In today’s episode, we’re diving into one of the most overlooked yet powerful courtroom tools: pacing and pausing. It may sound simple, but neuroscience shows us it’s anything but.

When trial attorneys speak too fast or gloss over key ideas without space, jurors fall behind—not because they’re not listening, but because the brain physically can’t process and store that much information all at once.

In this episode, you’ll learn how slowing down isn’t just kind—it’s critical to juror comprehension, memory, and informs how they add meaning to your message.

LISTEN HERE...

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why the brain can’t learn and deeply process at the same time

2. How pausing reduces cognitive load and activates attention

3. Why jurors need more time than you think to visualize and retain your story

4. How to think beyond written punctuation and instead speak in “cognitive segments”

5. Simple tools to evaluate and shift your pacing style for greater impact

Key Takeaway:

Pauses aren’t empty space—they’re active moments where meaning is infused into your message. When you slow your delivery, you’re not dragging it out—you’re guiding jurors through the thinking process that leads to understanding and, ultimately, decision-making.

Favorite Moment:

“You’re not just presenting a case. You’re teaching jurors how to think about the case. You’re helping them understand it, remember it, and explain it to each other when they’re back in deliberation.”

Links & Resources:

🎁 Download the free guide: Pace & Pause: The Perfect Pair

https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/paceandpause

This practical PDF includes insights from neuroscience, pacing strategies for different speaking styles, and a simple stopwatch exercise to help you calibrate your internal rhythm—so jurors don’t just hear your case, they absorb it.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Helloooo! Hello Foster Fam. Hey, I hope that in these strange times that you're staying really connected to loved ones and connected to people and things that fuel your life and give you joy. I would love to hear from you, specifically to learn what you're doing to keep your humanity, keep tenderness, keep creativity, keep inspiration and artistry. Would you drop me a line, [email protected], that's (spelling) [email protected]. It's in the show notes too. I really look forward to hearing from you.

In today's episode we're going to talk about one of the things that might be a hang up for you in the courtroom, and just what it is, specifically that the jury needs from you. But, as always, I like to just share a little something here at the start, something that inspires me or challenges me, or is quirky, or something that makes me think differently.

Last week I shared about when my mom was teaching me how to drive and the wise council she gave that can also revolutionize your courtroom communication style. So, go back and listen to the start of Episode 24 as a little refresher.

But in thinking about learning how to drive, I was remembering when I learned how to drive a stick-shift. I originally learned to drive on an automatic and my first cars were automatics. But, my dad, wisely, suggested that I learn to drive a manual transmission just for emergency situations. For the "just in case". So, college friend, Elaine Parker taught me how to drive a stick in her, what we'd now call vintage, white VW bug in a parking lot. And I was horrible.

Braking with my left foot. working the clutch and the gas. gauging when to upshift. gauging when to downshift. finding the gear. slipping the gear. stalling. Man! it really was horrible. hahaha!

But, the summer that i ended up staying in LA for a job instead of going home and borrowing my friend Becka's car, that was a stick shift, meant that i had to get it down. And, at first...I had to REALLY think about every little thing. Micro-movement. I was putting full concentration and attention into it and I thought "will there EVER be a time where this comes easy?" it seemed unlikely.

But...you know...a couple weeks in and I was tooling along the freeways of Southern California, listening to music, eating a burrito on my way to work, and successfully driving that little car. I can't even remember what it was. But it was little and was a manual.

So...why am I sharing my extensive driving history with you? Well, it's to remind you that new skills CAN be developed and they WILL feel natural and easy to you after awhile.

Let's take people skills, or social intuition. I mean, do you know some people that it just seems to come so easy to? They just know exactly what to say next, how to say it, they know how to read the room. And for others it's not so natural, or you feel like a fish out of water socially.

This doesn't mean that you're stuck to a life of awkwardness. It means you need to develop the skill, develop your nonverbal communication skills, and develop your social intuition.

So HOW do we do it? We focus on one thing, dedicate conscious thought and attention to it. Just like driving a stick shift. Repetition & Review. Attention x Repetition = Intuition. And eventually, you can free up your conscious mind to think of something else, to work on developing another skill.

What's a skill you've developed, it doesn't have to be a nonverbal vocal skill or a communication skill, just what's a skill you've developed that at one point you thought "I'm never going to not have to think about this," until one day you realized that you were just doing it without thinking; that you'd developed your intuition for it.

Let me know. Let's get a list of examples going. Send me an email or find me on socials.

—BREAK—

Today, we’re talking about something that’s absolutely foundational to effective courtroom communication… but often completely overlooked:

Pacing. And pausing.

Now, I know it sounds simple. But as someone who’s deeply fascinated by how the brain works—and how we can use that knowledge to communicate better—it’s anything but basic.

Let’s dive in.

The Brain is Doing a Lot More Than You Think

The human brain is a marvel. It’s constantly taking in massive amounts of information: what you see, what you hear, the context of the room, the microexpressions on someone’s face, the tone in someone’s voice—and it makes meaning out of all of it… almost instantly.

And yet—despite all that processing power—when it comes to learning, there are limits.

Research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience tells us that the brain can’t effectively take in new information and deeply process it at the same time. It needs a moment to switch gears.

Think of it like this: gathering information and filing that information away are two separate tasks—and your brain can’t do both simultaneously.

So what happens when someone—let’s say, an attorney—speaks too quickly, moves from one idea to the next without stopping?

