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Tips for Adding Strengthand Authority to Your Voice

TOASTMASTERSINTERNATIONAL®

Your Speaking Voice

P.O. Box 9052Mission Viejo, CA 92690 USA

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Printed in USA Rev. 03/10 Item 199

Your Speaking Voice

Tips for Adding Strength and Authority to Your Voice


2 Your Speak ing Vo ice

Your Speak ing Vo ice 3

Contents

The Medium of Your Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5How Your Voice Is Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Breath Produces Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Production of Voice Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

What Kind of Voice Do You Have? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Do You Whisper or Boom?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Are You Monotonous or Melodious? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Is Your Voice a Rain Cloud or a Rainbow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Do You Have Mumblitis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8How Well Do You Articulate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Do You Trudge Like a Turtle or Race Like a Rabbit?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Do You Agitate or Orchestrate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Your Speech Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9How to Improve Your Speaking Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Methods for Voice Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Breathing Exercises to Improve Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Extending and Controlling Your Pitch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Projecting Your Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Improving Your Articulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Talk With Time, Not Against It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Spice Up Your Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Rehearsing Speeches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Presenting Speeches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Your Voice and Your Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Speech Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23


Your audience judges you from the moment

you stand up to speak. If you are dressed well

and are neat and clean, their initial impres-

sion of you will be positive. However, if your voice is

squeaky, your words unintelligible, or your voice too

loud, their positive impression quickly will become

negative. Ifyou want tocommunicateeffectively and

positively influence your audience, youmust pay special attention to your speaking voice.

The Medium of Your MessageYour greatest tool as a speaker is yourvoice. Every time you address an audi-ence your mind, your body, and yourvoice act as partners in your effort tocommunicate with your listeners. Whenyou speak, your voice is the primary linkbetween you and your listeners. It is themedium of your message.

Yet most likely the voice you are nowusing is not your “best” voice. You mayhave buried your optimum speaking voiceunder layers of bad speech habits.However, you must find it and put it towork if you want to become a good speak-er. This manual will help you add dimen-sion, strength, vitality, and authority toyour speaking voice.

An effective voice isn’t necessary justfor public speaking. A good, controlled

voice is an asset in every contact with others. Your voice mirrors your personalitywith a language all its own. A naturalvoice which projects cordiality, cultivation,and authority is a significant tool for personal success. It can help in gainingpromotions, making sales, winning therespect of others, and improving yoursocial opportunities, as well as in speakingeffectively to audiences.

When you speak, your voice reflects yourpsychological and emotional state of mind.You cannot hope to persuade or influenceothers – or even get them to listen in apositive way – if your tones are harsh andunfriendly. Such a voice can repel evenwhen the speaker wishes to attract. Thequality of friendliness is a requirement fora good speaking voice. It is largely a matterof habit, as is the unfriendly tone.

If you scold, snarl, and speak in anunpleasant tone and you want to producethe genial, cheerful, and gracious tonesthat characterize a good speaking voice,you may need to do more than simplydevelop your voice. You may have toreassess how you look at yourself, otherpeople, and events in general.


and by which it is controlled as it comesupward to meet the vocal organs.

When you breathe in, your abdominalwall expands and the dome-shapeddiaphragm flattens. When you exhale, thediaphragm relaxes and the abdominal wallcontracts. The relaxed diaphragm rises,pushing air out of the lungs. The exhaledair provides the controlled production ofspeech sounds.

As the air pushes upward against thevocal cords, it causes them to momentarilyseparate, allowing the air to pass betweenthem. The rush of air and the elasticity ofthe vocal cords then pulls them backtogether. The production of these vibra-tions is called phonation.

Consider how sound is produced at themouth of an inflated balloon. Vocal soundis produced in a similar manner. Air pres-sure comes up through the throat, mouth,and nose, causing a continuous pressure

But most likely you candevelop the sort of voice thatwins favorable attention andreflects the qualities you wishto project. You simply have tostrip away any bad speechhabits and replace them withpositive ones that will enhanceyour speaking voice.

One of your goals as aspeaker should be to develop avoice that is:

� pleasant, conveying a senseof warmth;

� natural, reflecting your true personality and sincerity;

� dynamic, giving the impres-sion of force and strength –even when it isn’t especiallyloud;

� expressive, portraying various shades ofmeaning and never sounding monoto-nous or without emotion; and

� easily heard, thanks to proper volumeand clear articulation.

How Your Voice Is CreatedBefore you try to improve your speakingvoice, you should first learn how speechsounds are produced. This is the processthat you can change in order to improveyour speech. As you read about theprocess, refer to the diagram above.

