The Power of the Pause in Enhancing Effective Communication

The Power of the Pause in Enhancing Effective Communication | Cybersecurity | Emeritus

As part of business coaching, we frequently focus on methods of communication, shared action, strategy, responsibility, and dialogue within an organization. An equally important skill, for employees and managers, is the ability to use the “pause”. So what is the idea of a pause in communication and how can it be effective? Let’s find out. 

What is a Pause in Communication?

An effective leverage tool to construct change in organizations, a pause is essentially an interval, a space, or a duration required between two or more actions. If we notice our fingers and observe the space between each one, we will realize that this space, too, serves a purpose. Similarly, such breaks in communication are a significant aspect of communication. While action is important to execute a task, pauses play an equally important role during the execution of said task. Taking a pause in communication, between one instruction and the next, between the topics of discussion, and between planning and execution, can be a highly  effective intervention. In an organizational context, it is important to learn and practice the act of noticing and using pauses.



However, business coaches have some difficulty getting business leaders to understand why a pause in communication is as necessary as the communication itself. This stems from the fact that many leaders take pride in their ability to make quick decisions. They prefer to focus on immediate action. They are less attuned to the need of taking the right pauses in between their actions. A business leader once explained that his leadership style is to “roll  many marbles as one may hit the target”. I felt sorry for his employees because of the stress they must be facing while their leader initiates many things simultaneously! Not taking a pause in communication was clearly not part of the business leader’s style, which could cause burnout for others. 

Best Business Management Courses

Drawing Parallels From Daily Life

In his book Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter Senge elaborates on the requirement of space between actions using the example of a hot shower. Imagine you want a warm shower in the evening. You begin by opening the hot nozzle, but you don’t get the hot water right away. So, you open the nozzle to its maximum, but then the water becomes too hot. You balance the hot-water spray by opening the cold tap. The water is still hot, so you open the cold nozzle to its limit, making the water too cold. 

This struggle between the cold and hot nozzle to get a warm shower shows the need for a pause between actions. Some time needs to pass before the water from the hot nozzle turns warm. Therefore, when one turns and manipulates the nozzle without the required pause, the time needed to get the right ratio is affected. This also causes water wastage. What is applicable to the shower system is also applicable to an organizational system.

Real-World Example of a Pause in Communication 

Career in Human Resource ManagementIn an organizational context, no action is an independent unit. Every action has a ripple effect.  Hence, it is essential to act, pause, sense, and modify wherever necessary. A pause in communication helps in sensing what the next action should be. I experienced this first-hand, where a pause made a difference to the leader, team, and the organization as a whole. 

My colleague and I were working together on a team development program. As we prepared the team for business coaching, we requested the team manager and his team to conduct their regular team meeting while we observed. We wanted to get an idea about how they work. As the session progressed, we noticed that whenever the manager asked a question, the team stayed quiet. When the silence would go on without a response, the manager would get uncomfortable and supply the answer. This was a repeating pattern. The manager would ask a question and offer the answer himself. It was evident that the team realized that if they waited long enough, the manager would offer a solution himself. They wouldn’t have to do a thing. This had thus arrested the team’s development. This is because nobody felt the need to think in the manager’s presence.     

We taught the manager how to notice silences and use the pause after each question. We told him to wait for the answer or ask the team to talk among themselves and come up with an answer. He did so, and this practice of pausing eventually led to diverse and independent thinking in the team. Allowing the team to formulate actions based on their thinking led them to become more responsible. They even began to think innovatively to come up with numerous potential solutions.  

Best Leadership Courses

Pause in Communication: Case Studies

Career Objective for ResumeIt is important to note that every situation is unique, and there is no set formula for a pause in communication. The pauses must be tailored to every unique situation. Sometimes, as part of the business coaching process, we suggest that the participants execute one step during the coaching session and take time for the next step. Sometimes, we even ask the team not to act. We recommend that they continue to work as usual but to mull over reflections made during the coaching session. 

