To get what you want, try closing your mouth. The question mark trickWithout pauses, we’re generally worse speakers , swerving into tangents or stumbling over sounds. Ask one question out loud, then draw a big question mark in the air with your finger—silently. “That question mark is there to help you live through that fraught moment of, ‘I really should keep talking,’” Hoeppner says. At a cocktail party or in the boardroom, you can subtly trace a question mark by your side or in your pocket to force a pause.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 13, 2024 15:04 UTC