� Breath Produces VoiceDeep, controlled breathing is necessary forgood vocal production. Your voice is sup-ported by a column of air, the depth andsteadiness of which determines your vocalquality. Think of the diaphragm as thefoundation on which this air column rests

naSaL PaSSageS

PaLaTe

TeeTh

Tongue

JawLarYnX (contains vocal cords)

TraChea

LungS

dIaPhragm

Sound waveS

LIPS


change in the air surrounding the speaker.These pressure changes are called soundwaves. They are transmitted to the ear ofthe listener and the voice is heard.

� Production of Voice QualityThink for a moment about musical wood-wind and brass instruments. Their soundcomes from the musician’s breath and lipvibrations or the vibrations of a reed inthe mouthpiece. Because the chambers ofthese instruments differ in size and shape,their tone qualities are distinctive.Different parts of the original tone areincreased, or resonated, and other partsare reduced.

Human resonation is the increasing ormodifying of sounds by the throat, nose,and mouth. The sound waves created by thevibration of the vocal cords travel into theupper part of the throat, then to the mouthand, at times, into the nose. As thesewaves bounce around within these struc-tures, they are reinforced and amplified.

The differences in people’s voices arisefrom the size of the vocal cords and theeffects that the resonators (throat, mouth,nasal passages) have on the vocal tone.

To a certain extent, a speaker canchange the size, shape, and surface ten-sions of the pharynx and the oral cavity;he or she may also use, partly use, orclose off the nasal cavities.

What Kind of Voice Do You Have?

� Do You Whisper or Boom?Some people speak too loudly. At theother extreme are those who can barelybe heard. Voice loudness or volumeshould be appropriate in strength andintensity and should be varied in order to

add emphasis and dramatic impact toyour speeches. Inaudibility is differentfrom speaking softly with vocal support.A whisper is air without sound; air mustvibrate against your vocal cords to pro-duce audible sound. A fading voice is firstcousin to a whisper; a sentence or phrasemay begin well enough, then collapseinto unintelligibility. If you want to com-municate with your audience, you mustproject your voice.

� Are You Monotonous or Melodious?When you speak about something, doesyour voice convey life, color, and melody,or do your sentences come out flat, wood-en, and without variety? Do people findyour vocal range pleasant? Good speakersvary their speech to express emotion andconviction. The highness or lowness in thesound of your voice is known as pitch. Ifyour voice is squeaky, guttural, shrill, orflat, then you should work on your pitch.The desired speaking pitch sounds low,clear, full, and varied.

� Is Your Voice a Rain Cloud or a Rainbow?The essence of your speaking sound is yourvoice quality. It expresses emotional color.Your voice coloring is what you use toconvey your feelings, and these feelingsshould be positive when you address anaudience. Your thoughts are a form ofenergy that you transmit to others.Through the quality of your voice, youactually establish the tone of your rela-tionship with an audience or with an indi-vidual to whom you’re speaking. If yourvoice is full, clear, mellow, and enthusias-tic, you can create an unbreakable bond offriendship and acceptance. On the other


hand, if your voice quality is nasal, breathy,harsh, or lifeless, you should concentrateon improving it.

The primary cause of negative voicequality is tension – emotional or physicaltension – so controlling tension is criticalto improving your voice quality.

The key to developing effective voicequality is being aware of the differentroles you play during a typical day: par-ent, employee, boss, friend, lover, con-sumer, salesperson. Each of these rolesreflects different personality traits andrequires different voice images. Listen tohow your voice sounds in your variousroles as you relate to others. Considerwhat you are doing with your voice.How is your mouth moving? How areyou using your lips?

To improve your voice, you mustbecome aware of stress, muscle tension,and relaxation. The most important rec-ommendation for developing voice qualityis to relax your throat while you speak.Think in terms of friendliness, confidence,and a desire to communicate. If yourelease the tension from your voice, apleasing tone will likely result. Rememberthat the emotions and vocal colorings youexpress with your voice can arouse similaremotions in others.

� Do You Have Mumblitis?Indistinctness is an especially annoyingspeech habit. When you speak, you mustbe understood. If you mouth your words orswallow, suppress, or mumble them, peoplewill soon tire of trying to follow yourthoughts. Talking through a half-openedmouth is the same as speaking with a bookin front of your mouth.

� How Well Do You Articulate?The term articulation refers to how dis-tinctly you formulate your words whenyou speak. It includes both how you pro-nounce individual words and how clearlyyou create speech sounds.

