The most underrated skill in business? Speaking in cadence

Surely you know of this famous speech:

And while the message of the speech is extremely powerful (and still very much needed, especially today), what we want to focus on is MLK's delivery. Specifically, his cadence.

He used repetition, rhythm, and well-placed pauses to guide the listener.

As a preacher, he grasped what science later confirmed: cadence shapes attention.

What is Cadence in Speech?

Cadence is the rhythm of how someone speaks. It consists of:

• Pacing (how fast or slow you talk)

• Pauses (where and when you stop)

• Tone and intonation (how your pitch rises and falls)

Together, these shape how your words are received and how trustworthy, clear, and emotionally resonant you sound.

Most people think good communication is about what you say.

But cadence changes how what you say is felt.

Research shows that the brain is constantly scanning for how something is said—tone, timing, silence—not just the content.

This rhythm helps the listener track meaning, absorb nuance, and decide whether to trust you.

But cadence isn't about always speaking slowly. It's about regulating when to pause, where to slow down, and how to speed up so they can process your message.

But when the stakes rise, so does the speed.

People talk like they're in a race. They frontload details, stack jargon, and barrel through their points before anyone can interrupt.

Every silence becomes a void to fill. Filler words like "just," "actually," "like," and "I think" sneak in.

Rapid-fire delivery, especially under pressure, can overwhelm the listener's working memory. If you've ever had someone try to explain something at warp speed—only to realize you didn't absorb any of it—this is why.

But strategic pacing gives the brain time to encode meaning.

Even brief pauses activate the part of your brain that supports reasoning and emotional regulation (also known as dorsolateral prefrontal cortex if you're into scientific terms).

So when you slow down just enough, you're strengthening the brain's ability to understand it.

The Science

🧠 Your brain needs time to keep up.

Scientists found that short breaks give your brain time to hold onto ideas and understand what's being said. Pauses help with that.

⏸️ Pauses make you sound smarter.

Research found that speakers who pause strategically are seen as more competent and trustworthy.

🫁 Talking too fast stresses everyone out.

When someone talks super fast, it can make both them and the person listening feel tense. Psycholinguistic researchers Susan E. Brennan and Merri L. Williams measured both speakers and listeners and found that rapid speech increased signs of physiological stress, like muscle tension and voice strain. While they focused on fast speech raising stress, follow-up work confirmed that controlled, rhythmic pacing in speech engages the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering heart rate and easing stress.

🗣️ How you say it matters.

Tone, rhythm, and pacing activate the part of your brain responsible for inferring intent and emotional safety. This explains why monotone or rushed delivery can undermine trust, while varied and rhythmic speech can signal to your brain, "Hey, this is safe."

📉 Too many words, too fast = nothing sticks.

Even if you're extremely articulate and saying brilliant stuff, talking too fast without breaks can overwhelm the listener. It's like pouring water into a glass without stopping—it overflows. That's called cognitive flooding, impairing the brain's ability to parse and retain information. So it doesn't.

Why Cadence Matters in Business

Cadence is one of the most underestimated performance levers across business. Here are a few examples:

📊 Investor Presentations

"Investors are constantly making fast judgments. How you communicate is as important as what you say."

— Adora Cheung, YC Partner

In a pitch setting, you've got minutes, sometimes seconds, to show you're the kind of person someone can trust with their money. And research shows they're not just judging your idea. They're judging your delivery.

Within the first few seconds of hearing you speak, people form lasting impressions about how confident, competent, and trustworthy you are

The way you speak matters.

So, even if your deck is flawless, your delivery can trigger doubt.

A calm, steady cadence doesn't just sound confident; it helps the listener's brain process you as credible.

🗣️ Team Communication

"Trust is born of repeated, predictable interaction. If you do what you say, you will … that fosters trust. If you are erratic, unpredictable, and unreliable, that undermines trust."

— Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School

In leadership communication, cadence sets the tone. Research shows that slower, more structured speech helps teams absorb direction, feel psychologically safe, and retain information under pressure.

Why?

Because rushed communication increases the amount of mental effort required to process information.

When you talk fast or jump from idea to idea, your team's working memory gets overwhelmed.

That leads to confusion, misalignment, and, often, more follow-up.

Cadence helps teams trust your direction. If you want people to hear what you're saying—and act on it—they need to feel like they can track with you. That starts with how you talk, not just what you say.

🤝 Sales & Client Calls

"The biggest risk in sales isn't rejection—it's being forgettable."

— Gong Sales Lab, 2021

Speed kills trust, especially in high-stakes conversations where people are deciding whether to give you their time, money, or attention.

Fast talk can come across as trying to close too quickly, or worse as if you're nervous about your offer.

But, research shows that pausing—even briefly—can dramatically increase perceived competence and clarity.

It signals you're in control, not desperate.

And this gives your client's brain time to process the value of what you're offering.

How you deliver an offer matters as much as what's in it.

🎤 Public Speaking

"Every great speaker is a fantastic pauser."

— Alf Rehn

If you've ever left a talk thinking, "That was a lot," it probably wasn't the content.

It was the delivery.

The brain isn't built to absorb rapid-fire information without structure.

Research shows that speech delivered with rhythm and strategic pauses increases recall and emotional resonance.

That's why some of the most iconic speeches in history like MLK's "I Have a Dream" and Brené Brown's TED Talks feel different.

They're not just well-written.

They're well-paced.

It's not about performing or sounding rehearsed. It's about creating space for people to connect to what you're saying.

People remember rhythm more than volume. If you want your message to stick, give it a cadence that people can follow and feel.

How to Practice Cadence (Backed by Science)

3️⃣ Group your message into threes.

Research shows people retain grouped information, like three key points, which are the easiest to remember.

Why it works:

Humans are better at processing and recalling information in patterns. Known as chunking, this technique helps reduce cognitive load and improves retention.

🫳 Drop the fillers.

Swapping filler words for silence does more than clean up your sentence and increases perceived confidence and credibility. People form impressions of competence and confidence within seconds, and research shows tone and rhythm matter more than words in that first impression.

Why it works:

Filler language such as 'um' and 'like' lowers perceived credibility and disrupts processing fluency. Removing them makes your message easier to follow and positions you as more competent.

⏱️ Start slow (especially the first 10 seconds)

The first 10 seconds matter most. When you begin with calm, clear pacing, you signal that you're confident and in control of the room.

Why it works:

First impressions form almost instantly and are shaped more by delivery than content. Slowing down signals calm and competence before you even get a chance to deliver your message.

😮‍💨 Pause to breathe

A breath between sentences does more than settle nerves. It also helps you hold space with control and slows your cadence without sounding rehearsed.

Why it works:

Intentional breathing calms the autonomic nervous system, which controls the stuff your body does automatically without you having to think about it. Think heart rate, breathing, you know, the really important stuff that you need to live, speaking out loud or not.

🔕 Use silence on purpose

A 1–2 second pause after a key idea gives your words time to land. Don't rush to the next sentence. Trust that your silence adds weight.

Why it works:

Strategic pauses enhance the salience of your message. You want to signal that you're also thinking, not just talking.

🎥 Record and reflect.

When you see a great speaker, you're seeing greatness at its peak. It's unreasonable to believe they were that way by default rather than having to actively work at it and practice. Listening back helps you catch your verbal habits—where you rush, repeat, or nerves kick in—and is the fastest way to improve.

Why it works:

Self-monitoring builds prosodic awareness—how your voice sounds—so you pause less and speak more smoothly.

Cadence isn't cosmetic; it's strategic.

It determines whether people hear you as rushed, reactive, or ready.

Want them to believe in your message? Start with how you deliver it.

Sources

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