Public Speaking 101

Just finished watching a video of a Hardball interview with US Senate candidate Paul Hackett. He's a very impressive candidate from all angles, a veteran who is forcefully against the warin a way that Hillary Clinton and her like haven't been. I was continually bothered, though, by the fact that he continually filled the spaces between his words with "uhh"s and "umm"s. Even George W. Bush can make his speeches at least sound powerful by leaving a silence between his words. (far too many in his case, but he knows not to fill the sliences with vocalizations.)

It's sort of the difference between a quietly confident chess player staring at the board and someone nervously touching piece after piece trying to decide which move to make.

It's also a very powerful sign in a debate or argument when you leave silences between your phrases and people continue to listen to you. It's a sign that you have their attention and don't need to continually pull at their aural shirt tails to keep it.