Well… jurors start gathering information, but they can’t keep up. The brain gets overwhelmed. Bits and pieces fall through the cracks. And comprehension—true comprehension—starts to slip.

This is where pacing and pausing come in.

As a trial attorney, you already know your content. You’ve internalized it. You can tell your client’s story in your sleep. But your audience—the jury—can’t.

And if you want your message to land—you’ve got to build in the space for that to happen.

Here’s what we know from neuroscience:

1. Pauses give the brain time to encode information into memory.

2. They reduce cognitive load—which is the mental effort required to make sense of what’s being said.

3. And, strategically placed pauses also activate the brain’s salience network—a system that helps your audience zero in on what’s important.

So if you pause…

…before a big reveal,

…after a powerful statement,

…or in between concepts so your listeners can reflect,

You’re not being dramatic. You’re literally helping their brains know what to remember.

Let’s reframe this: You’re not just presenting a case. You’re teaching jurors how to think about the case. You’re teaching them how to understand it, how to remember it, how to explain it to each other when they’re back in deliberation.

If they can’t repeat it, they don’t really know it.

So ask yourself:

1. Are you giving them the space to follow along?

2. Are you rushing through key points because they feel obvious or repetitive to you?

3. Are you keeping your own nervous system in check, or is it speeding up your delivery?

Remember: what’s clear to you is, most likely, completely new to them.

One of the most generous things you can do for your jurors is slow down.

Now, if you're like my clients (and you are), I know that you do a LOT of writing and you do a LOT of reading. Because you are high-functioning in a written word format, you might be tempted to think of pauses the same way you think of punctuation—commas, periods, paragraph breaks. And yes, that metaphor can help early on. But when it comes to trial work, it’s not nearly enough.

In writing, punctuation gives the reader visual cues to pause. It helps organize information into chunks the brain can process. But jurors? They don’t get a transcript. They don’t get to highlight key phrases or re-read a section to make sure they caught it right.

They only have your delivery—your pacing, your vocal emphasis, your pauses—to help them absorb and retain what you say.

And that’s especially important when you remember: not everyone learns best by listening.

In fact, the majority of people are visual learners. They grasp and remember information better when they see it—through written words, images, or spatial organization. So when someone is forced to rely purely on auditory input—as in a courtroom—they’re already at a disadvantage.

This doesn’t mean you’re doomed if you’re not handing out PowerPoints. It just means you need to meet your audience where they are.

And one of the most generous things you can give them is time.

Pausing gives your jurors room to mentally visualize what you’re saying. It lets them build the internal scaffolding that helps them store and recall information later. That silence allows the brain—especially a visual one—to create the picture that your words alone can't fully deliver.

And those pauses? They may need to be longer than you’re comfortable with. But it’s not about your comfort. It’s about giving your jurors enough space to think. To feel. To process.

So when you slow down, when you leave space for your words to land, you’re not dragging out the story.

You’re helping people build meaning.

You’re giving their brains the space to do their job.

So you’re going to need to pause way more often, and much longer than written punctuation would ever suggest.

You are not just narrating events. You’re helping jurors build understanding—and that takes more time than we often allow.

So don’t just punctuate your speech like a written paragraph. Think in cognitive segments. Ask yourself: How much information did I just give them? And how much time do they need to actually hold onto it?

When you approach pacing from that mindset, you start to realize:

Pauses aren’t empty.

They’re active.

They’re doing the heavy lifting of communication.

Now, I know this can feel like a big shift—especially when your natural cadence is fast, or your adrenaline’s running high in trial. But I want to make this practical for you.

I created a free PDF resource to walk you through this exact concept. It’s called Pace & Pause: The Perfect Pair—and it’s specifically for attorneys like you who want to learn how to slow down with purpose so that jurors don’t just hear your case—they understand it.

Inside the guide, I walk you through:

1. Why learning and processing are two different brain functions—and why jurors need more time than you think.

2. How to adjust your pacing depending on your natural speaking style—whether you're fast, slow, or somewhere in between.

3. Why pauses shouldn’t only happen at punctuation marks—and how to use silence to highlight key moments and reduce cognitive overload.

4. Plus, there's a simple stopwatch exercise that helps you assess your real speaking pace—and start shifting it in a way that improves juror comprehension without losing your natural voice.

This isn’t about scripting every moment or sounding robotic. It’s about training your internal sense of rhythm—so your voice serves the message, and the jury never feels left behind.

If you’ve ever wondered:

"How do I know if I’m going too fast?"

"Where should I actually pause?"

Or,

"How do I avoid sounding stiff if I slow down?"

—This guide will walk you through it.

To grab the Pace & Pause guide, go to https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/paceandpause and it will get delivered to your inbox.

It’s free. It’s practical. And it’s grounded in both neuroscience and years of real trial coaching experience. I made it to support the exact kind of work you’re doing—where your words carry weight, and how you deliver them matters just as much as what you say.

As we wrap up today, I want you to remember...When you build in that space—when you slow down your cadence, when you let your words breathe—you’re doing something deeply generous.

You’re respecting your jurors’ ability to think, to feel, and to remember.

So next time you’re prepping for trial, I want you to ask yourself:

“Am I helping them learn—or am I just trying to get through my outline?”

Because it’s not just what you say.

It’s how you let it land.

If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to share it with a colleague—or leave a quick review. It means the world and helps others find the show.

I’ll see you next time, and until then...keep fostering your voice.