Cadence
Definition
The rhythm and flow of speech - the pattern of pauses, emphasis, and pacing across sentences.
Cadence is what makes a speaker sound polished. It's the rhythm under the words: where you breathe, which syllables you stress, how you let sentences land before starting the next.
Monotone speakers have a flat cadence. Engaging speakers vary it on purpose: short sentence, long sentence, pause, emphasis, pause. Cadence is harder to coach than vocabulary, but it's also what audiences remember.
Related terms
Pause
A deliberate silence in speech. Used well, the most powerful tool a speaker has.
Prosody
The melody of speech - the pattern of pitch, stress, and rhythm that conveys meaning beyond the words themselves.
Words per minute (WPM)
The number of words a speaker says in one minute. Everyday conversation in American English averages about 150 WPM; speeches are usually planned at about 120 to 150.
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