That quote from Debussy suggests that the real meaning of something may be conveyed and enhanced by the space, the silence with which we surround it. A sunset on a busy, dirty city street is lost but seeing the same sun set over a vast mountain panorama is impressive.
A speaker can pause either before or after an important point and the audience will realize that this is a critical part of the message. A silent moment may give them a second or two to process the valuable words they have just heard. Or they may even lean in to hear an upcoming pearl.
Likewise a blank slide may open the perfect space a presenter needs to tell an important story. All the attention will be on him as he blanks out his PowerPoint and draws us in with his comments.
Pausing lends importance to what we say and gives a setting for our listeners to take in our words and ideas. Pay attention to what the space, the silence between your spoken thoughts, the empty screen conveys to your audience. It is powerful stuff.
