The Power of the pause

Mastering unexpected questions

We've all been there—a senior executive catches you with a challenging question just as you're wrapping up a presentation or grabbing a coffee. Your mind races, and despite knowing the answer, you find yourself rambling or freezing up completely.

Why We Freeze

It's simple biology: when caught off-guard, our fight-or-flight response kicks in. Our drive to appear knowledgeable overwhelms our natural intuition, and our wealth of expertise becomes temporarily buried under stress hormones.

The Solution: Strategic Pause

The answer lies in taking a deliberate pause—a moment to tell yourself, "It's okay, you've got this." While it might feel like an eternity to you, to your audience, it demonstrates confidence and thoughtfulness.

Janet practicing the pause as a Toastmasters public speaker

Real Impact in Action

Recently, I presented a content strategy proposal to a potential client's leadership team. As I concluded my presentation about their thought leadership, the senior executive leaned forward and challenged me: "Your strategy sounds creative, but how can you convince me this investment will actually drive our business growth in the next two quarters? We need numbers, not just nice concepts."

Here's how the pause transformed the moment:

1. I repeated the question, buying precious seconds to compose my thoughts.

2. Instead of defending the creative aspects, I took a deliberate breath and recalled results from similar client engagements.

3. My response: "Looking at comparable projects we've delivered, our clients typically see significant improvements in key metrics within the first six months. We've achieved double-digit increases in both customer engagement and qualified leads, resulting in meaningful conversion rate improvements. I can share specific case studies and walk you through exactly how we'll track these metrics for your business."

   
   

What started as a challenging question became the moment that demonstrated our agency's value proposition. The senior executive appreciated the concrete evidence behind our creative approach, and we've since built a strong partnership delivering measurable results for their business.

Master Your Own Pause

Want to develop this skill for your high-stakes moments? Let's work together to build your confidence and capability. Contact janet@thoughttreelab.com to learn more.

Remember: That pause isn't just empty space—it's your moment to access your best thinking and deliver your strongest response.