Pronunciation is the formation andutterance of words. It is the product ofcorrect sounds in the sequence of a word.Mispronun ciation, on the other hand, isthe failure to produce the correct sounds;for example, just – jist, asked – axed,length – lenth, going to – gunna, etc.

Enunciation relates to the fullness andclarity of speech sounds. Pronunciationand enunciation combine to form the basisof articulation or the shaping of sounds bythe tongue, teeth, palate, lips, and nose.Clear articulation requires three conditions:

1. The sound must be accurately formed.2. The sound must be sufficiently support-

ed by the breath.3. The sound must be completely finished.

� Do You Trudge Like a Turtleor Race Like a Rabbit?The rate at which you speak is closelyassociated with your personality.Consequently, rate is difficult to changebecause it relates to how you think andbehave – how you live your life. Yet youshould avoid speaking either too slow ortoo fast because either can distort yourarticulation, limit changes of pitch, andalter your voice quality.

A slow speaker may not realize how listeners must struggle to pay attention.People think at a much faster rate thanthe flow of speech, and overly slow speechencourages listeners to daydream. In addi-tion, it often results in sound distortion


and lack of variety, which can make whatyou say incomprehensible.

Talking too fast creates similar prob-lems. When information is spewed forth ata rapid rate, listeners become frustratedand “tune out.” A fast speaker also mayshorten sounds and fail to vary intensity,volume, and pitch.

The most effective speaking rate isbetween 120 to 160 words per minute.You can easily keep within this optimumrange by speaking rapidly enough to avoida boring drone, yet slowly enough to beunder standable. By varying your speakingrate during a talk, you can also reflectchanges in emotions and mood, as well asemphasize critical points.

� Do You Agitate or Orchestrate?People speak in musical notes. A goodspeaker may use as many as 25 differentnotes to convey variety and meaning. Aone-note speaker is tedious to an audienceand promotes inattention and boredom.

Vocal variety is the way you use yourvoice to create interest, excitement, and

emotional involvement. It isaccomplished by varyingyour pitch, volume, andtiming.

Inflections comprise another important charac-teristic of speaking. Aninflection is a raised pitch –a high note used to addemphasis to a word. A single change in inflectionmay often change themeaning or implication ofa sentence, as illustrated inthe following example:

I was born in (You, on the otherAustralia. hand, were born

somewhere else.)

I was born in (How dare youAustralia. imply that I wasn’t?)

I was born in (I’m a native – notAustralia. a newcomer.)

I was born in (Not outsideAustralia. Australia.)

I was born in (Not in NewAustralia. Zealand.)

Your Speech Profile The first step you should take in develop-ing a clear speaking voice is to analyzeyour voice and articulation. This will tellyou what needs improvement.

Use the speech profile in the back ofthis manual to analyze your vocal charac-teristics and discover what problem areasmay exist. Since you cannot objectivelyanalyze your own voice, arrange to


have a member analyze your voice whileyou present a speech at your Toastmastersclub. Ask the vice president education toselect a member who will do the analysisas you speak. Once the analysis is com -pleted, follow the instructions on the profile to create a sample graph thatreflects your vocal characteristics.

How to ImproveYour Speaking VoiceNow that you know your voice problems,the exercises in this section will show youhow to improve your voice. Your goalshould be vocal efficiency – the productionof maximum vocal output with minimumeffort. An efficient voice is smooth, versa-tile, and produced with very little effort.

� Methods for Voice RelaxationVoice relaxation is essential for goodspeaking, especially when doing vocalexercises. Many people “talk in the throat,”meaning they hold their vocal tones toofar back. When this happens, the throat

and jaw muscles tense, and the voicesounds harsh and squeezed. You cannotproduce a fine, resonant, pleasing tonewhen your throat muscles are pinched,tense, or strained.

Tight muscles combined with inade-quate breath support cause disagreeabletones that are thin, nasal, high-pitched,and lacking in resonance. Throat tightnessmay be caused by nervousness, a commonoccurrence for inexperienced publicspeakers. If this tightness is present duringordinary conversation, it is usuallybecause of carelessness or ignoranceabout proper voice use.

Here is a six-step method for relaxingyour voice. If you do these simple exercis-es several times daily for a few minuteseach time, you will soon notice a differ-ence. Your voice will sound richer andmore colorful.

1. While standing or sitting comfortably,place your hands lightly on your throatmuscles and speak in a normal tone.Note the tenseness of the throat mus-cles and the tightness of your jaw.

