{"id":34115,"date":"2025-11-06T09:33:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/?p=34115"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:54:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:54:45","slug":"the-power-of-the-pause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/06\/the-power-of-the-pause\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of the Pause"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-3d9e736e\"><\/div>\n\n<div\r\n    id=\"h5ap-player-1\"\r\n    data-id=\"h5ap-player-1\"\r\n    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{seektime}s&quot;,&quot;play&quot;:&quot;Play&quot;,&quot;pause&quot;:&quot;Pause&quot;,&quot;fastForward:&quot;:&quot;Forward {seektime}s&quot;,&quot;seek&quot;:&quot;Seek&quot;,&quot;seekLabel&quot;:&quot;{currentTime} of {duration}&quot;,&quot;played&quot;:&quot;Played&quot;,&quot;buffered&quot;:&quot;Buffered&quot;,&quot;currentTime:&quot;:&quot;Current Time&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:&quot;Duration&quot;,&quot;volume&quot;:&quot;Volume&quot;,&quot;mute&quot;:&quot;Mute&quot;,&quot;unmute&quot;:&quot;Unmute&quot;,&quot;enableCaptions&quot;:&quot;Enable captions&quot;,&quot;disableCaptions&quot;:&quot;Disable captions&quot;,&quot;download&quot;:&quot;Download&quot;,&quot;enterFullscreen&quot;:&quot;Enter fullscreen&quot;,&quot;exitFullscreen&quot;:&quot;Exit fullscreen&quot;,&quot;frameTitle&quot;:&quot;Player for {title}&quot;,&quot;captions&quot;:&quot;Captions&quot;,&quot;settings&quot;:&quot;Settings&quot;,&quot;pip&quot;:&quot;PIP&quot;,&quot;menuBack&quot;:&quot;Go back to previous menu&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:&quot;Speed&quot;,&quot;normal&quot;:&quot;Normal&quot;,&quot;quality&quot;:&quot;Quality&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;Loop&quot;,&quot;start&quot;:&quot;Start&quot;,&quot;end&quot;:&quot;End&quot;,&quot;all&quot;:&quot;All&quot;,&quot;reset&quot;:&quot;Reset&quot;,&quot;disabled&quot;:&quot;Disabled&quot;,&quot;enabled&quot;:&quot;Enabled&quot;,&quot;advertisement&quot;:&quot;Ad&quot;,&quot;qualityBadge&quot;:{&quot;2160&quot;:&quot;4K&quot;,&quot;1440&quot;:&quot;HD&quot;,&quot;1080&quot;:&quot;HD&quot;,&quot;720&quot;:&quot;HD&quot;,&quot;576&quot;:&quot;SD&quot;,&quot;480&quot;:&quot;SD&quot;}}}\"\r\n    class=\"wp-block-h5ap-tailwind wp-block-h5ap-audioplayer\">\r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s pause for a moment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"gb-block-image gb-block-image-595aaa00\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"gb-image gb-image-595aaa00\" src=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"Kelly sikkema e5I 83RQi58 unsplash\" title=\"kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/kelly-sikkema-e5I_83RQi58-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ve heard the phrase <em>\u201cpregnant pause.\u201d<\/em> How does a pause become pregnant\u2014ripe with meaning, freighted with consequence, tingly with anticipation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pause is not simply empty space between phrases, like the gap between words on a page<strong>. <\/strong>True, it does set one phrase off from another, but it can also serve as connective tissue, linking one thought with others, propelling momentum forward, and underscoring emotion or intention.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pause can be expressive in its own right and can be meaningful in a variety of ways. For example:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Creating suspense:<\/strong> \u201cShe opened the letter\u2026PAUSE\u2026and froze.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Providing a transition: <\/strong>\u201cThat was the past. \u2026PAUSE\u2026This is now.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Establishing authority:<\/strong> \u201cLet me be clear. \u2026\u201d PAUSE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focusing attention:<\/strong> \u201cWith plans in place, the project would begin\u2026\u201d PAUSE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>As a staging device, <\/strong>preparing us for what follows: \u201cOn your mark\u2026\u201d PAUSE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ratcheting up tension<\/strong>, stirring anticipation: \u201cAnd now the story can be told\u2026\u201d PAUSE. OR, the classic: \u201cOnce upon a time\u2026\u201d PAUSE.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lines above would not have had nearly the impact without the \u201cset-up\u201d provided by the pause.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pausing in comedy is essential for a joke to work &#8211; we call this comedic timing: \u201cTake my wife\u2026Please!\u201d The pause tricks the listener into anticipating an expected meaning. Caught off guard, the unexpected line, \u201cplease\u201d, triggers the laugh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pauses are endlessly manipulated for \u201cdramatic effect\u201d. Politicians, preachers, motivational speakers, and carnival pitchmen all seem to have a knack for inflating rhetoric with strategic pauses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simple exposition would be dull and monotonous without the accents pauses provide. The rise and fall of stirring rhetoric is driven forward by gate-keeping pauses\u2014building and releasing tension.