Cheat sheet · Slow first sentence
It sets the pace for everything that follows.
Glossary
Pace
How fast you speak, in words per minute. Around 140 to 160 is easy to follow; slow down for the key points.
From the lesson
Drill step 3
Note one thing to fix. Film it once more. Then say it in Speak to get your first numbers: pace, ums and hedges. They’re kept in Me for Day 28.
The toolbox you can actually control
Many people change their voice in exactly the wrong direction under pressure: faster, higher, flatter, with the ends of sentences trailing up or trailing off. The clearest map of what you can actually control has seven parts: register (chest or head), timbre (warmth), prosody (the melody), pace, pitch, volume, and silence.
Pace, melody and the pause
Three of those do most of the work. Pace: comfortable, clear speech sits around 140 to 160 words a minute; nerves can push you faster, and rushed speech is harder to follow. Prosody: a voice that rises and falls holds attention; a flat one is easy to tune out. And the pause: one to two seconds of silence before a key point is one of the strongest tools you have. It feels like an eternity to you and like authority to everyone else.
Where it is taught
- Day 5 · The Voice People Lean Into: How to sound more confident when you speak: pace, pauses, and landing sentences
Where it comes up
- Day 1 · The 100-Millisecond Verdict: How to make a good first impression at work
- Day 4 · A Body That Says “I Belong Here”: Confident body language in meetings: posture, hands, and stillness
- Day 6 · The Deliberate Room: Practise first impressions and small talk at a real event
- Day 7 · Week 1 Review: Week 1 review: measure your speaking pace and fillers
- Day 8 · Confidence Is a Verb: How to build confidence at work: act first, feel second
- Day 9 · Vocal Control Under Load: How to keep your voice steady under pressure: the physiological sigh
- Day 10 · Playful Authority: How to be charismatic at work: presence, power, and warmth
- Day 12 · Carry Yourself Like a Leader: Executive presence: how to carry yourself like a leader
- Day 14 · Week 2 Review: Week 2 review: hedges and fillers
- Day 19 · Reading the Room: How to read body language in a meeting (and the 93% myth)
- Day 21 · Week 3 Review: Week 3 review: record your best story
- Day 24 · Presenting to a Room: How to give a presentation: hook, one message, three supports, call to action
- Day 26 · Your Practice Plan: How to keep improving your speaking: a ten-minute weekly loop
- Day 28 · Compare the Tape: Day 28: compare your Day 1 and Day 28 recordings
In practice
Examples from the course that use it.
Joining the video call
You close the other tabs, sit back, one breath, click join. “Morning.” Then you wait for a reply instead of launching in. The three seconds of calm set the pace for everyone who joins after you.
Open the meeting slowly
“Thanks for coming.” Pause. “Three things today.” Pause. Slower than feels natural. The room that was shuffling settles into your pace.
The deadline argument
Two colleagues are going at it in the kitchen, fast and loud. You say one sentence at their speed, so you are in the conversation, then drop a notch slower and quieter. By the time the kettle boils they are both talking at your pace, and the argument has turned into a plan.
Related terms
- HedgesSoftening words like “just”, “maybe”, “sort of”, “I think”. A few are fine; lots make you sound unsure of your own point.
- PausesSilences of a second or more while you talk. Deliberate pauses sound composed; very long ones can sound like you have lost your place.
- Two sighsTwo physiological sighs: a big breath in through the nose, a short top-up sniff, then a long, slow breath out through the mouth. Do it twice. It can help you settle.
- Follow-up questionA question about what the person just told you. It proves you listened and keeps them talking.
- FillersSounds that fill a gap while you think: um, uh, like, you know. Try a short pause instead. Speak shows them as ums.