Tim Newman [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to Speaking with Confidence, the podcast that helps you build the soft skills that lead to real results. Communication, storytelling, public speaking, and showing up with confidence in every conversation that counts. I'm Tim Newman, a recovering college professor turned communication coach, and I'm thrilled to guide you on a journey to becoming a powerful communicator. If you think unstoppable authority comes from a loud voice or aggressive body language, you're chasing the wrong goal. That performance collapses the moment someone asks a tough question. Real authority isn't something you put on. It's the quiet confidence that comes from having a system.

Tim Newman [00:00:45]:
It's control, not volume. After coaching hundreds of professionals, I've seen the same pattern. The most influential speakers aren't the loudest. They're the calmest under pressure. Today I'm giving you the exact three step formula that I teach master scaffolding. The strategic pause, and the unavoidable verdict. And you won't need to try to sound authoritative, you just will be. The first pillar of authority is structure.

Tim Newman [00:01:15]:
And this is where most people fail before they even open their mouths. The problem isn't a lack of ideas, it's a lack of scaffolding. When you ramble, jump between points, or fill space with verbal filler words like and you know, you reveal that you don't have a clear internal blueprint. You're building your argument as you go, and the audience feels your uncertainty. The scaffolding principle is simple. Every idea needs a strong, logical and visible structure. Think of it as pillars, evidence and conclusion. You don't just talk, you actually build.

Tim Newman [00:01:56]:
The most effective way to implement this is with the rule of three. Our brains are wired to process information in threes. It's simple, memorable, and feels complete. See what I just did there? When you present three main pillars, you give your audience a clear framework. They know where you're starting, where you're going, and how you're going to get there. Here's a real world example. Imagine you're in a high stakes team meeting proposing a new project. Instead of dumping all your data set at once, you scaffold it.

Tim Newman [00:02:32]:
Your first pillar, this project addresses our biggest customer complaint. Your second pillar, it's achievable with our current quarter's budget. And your third pillar, it positions us ahead of our main competitor. Now, under each pillar, you offer one or two pieces of key evidence. And this structure does the heavy lifting for your audience. They don't have to work to follow you. And how does this build authority? Because clarity is a form of professional respect. It shows you've done the thinking beforehand.

Tim Newman [00:03:06]:
It demonstrates control and discipline. The common mistake is to overcomplicate the structure. Try and include every minor point. But authority comes from simplification, not complication. A solid structure is your foundation, but it's useless if your delivery, or really how you actually speak, undermines it. So you build a solid structure with a scaffolding principle. But a blueprint is useless if the construction is shaky. This is where most authority falls apart, in the delivery.

Tim Newman [00:03:41]:
Problem isn't what you're saying, it's how you're saying it. Rushed speech. Filler words like and like. And that upward inflection that turns statements into questions. These are all tells that you're nervous, that you're not in control. You're giving away your power with every rush sentence. The principle here is counterintuitive but powerful. Silence is your most effective tool for building authority, and we've talked about that before.

Tim Newman [00:04:10]:
When you use a deliberate pause, you shift the control of the room to you. You force the audience to wait. You're not rushing to fill a space, you're commanding it. This is the difference between someone who is reacting to the pressure and someone who is controlling it. Here's the actionable technique. It's simple, but requires discipline. Every comma in your mental script. Replace every comma in your mental script with a one second pause and replace every period with a three second pause.

Tim Newman [00:04:46]:
This does two things immediately. First, it physically forces you to slow down and control your breathing, which also calms your nervous system. Second, it systematically eliminates filler words because you're giving yourself designated spaces to actually breathe and think. But the real power move is what you do during that three second pause. After a key point, you look at your audience, you make eye contact, and that silence signals what I just said is important and I'm giving you time to absorb it. The psychological effect is profound. It makes your words feel heavier, more considered. You're not just sharing information, you're landing ideas.

Tim Newman [00:05:30]:
I saw this in action with a client during a panel Q and A. She was asked a challenging, almost hostile question. Instead of rushing to defend her position, she took a full three second pause, made eye contact with the questioner, and then began her answer with a calm, scaffolded response. The entire dynamic shifted. She wasn't defensive, she was in control. The ability to be silent under pressure is the ultimate sign of composure. Another example is I saw a video with Steve Jobs one time where he was asked a pretty tough question and he actually paused for 20 seconds. Before he answered it.

Tim Newman [00:06:15]:
And that really showed that he was truly thinking about his response and getting his ideas or getting the answer in a way that he could express it. And so that made sense. The common mistake is the discomfort that fills that silence with a or so you need to fight that urge. Lean into the quiet. It's where your authority actually grows. Now you have control over your structure and your delivery. But without this final step, you're just a clear, calm speaker. Authority isn't just about how you communicate.

Tim Newman [00:06:52]:
It's about why. The problem I see most is speakers who present to inform rather than to transform. They share data, they list features, but they fail to inspire action or change minds. They're a data dump, not a guide. And this brings us to the unavoidable verdict. The principle is this. You are leading your audience to a single undeniable conclusion. You're not walking alongside them, you're the expert, guiding them to a destination that you knew before you even started.

Tim Newman [00:07:27]:
Your entire communication is engineered so that by the end, the verdict you've predetermined is the only logical conclusion that can possibly be drawn. The actionable technique is to define your unavoidable verdict in one non negotiable sentence before you write a single word of your presentation. What is the one thing they must believe or do when you're finished? For example, in a sales pitch, your verdict might be our solution is the only one that solves your core financial inefficiency In a team meeting, it might be. My proposed strategy is a necessary step to hit our quarterly targets. Everything you say, your three pillars from step one, your evidence, your strategic pauses from step two, all that serves to build an airtight case for that verdict. Let me give you another real world example for my coaching. A client was preparing a pitch to a major investor. Her verdict was investing in our platform will give you a monopoly on a emergency market niche.

Tim Newman [00:08:29]:
We structured her entire pitch around three pillars. The size of the unmet need, the uniqueness of her technology, and the scalability of the business model. Every piece of evidence pointed directly to that verdict. She used strategic pauses to let the weight of each bullet sink in the result. The investor didn't just agree, he said it felt like the only logical outcome. And that's authority. The common mistake is presenting information without a clear point of view or call to action. You leave the audience to connect the dots themselves.

Tim Newman [00:09:06]:
And they often won't. When you guide them to an obvious, necessary conclusion, you. Your expertise becomes indispensable. And that's the complete system scaffolding for structure, the strategic pause for delivery, and the unavoidable verdict for impact. These three steps form a formula for genuine authority that works because it's built on control, not performance. Remember, authority isn't about being the loudest voice in the room. It's about being the calmest under pressure. Here's what I want you to do next.

Tim Newman [00:09:41]:
Pick one of these three steps, whichever feels most challenging to you right now, and practice it this week in a low stakes situation. Maybe it's structuring your next team update using the rule of three. Maybe it's consciously inserting three second pauses during a one on one conversation. Or maybe it's defining your unavoidable verdict before your next presentation. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is to build a habit of control. When you master the system, you won't need to try and sound authoritative. Your calm, structured and purposeful communication will make authority unavoidable.

Tim Newman [00:10:17]:
And that's the real transformation from tracing authority to embodying it naturally. That's all for today. Remember, we're looking for progress, not perfection. Be sure to visit speakingwithconfidencepodcast.com to get your free eBook, Top 21 Challenges for Public Speakers and How to Overcome Them. You can also register for the Foreman for Public Speaking. Always remember, your voice has the power to change. We'll talk to you next time. Take care.