# [iNtuitives:] Do you pause a lot while speaking?



## PlushWitch

*IMPORTANT: I'M TALKING ABOUT PAUSES THAT MIGHT BE PERCEIVED AS "IRRITATING" IN MID-SENTENCE OR "TOO" LONG PAUSES AFTER SENTENCES.*

Hello everyone,

I am currently trying to find out, *what cognitive functions cause people to make *extremely long, many and noticeable *pauses to collect their thoughts while speaking* when telling about experiences, talking about theories, etc. under normal cricumstances (not being overly excited or anything).

I haven't been able to find a clear pattern, yet - only within a few types, but not within cognitive functions. 

So I'm making this poll to to find out what it's like for all types to maybe be able to find a pattern.


Feel also free to *explain* what it's like when you're speaking/thinking.




_There's also going to be a poll for Sensors...too many options for one poll. :wink:_


----------



## Jennywocky

I pause because I'm a thinker and want to make sure I'm stating things carefully... if I'm describing an intricate thought process.

Otherwise, I feel like my intuitiveness makes me talk faster and with less break -- I can fill up all the empty spaces with possibilities, which don't need to be weeded out as they are just exploratory.


----------



## SilentScream

Not really ... I'm usually very well aware of what I need to say because I've prepared it well in advance. Or have had enough experience in similar situations to draw from it as well when needed. 

Plus having a well-rounded education, self-confidence helps. 

I used to have trouble in math, physics, and economics a lot ... sometimes I have epiphanies to this day of concepts I couldn't get 10 years ago and it's like "Damn! I wish I'd understood it back then" ...


----------



## Eerie

No, basically I just keep rambling. The only time I "pause" is when I randomly zone out.


----------



## MuChApArAdOx

heh, not near as often as i should at times. Then i'll get a light bulb moment and think " who just said that, me ? " Maybe its just me but i seem to spew out everything that's on my mind, as soon as i think it, its said. This can be troubling at times, but thankfully all my friends are either Ni or Ne, they understand and relate to my thinking. Sure my Ni friends will give me the old evil eye at times, correct me and have friendly debates. Although at the end of the day we love each other, support each other, and would probably die for the other. So this is more important than words or misunderstandings.


----------



## PlushWitch

Actually I find it strange to see that already two INTPs have voted "Yes" while I have the feeling that they actually are quite articulate and don't ever take "unnecessary" or "irritating" breaks in mid-sentence when they're speaking.


----------



## Grungie

I rarely do because I often know exactly what I want to say before I say it. If I don't have my thoughts planned out before hand then I just won't speak.


----------



## Nearsification

No its more like when I'm alone I create so many awesome ideas and I throw them all out there whenever I talk to people.

So I never pause.


----------



## PlushWitch

Haha...reason for post non-existent. :crazy:


...I hope there'll be enough votes to rule out the mistype bias thingy thing...


----------



## eunoia

I'm very interested in this! Sometimes I have problems with articulate speech because my brain works too quickly for my mouth. It's hard for me to organize and break apart my thoughts in a sequential order. I make a lot of leaps in my thought, realize I'm making leaps, have to backtrack, and then begin to find exceptions or branch off to initial thoughts with added explanation. If I talk to fast, I sound jumbled and stupid, so I try to slow it down to break everything in pieces, which also can create pauses. I also have the tip of the tongue phenomenon often and have trouble retrieving the word I want immediately. Sometimes I have to wave my hands around in certain motions to retrieve it. I wonder if it has something to do with this:



> Verbal vs. Non-verbal Processing
> 
> Left-brained students have little trouble expressing themselves in words. Right-brained students may know what they mean but often have trouble finding the right words. The best illustration of this is to listen to people give directions. The left-brained person will say something like "From here, go west three blocks and turn north on Vine Street. Go three or four miles and then turn east onto Broad Street." The right-brained person will sound something like this: "Turn right (pointing right) by the church over there (pointing again). Then you will pass a McDonalds and a Walmart. At the next light, turn right toward the BP station." So how is this relevant to planning study strategies? Right-brained students need to back up everything visually. If it's not written down, they probably won't remember it. And it would be even better for right-brained students to illustrate it. They need to get into the habit of making a mental video of things as they hear or read them. Right-brained students need to know that it may take them longer to write a paper, and the paper may need more revision before it says what they want it to say. This means allowing extra time when a writing assignment is due.


I find this to be pretty accurate, because I'm always looking up when I'm thinking, accessing the visual parts of my brain. I'm always getting feelings of words or pictures of words. Tip of the tongue phenomenon is also due to nonverbal processing. I also know that anxiety makes it worse as I realize I'm straining for certain words or trying to organize some thoughts. I'm wondering if organizing and sequencing is also due to being a nonverbal processor or if it is due to cognitive functions. Interested to see the results!


----------



## Alaya

I may take my time formulating my thoughts, but once I have them in order I don't pause. In a middle of a conversation I would hear what is being discussed about, then I would analyze my opinion and judgment about it, construct the sentence structure and then fire! 

So I guess the poll answer would be "no", I don't pause when I'm speaking.