Case Study 1

Once, a business owner who ran a group of companies showed me the emails he had written to a particular team. The trail of emails was overwhelming. There was no breathing room, no pause. I read all the emails exchanged over 30 days and realized that the company was in the proverbial ICU even as the owner was expecting a sprinter’s performance. I first recommended that the owner thoroughly study all the responses he had received from the team. He connected the dots of all the replies and concluded that it would be wise for him to shut down that particular unit.  This he did and saved the other group of companies.

Case Study 2

Before one can understand the limitations of one’s habitual way of working and adopt a new one, it is necessary to engage with others, sense their reactions, offer assurances with care, and plan interventions with sufficient pauses. While coaching a mid-level manager, we realized he was an “I must do everything myself” kind of worker. This approach made him feel in control, but the downside was that it prolonged the outcome.

During coaching, we did not force him to change. We gave him the option to practice our idea for a month. We had set the manager a task: He was to talk to two colleagues with whom he was not familiar and share key events he experienced that week. Then, he had to take feedback about where he could have taken help either from his reporting manager, peer, or subordinate. This practice allowed the manager to listen to others, reflect, and slow down. Slowly, he was able to delegate, take help where necessary, and not burn out with stress.  

Case Study 3

In another instance, in the course of coaching a business owner, he spoke about his CEO and board members. The owner was rich and his board consisted of friends who were successful entrepreneurs. I noticed that the business owner was proud of having successful businessmen on his board. He also expected his CEO to raise himself to that level. While talking about this, the business owner’s voice started increasing in pace. There was no pause between talking about the board and the CEO. This rapid speed meant that the owner was assessing the work of the CEO through how he would be perceived by his friends on the board. 

I asked the owner to take a pause between the narrative about the board and the CEO. As a professional, a CEO isn’t required to be on par with a wealthy board. It may not be possible, but it certainly wasn’t necessary. This intervention helped the business owner to take the pressure off the CEO and do what is necessary for the business rather than compete with a board of rich entrepreneurs.

Case Study 4

In another situation, a business owner was going into details of what wasn’t working in his business. As a coach, I was waiting for the detailed narrative to end before I gave my perspective. However, the owner kept on talking, giving me example after example without pause. It was impossible for me to intervene or ask a question. I did,  however, break in the middle of the monologue and told him I didn’t need so many examples. I also used this pause in communication to draw his attention to what could be going wrong in his business. 

When a leader does not take time to sense how his communication is being perceived by his employees, he has lost them. They may nod their heads but do what they want to without following complete instructions. The key intervention I suggested was to open a discussion with his team. Then, he would ask the team to discuss how they perceive the given example in front of him, where they agree, differ, and are willing to try something different. The business owner tried this on that day itself and reported that his team was surprisingly willing to take more responsibility than he thought.

In all the above examples, the key intervention that shifted the nature of work has always been identifying the right moment for a pause in communication. I have shared significant impacts gained by using the pauses. Always remember, while actions speak loudly, pauses make it audible for the team.

Write to us at content@emeritus.org

NOTE: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Emeritus.

About the Author


Senior Organizational Change Coach
Geethan is the founder-director of Nibbana Institute, Chennai. Combining his professional strengths as a psychotherapist and senior organizational change coach, certified by IOBC- Germany, he works with senior management and guides them to facilitate change in their organization. The different learning frameworks and methodologies employed by him to initiate developmental change have been tested in various organizational contexts and yielded consistently positive results for decades. When he is not helping companies to grow with his inputs, Geethan is engaged as a spirited Youtuber and has a green thumb that is evident from the health of his garden.
Read More About the Author

Learn more about building skills for the future. Sign up for our latest newsletter

Get insights from expert blogs, bite-sized videos, course updates & more with the Emeritus Newsletter.

IND +918068842089
IND +918068842089
article
cybersecurity