2. Yawn. Open your mouth wide. Finishthe yawn with an easy “ho-hum,” pro-longing the “hum” for several seconds.Drop your jaw as far as it will go with-out stress. Waggle the jaw from side toside and continue humming with yourlips closed and jaw loose.

3. Repeat the yawning and humming.Notice how your throat muscles haveloosened and become relaxed. See howcomfortable your throat feels with thestrain removed.

4. Retaining this feeling of easeand looseness, say the following words:hang, harm, lane, main, lone, loom.

Voice exercises should be done in briefstints – five minutes or less – and spaced

throughout the day. If your voice tires or yourthroat feels rough or scratchy, you are probablyoverdoing the exercises, or doing them incor-rectly. Toastmasters Inter national does notassume any responsibility for injury to a reader’s vocal apparatus that results from overdoing or incorrectly performing the exercises described in this manual. If you havea serious voice or speech problem, you shouldconsult a speech therapist.

Warning


Open your mouth wide, dropping yourjaw loosely. Exaggerate your lip and jawmovements. When your throat feelstired, stop and yawn again.

5. Lightly knead the throat muscles withyour fingers to eliminate tightness.

6. Slowly repeat the following sounds:nah, nay, nee, no, noo. Drop your jawand relax your throat. Prolong thesounds, giving each equal length.

� Breathing Exercises to Improve VolumeHow do you breathe? Unless you’ve hadvoice lessons or athletic training, most like-ly your breathing is shallow, misdirected,and lacking in control.

Correct, natural breathing is the foun-dation of a good voice. Failure to breatheproperly is a leading cause of poor speak-ing volume. Watch an infant or a dog orcat lying asleep. The entire body is relaxedand the abdominal muscles work withevery breath. The muscular movement isalmost entirely below the ribs. You canjudge the correctness of your own breath-ing by watching your shoulders. If they areraised as you inhale, you’re missing thedeep, abdominal breathing effect that isnatural and correct. Here are 10 exercisesthat will help you develop proper breathingand improve your vocal volume.

1. Exhale all air from your lungs. Continuepushing it out even after you feel it’stotally expelled. When no more air can beforced out, you will automatically inhale.Inhale deeply. Observe how the air rushesin. Only a deep, full inhalation will satisfyyour hunger for air. Repeat this processfrequently, but not more than three orfour times at each repetition.

2. Exhale comfortably. Then take a mod-erately filling breath, not crowdingyour capacity. Hold it for 15 seconds,then exhale quietly. Repeat thisprocess frequently for several days.Then gradually increase your holdingtime to 20 seconds, 30 seconds, and 45seconds. Eventually, you will be able tohold your breath for a full minute. Thisexercise will help you to develop breathcontrol by strengthening yourdiaphragm and related muscles.

3. Standing erect, inhale with five quick,short gasps through an open mouth.You will notice that you cannot gasp likethis without using your diaphragm. Fivegasps should fill you to capacity. Thenexhale in five quick gasps or puffs. Next, practice gasping and puffing throughyour nose with your mouth closed.

4. Laugh heartily with a big Ha Ha Ha.Carry this through to complete exhala-tion, then inhale deeply and quickly.


5. Close your lips and laugh soundlesslythrough your nose. You will exerciseyour diaphragm whether you breathethrough your mouth or your nose, butlaughing silently through your nosewill promote better control.

6. Lie on your back. Place a book onyour diaphragm. Try to relax eachpart of your body, then concentrateon the movement of your diaphragm.As you inhale, the book rises. As youexhale, flatten your abdomen asmuch as you can. Repeat this exercise until you automaticallyexpand and contract your waist asyou breathe.

7. Stand, then bend over as if to touchyour toes, but just hang limply. Remainin this position for a full minute, thenstraighten and repeat the exercise. Yourbreath is expelled naturally when youbend at the waist.

8. Standing, place your hands on yourhips, lean your head back, look at theceiling, and yawn. Your waist willexpand as your diaphragm flattensand draws in air. Then, as you exhale,produce the sound ah, holding it aslong as you can without discomfort.

9. Standing, take a deep breath. As youexhale, count aloud from one to fiveon a single breath. Repeat the exercise,counting from one to 10. Do not strain.Allow the air to flow easily.

10. Read aloud a paragraph that containsa mixture of short and long sentences.Read each sentence on a single breath,if possible, inhaling before the sen-tence, then controlling your exhalationas you read.

