Why reps rush. Adrenaline + fear of being interrupted = compressed delivery. The buyer reads "this person needs the sale."
Three fixes that work.
- Pause before the first sentence. One breath. Then start.
- End every paragraph with a beat. A 1–2 second pause where you would normally race into the next thought.
- Punctuate with the body. A small head nod or hand gesture before the next sentence forces you to slow down.
The "say less" rule. When in doubt, cut your sentence in half. The shorter version almost always sounds more confident.
On Zoom. Latency makes rushing worse — your buyer is hearing you 200–400ms behind. Slow down further on video than you would in person.
Key takeaway. Slower delivery is the single highest-ROI change a new rep can make.