Written and spoken speech are not the same. I can underline a phrase in a written article. I can put an exclamation point after a sentence in a written article! But most speakers simply think their only tool for emphasis is saying a sentence louder. It isn't. Professional speakers use pauses. Say something important and pause while making eye contact with the audience, emphasizes your point. Say it again after the pause and you've drawn a line under it. Say it an expand upon the point and you've driven the point into the audience's memory.
Want even more emphasis? Walk toward your audience reaching out to them then deliver the line and pause making eye contact.
Pauses are extremely powerful. Even a short pause is effective, but a long pause is even more effective. If you doubt that, consider the most memorable speakers you have heard. If Martin Luther King comes to mind, remember the pause after, "I have a dream... " If you remember Kennedy, you will recall his pauses in his speech, "Ich... bin... ein... berliner." Reagan, paused twice, each time after "Mr. Gorbechev" in, "Mr. Gorbechev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbechev, tear down this wall!"
Of contemporary speakers, President Obama is considered an excellent speaker. His primary secret is use of frequent pauses. Pauses, suggest relaxed delivery and confidence and authority. Pauses enhance a cool-ness. Imagine for a moment deliver of any of the President's statements without his characteristic pauses--you imagine a more nervous-looking delivery.
It takes a confident speaker to use pauses. Frequently, nervous speakers fill every second for fear that the audience will quit listening or that the speakers nerves will show in the pause. That's a natural reaction, but the wrong reaction. So clearly this takes a bit of practice. It's easiest to put pauses between ideas (sentences, usually). Try this to practice: Deliver the first line, making eye contact with someone in one portion of the audience. Pause. Then shift your gaze, make eye contact with someone else in a different part of the audience, and deliver your next point. Pause. Then shift again to deliver the next point. You should find this easier and more natural.
Control of the volume of your voice before or after a pause can draw even more attention. Consider President Reagan's, "Mr. Gorbechev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbechev, tear down this wall!" His voice rose in volume as he paused between each of these words.
If you wish to underline your spoken words, if you wish to seem in control, and if you want to make your delivery memorable, then master the fine art of the pause.
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