I learned a couple of things and it spurred some interesting ideas. However, neither of them talk very fast…I just cannot stand that most people talk so slowly.
Have no fear of pauses, they help frame and structure the noise between the pauses.
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Just for the record, that was not intended as insult.
As for pauses framing and structuring, perhaps… except that I tend to get distracted during the pauses and then I miss the next three sentences because I am reading my email, or whatever. Perhaps this is just a personal flaw of mine but it is a real issue for me.
September 25, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I tend to agree with Peter King. I used to process audio files for IT conversations, and part of the job was to cut out extraneous pauses. I came to notice that the transition between one speaker (asking a question) to another (answering a question) must have a minimum length to sound natural. I find this length to be about 1 second. I can always tell when Jon edited the audio because the silence transition was too quick :)
And anyone who used to watch “The Gilmore Girls” would also notice the un-natural pace the editors gave the dialogs. There were not enough silence in between lines.
September 25, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I just read Peter King’s comment (maybe I should’ve before agreeing with it). I don’t think Jon has no pauses in between words. I just think pauses between sentences are more important than people realized.
September 25, 2007 at 5:14 pm
“Just for the record, that was not intended as insult.”
No offense taken, it’s just fascinating to receive two such contrary bits of feedback, and to be reminded that you really can’t please all the people all the time!
“I can always tell when Jon edited the audio because the silence transition was too quick”
That’s a really valuable tip, thanks, I’ll correct for that.
“I don’t think Jon has no pauses in between words.”
He was actually referring to Rohit Khare who has the kind of rapid-fire speech that Peter Williams would probably appreciate.
September 26, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Hmm .. I’ve never been accused of talking slow. Jon, did you slow down the speed? Maybe it was the jetlag or the fact my latte machine was busted.
Peter, I totally understand what you are saying. I find that I can’t just listen, I have to do something. Whether it is typing or surfing .. rapid attention shifting or add.
I loved the interview .. but I listened to it while I was watching TV and updating my facebook profile .. :-)