Said my negotiation ask out loud three times before the call and it completely changed how it went

Every article says "practice your ask" and I always skipped it because reading the number in my head felt like enough. This time I actually said the sentence out loud, alone in my car, three separate times: the number, the reasoning, then silence.

First two times my voice did this apologetic thing at the end, like I was asking permission. By the third rehearsal it came out flat and matter of fact. On the actual call I said the number and then just... stopped talking, which felt unbearable for about four seconds.

Recruiter came back two days later with most of the gap closed. I don't think the number was the variable. I think the silence was.