Edit:On the other hand, this structure changes completely when I'm making small talk. When there's no purpose on why I'm even talking, then I pause a lot more since I'm running my speech in real time, with no clue beforewards of what we are going to talk about.

Hmm, I may have to change my vote.


----------



## LQ9

I do this all the time.
Doesn't it just tend to be an introvert thing?

I'd think maybe Fi and Ni dominants would be particularly likely to pause because those functions tend to be more subjective and personal to the user. It's like the article Eunoia quoted--feelings and symbols are usually right brain territory and don't always make it over to the left brain's word processor quickly enough.


----------



## Prodigal Rabbit

No, I find long, drawn out pauses to be HIGHLY annoying. But I've learned within the past few years that I really need to take it easy on people. Not many people can think their thoughts and then organize them as fast as me, and when combined with my very random, but very intense manic episodes, haha...catch me if you can buddy!

The only time I've noticed myself pausing is A) When I'm leaving others room to jump in and share their opinions, which can be done freely after I'm done speaking, so it's rare. 
or B) During a manic episode.

When I become manic my thoughts become more "abstract" than I'm used to dealing with. So I may take a short pause AFTER speaking to go back and re-analyze any statement I hold in question. Then I can rephrase if needed


----------



## Amb92

There are rarely times in which I pause when speaking. I usually pause when I'm unsure about something, but I usually just start talking the moment after the question's been asked, as I just have an opinion on almost everything.


----------



## PlushWitch

eunoia said:


> I find this to be pretty accurate, because I'm always looking up when I'm thinking, accessing the visual parts of my brain. I'm always getting feelings of words or pictures of words. Tip of the tongue phenomenon is also due to nonverbal processing. I also know that anxiety makes it worse as I realize I'm straining for certain words or trying to organize some thoughts. I'm wondering if organizing and sequencing is also due to being a nonverbal processor or if it is due to cognitive functions. Interested to see the results!


Well...hehe, yeah. But SOME theory has to be wrong in this respect. INFJs do seem to have this kind of problem a LOT. Yet, some theory even states that INFJs are left-brain dominant from where Ni and Fe are located. And Ti and Se are supposed to be on the other half. INTPs, on the other hand, who're supposed to be right-brain dominant, don't seem to pause.












LQ9 said:


> I do this all the time.
> Doesn't it just tend to be an introvert thing?
> 
> I'd think maybe Fi and Ni dominants would be particularly likely to pause because those functions tend to be more subjective and personal to the user. It's like the article Eunoia quoted--feelings and symbols are usually right brain territory and don't always make it over to the left brain's word processor quickly enough.


But then again...WHY do most INTPs NOT pause while ISTPs do it a lot. ENFJs, who also have strong Ni (more than ISTP and less than INFJ) DON'T do it.



stellar_lunacy said:


> No, I find long, drawn out pauses to be HIGHLY annoying. But I've learned within the past few years that I really need to take it easy on people. Not many people can think their thoughts and then organize them as fast as me, and when combined with my very random, but very intense manic episodes, haha...catch me if you can buddy!
> 
> The only time I've noticed myself pausing is A) When I'm leaving others room to jump in and share their opinions, which can be done freely after I'm done speaking, so it's rare.
> or B) During a manic episode.
> 
> When I become manic my thoughts become more "abstract" than I'm used to dealing with. So I may take a short pause AFTER speaking to go back and re-analyze any statement I hold in question. Then I can rephrase if needed


Yeah, that's exactly what I have been able to observe in INTPs as well. :happy:


----------



## Agelaius

Eerie said:


> No, basically I just keep rambling. The only time I "pause" is when I randomly zone out.


This. I'll start talking, going off on something and then either get distracted and zone out, come to some sort of epiphany and need to sort of what I'm thinking about now, think I sound like an idiot and try to figure out a way to NOT sound like an idiot, a random pause to see if the people I'm talking to want to speak or, well, really just random times it seems, particularly when tangental conversations become more and more common with people... with how much I ramble and babble incessantly any particular pause in which I just sort of stare off into space becomes extremely noticeable...


----------



## eunoia

PlushWitch said:


> Well...hehe, yeah. But SOME theory has to be wrong in this respect. INFJs do seem to have this kind of problem a LOT. Yet, some theory even states that INFJs are left-brain dominant from where Ni and Fe are located. And Ti and Se are supposed to be on the other half. INTPs, on the other hand, who're supposed to be right-brain dominant, don't seem to pause.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But then again...WHY do most INTPs NOT pause while ISTPs do it a lot. ENFJs, who also have strong Ni (more than ISTP and less than INFJ) DON'T do it.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, that's exactly what I have been able to observe in INTPs as well. :happy:


Or maybe myers briggs theory is wrong 
I have seen descriptions which said that NJs are supposed to be more verbally proficient than NPs. But I know I personally don't relate to that, and many other INFJs agree. This definitely needs some figuring out. Also, something else to keep in mind with this self reporting method--are there certain types that are going to feel more self conscious about their pauses and think, "that's irritating?" I'm also thinking there may be more to it than just myers briggs types and functions, but perhaps there's a correlation further than just extrovert and introvert? I dunno, there are probably a lot of factors to consider.

