You should always pause when receiving criticism, it's a great psychological trick. Responding immediately and fiercely rewards the critic.
By pausing, the critic becomes doubtful. Did I go too far? Is something really bad brewing?
By pausing, the critic becomes doubtful. Did I go too far? Is something really bad brewing?
Many times I wish I could pull off a long, awkward pause and gather my thoughts and response.
For people who answer like this: what goes through your mind during the pause? Are you counting in your head? Are you planning out your answer? Are you playing the question in your head?
As an aside, while I’m OK-to-uncomfortable on the receiving end of the pause, I get wildly enraged when people say, “I don’t understand” without trying to play back or suss out meaning, eg “I don’t understand, are you saying…?” I find it wildly dismissive. But that’s probably on me.
basically slowing down before a tight curve