit of pausing before you respond.
Why?
Well here are 7 benefits of pausing before opening one’s mouth . . .
1) The Interrupting Thing: I won’t spend too much time on this one because you’ve probably heard it a million times that pausing keeps you from interrupting. Pausing is especially helpful when you are on a phone (especially a cell) because you don’t have the benefit of visual cues.
2) It’s A Really Powerful Continuation Technique: A “continuation technique” is something you add to a discussion to encourage someone to continue or expand their thoughts. I think this is of particular importance to my sales friends. We’ve all been guilty of asking a question, getting a reply and then racing on to our next question. A pause is an amazing thing because people will generally fill silence out of nervousness. It’s in those moments that you can get some absolute gems of information. Sadly, it’s typically the sales rep filling that silence 🙁
3) It Keeps You From Filling That Silence With One Of Those “Did I Just Say That Out Loud” Statements.
4) It’s A Partial Antidote Against A Dumb Remark: In all fairness, there are times when that little filter from brain to mouth is temporarily in off mode. The next time someone makes a dumb remark to you, look them right in the eye (or both eyes if they have two) and become one with the pause. I wish I could advise you that the dumber the comment, the longer the pause but you could easily fritter your life away with someone who’s parents might very well have been brother and sister.
5) It Gives You An Extra Second or Two To Formulate A Response: It would absolutely blow your mind to see what the mind can do with only an extra second or two. Those extra seconds can make the difference between an OK response and the one that will seal the deal! Just for the heck of it, watch how many people have a habit of answering their own questions. 
6) Helps You To Demonstrate Confidence I watched an old interview with the late Steve Jobs. There were several times where he was asked questions and he sat silently pondering the question for several seconds before responding. You really have to be secure with yourself to do that.
7) Helps You In The Online World Too Sometimes we get so caught up in the speed of electronic communication that forget to pause. That pause can help us from coming across in a way didn’t intend to, allow us to “cool down”, help us rethink the grammatical monstrosity we were about to send and maybe even slow things down enough so we don’t always have to respond to people right in that moment.
Also . . . please take note of people patting you on the head during one of your pauses . . . that means you were pausing too long 🙂
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