Just to add more data, I'm friends with some INTPs, INTJs, and a ENFJ and they don't speak with irritating pauses.


----------



## ILoveVampDiarys

i just say whatever i don't think about the words that i am saying much which leads to a lot problems when im thinking while im talking i say like a lot i HATE it when people take a long time to answer questions or to explain themselves but i try to be patient i notice that my INFJ friend does it a lot.


----------



## snail

Yes, I pause a lot when speaking. I think maybe it has more to do with my being an introvert than with my being an intuitive type. I feel like I would sound exactly the same even if I were an ISFP instead of an INFP, but being an ENFP would probably eliminate the issue.


----------



## eunoia

Alsooo, a person is not "just" right brained or "just" left brained (obviously). There are different areas which are right brained and left brained. I score very highly in certain left brained areas and very highly in some right brained areas. Perhaps this would somehow correlate with Myers Briggs?

This is the test I took: Right Brain vs Left Brain Creativity Test at The Art Institute of Vancouver

Here is more information, plus another test which I have not taken: Left Right* Hemisphere Brain Processing

Areas of Processing:
Linear Vs. Holistic Processing
Logical Vs. Intuitive
Sequential Vs. Random Processing
Verbal Vs. Nonverbal Processing
Symbolic Vs. Concrete Processing
Reality-Based Vs. Fantasy-Oriented Processing

I don't know how accurate or well studied it is, but...here it is anyway!

Also, maybe this would be easier if there was a video to see what "irritating" pauses look like. Because I started watching some videos and I'm like "hmm yes...I see pauses...is this irritating to me? I don't know.." I maybe be harsher judge on myself than others; I'm not sure.


----------



## PlushWitch

eunoia said:


> Also, maybe this would be easier if there was a video to see what "irritating" pauses look like. Because I started watching some videos and I'm like "hmm yes...I see pauses...is this irritating to me? I don't know.." I maybe be harsher judge on myself than others; I'm not sure.


If you look at some true INFJ videos you'll see those pauses...long times where nothing is being said in mid-sentence or at the ent of the sentence. The person seems like zoning out a bit. You'll also find some of the pauses I mean in ISTP and ISFP videos. hmmm...haven't watched videos of ALL types... but I absolutely don't find the pauses I was talking about in INTP videos. The only pauses they make are at points where it's completely "acceptable" to pause. Apart from that they're just rambling on in a structured way. Then again: from what I have seen, some ENTPs also make these pauses.


----------



## eunoia

PlushWitch said:


> If you look at some true INFJ videos you'll see those pauses...long times where nothing is being said in mid-sentence or at the ent of the sentence. The person seems like zoning out a bit. You'll also find some of the pauses I mean in ISTP and ISFP videos. hmmm...haven't watched videos of ALL types... but I absolutely don't find the pauses I was talking about in INTP videos. The only pauses they make are at points where it's completely "acceptable" to pause. Apart from that they're just rambling on in a structured way. Then again: from what I have seen, some ENTPs also make these pauses.


Well see, that's the problem, what are the "true" INFJ videos? I don't want to assume that just because they're not making spacey pauses that I should just ignore them as not valid to INFJ.

I'm still in the process of watching videos though. Gonna watch some INTP videos and make some comparisons.


----------



## PlushWitch

eunoia said:


> Well see, that's the problem, what are the "true" INFJ videos? I don't want to assume that just because they're not making spacey pauses that I should just ignore them as not valid to INFJ.
> 
> I'm still in the process of watching videos though. Gonna watch some INTP videos and make some comparisons.


Yeah, well, there are some not as spacey ones that are still INFJ... but the way the pauses go is generally a way to tell...kinda. :mellow:


----------



## eunoia

PlushWitch said:


> Yeah, well, there are some not as spacey ones that are still INFJ... but the way the pauses go is generally a way to tell...kinda. :mellow:


Mayyybbeeee.....I can see what you are saying, but feel I don't have enough evidence to draw a conclusion. Where can I find some INTP videos? I don't see a video thread


----------



## PlushWitch

eunoia said:


> Mayyybbeeee.....I can see what you are saying, but feel I don't have enough evidence to draw a conclusion. Where can I find some INTP videos? I don't see a video thread


I have found some on YouTube. They seem to be pretty consistent.


----------



## Kriash

I do, but the way I do is a little weird. I tend to talk pretty fast, and throw out a lot of information, and then realize I am totally not going the direction I originally intended. So then I have to pause, and in videos my eyes get shifty as I think, and I collect my thoughts again, and then word vomit all over again.


----------



## thesilentzoo

When I pause in midst of a sentence or long, drawn out explanation, it's only because I'm trying to piece my internal thought processes together in order to not sound like a random bumbling buffoon. I've certainly gotten strange looks in the past when I've said something impulsively without stringing my thoughts together. It's not pretty.


----------



## Philosophaser Song Boy

I pause because im terrible at explaining things, and decide in mid-sentence that I need to reword myself better.


----------