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pauses don\u2019t exist apart from language; they derive their meaning from the words that surround them. A powerful phrase earns a pause; the pause, in turn, amplifies the phrase.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Words and pauses can sometimes be (nearly) one in the same, \u201cI told you to STOP!\u201d PAUSE&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Strategically placed pauses are naturally woven into speaking patterns and should not be ignored or slighted. They are essential to conversational cadences. They have a beat of their own, on a footing comparable with words and phrases. Syncopated speech depends on the presence of pauses, equally weighted, equally emphatic. \u201cI came. I saw. I conquered.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>So what does this mean to the working actor?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While effective, pauses can be <em>overused<\/em>. They have to be deployed discreetly, tactfully. Overuse of pauses\u2014exaggerated, <em>drawn-out<\/em> pauses\u2014sound gimmicky, call attention to themselves, and quickly become tiresome.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of commercial and narration voice work is limited by settled conventions, which often means brisk, minimally inflected patter. Certain genres call for baked-in-the-cake inflections and intonations: Promos, trailers, documentaries. Consequently, opportunities for dramatic expression are limited, as contrasted, for example, with the interpretive freedom allowed actors in film and theater.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There <em>are,<\/em> however, exceptions: testimonials, character work in commercial dialogues, and documentary re-enactments. Animation and audiobooks are certainly exceptions. <em>Sometimes<\/em> scripts naturally call for full, fat pauses, for example: \u201cOn December 7<sup>th<\/sup>, 1941, Japanese forces launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PAUSE. No direction notes needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pause <em>often<\/em> accompanies a breath\u2014because audible inhalations can also be punctuators. A quick intake of breath brings us to attention and puts us on alert.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the working actor, <em>authentic<\/em>, instinctive reads are the key to delivering natural, unobtrusive pauses. <em>Calculated<\/em> pauses, on the other hand\u2014the kind that marked up scripts often encourage\u2014spoil the broth. <em>Incorporate<\/em> pauses, but don\u2019t exaggerate them. Pauses should be woven into the natural, textured flow of language.&nbsp;Pauses provide resonance for ideas and sentiments expressed. Lines and pauses are joined at the hip, one leading the way, the other imparting an affirming nod. Give words the room they need to breathe, and that sometimes means just taking a pause.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>P.S. If you haven&#8217;t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/register\/\">sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, <a href=\"https:\/\/my.suchavoice.com\/vo-pro-membership-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">join our VO Pro group<\/a>!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s pause for a moment.&nbsp; You\u2019ve heard the phrase \u201cpregnant pause.\u201d How does a pause become pregnant\u2014ripe with meaning, freighted with consequence, tingly with anticipation? A pause is not simply empty space between phrases, like the gap between words on &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"The Power of the Pause\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/06\/the-power-of-the-pause\/#more-34115\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Power of the Pause\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7677,"featured_media":34116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"slim_seo":{"title":"The Power of the Pause - Such A Voice","description":"Let\u2019s pause for a moment.&nbsp; You\u2019ve heard the phrase \u201cpregnant pause.\u201d How does a pause become pregnant\u2014ripe with meaning, freighted with consequence, tingly"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17],"tags":[],"popup":[],"class_list":["post-34115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voice-over-performance","category-voice-over-tips","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"mfb_rest_fields":["title"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34115"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34183,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34115\/revisions\/34183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34115"},{"taxonomy":"popup","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/popup?post=34115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}