Do not think that you must fill yourlungs to capacity before speaking. Yourbrain controls the amount of air neededwith each breath. Keep your breathingeasy and comfortable.

The preceding exercises will help youincrease breathing strength and technique.But when you speak, keep your breathingquiet and natural so that the audiencewon’t notice it. Breathe easily at naturalpauses. And if you’re using a microphone,be especially careful that the microphonedoes not pick up your breathing soundsand transmit them to your listeners.

� Extending and Controlling Your PitchMost speakers talk on too high a pitch. Athin, high-pitched tone lacks authorityand appeal and is often harsh andunpleasant. Cultivate deeper tones. Becareful not to develop too low a pitch,which results in rumbling, indistinct, ponderous speech.

We each have a natural pitch on whichwe speak. It may or may not be good. Ifyour natural pitch needs to be lowered,


work on it by consciously pitching yourvoice lower in all conversation. Change it ahalf-tone at a time. Speaking with carefulenunciation and in a relatively soft tonewill help you to establish the change.

You can determine your natural pitchrange with the aid of a piano or guitar.Sing the sound ah at a comfortable pitch.From that point, sing the next note down-ward on the musical scale. Continue tosing downward one note at a time untilyou cannot go lower without straining.Then sing your way upward until youreach the highest note possible withoutstrain. The total number of notes from topto bottom represents your pitch range.Once you have established your range,apply it to the following exercises onstretching, extending, and controllingyour pitch. While working on these exer-cises, remember to keep your throatrelaxed and the breath coming from thediaphragm or abdomen.

1. Sing the sound ah at a normal volume.Increase your volume until you feelyourself straining or losing clarity ofsound. Repeat this process several timesin smaller segments until you reach themaximum loudness level comfortablefor you.

2. Sing the sound ah as in the precedingexercise, but this time do it at varioushigher and lower pitch levels. Do not dothis exercise for more than a few min-utes at a time and stop whenever youfeel strain. Periodically rest your voiceby performing breathing and throatrelaxation exercises. Do not do thisexercise if you have a cold, a sorethroat, or other irritation that affectsthe voice.

3. Repeat the two preceding exercises, butthis time recite letters of the alphabet,numbers, days of the week, or monthsof the year. Always strive for totalrelaxation of the vocal apparatus.

� Projecting Your VoiceThe purpose of these exercises is toimprove your voice quality by bringingyour voice “out of the throat” and focusingit forward where it belongs. Projectingyour voice requires mental and muscularcontrol – you must “think” your voice forward. Make your tones feel as if they’reproduced on your lips.

1. Exercises for Reducing Vocal Con -striction. As you do these exercises,always be certain your jaw and throatmuscles are relaxed. Do them for shortperiods every day, performing only asmany repetitions as you can withouttiring your vocal mechanism.

a. Lying on the floor or on a firm mattress, breathe abdominally andexhale slowly through your mouth.Concen trate on relaxing your lips andjaw by allowing them to hang open.Then relax your throat. Each time youexhale, the passage of air throughyour throat and mouth should feelsmooth and unobstructed.

In the same position, exhale witha breathy sigh and say ah. Repeatand open your mouth wide as ifyou’re yawning. Then, with your nextseries of exhalations, keep sighing,but this time count slowly up to five.Repeat the exercise until you can sayeach word without strain.

b. While in a sitting position, repeatthe above exercises. Then count tofive using your full voice. If yousense constriction in your throat,repeat the exercises while lying onyour back.

c. Do the above exercises in a standingposition. Eventually you should beable to produce open phonationwhile counting to 100 and takingin a new breath after each five numbers.

2. Exercise for Reducing BreathinessThese exercises require that you recordyour voice for playback or have some-one listen to help you distinguishbetween your breathy voice and yourfull voice.a. Make an ee sound while you record

your voice or speak to your listener.The breathiness or escaping air willbe heard along with the vocal tone.Repeat until the vocal tone and therush of air can be heard indepen-dently of one another. Next, repeatthis process using the sound ah.

b. Next, produce louder and louder eesounds. The rush of escaping air willdecrease at some point in your loud-ness range, which means you arefully voicing. Do the same with aseries of ah sounds. Concentrate onthe feeling as well as on the soundin your voice. You should feel thesensation somewhere around thebridge of your nose; this is known ashigh vocal focus. Maintain that samefeel and sound while slowly decreas-ing your volume. Each time breathi-ness occurs, increase your loudnessuntil you no longer hear it. Then

lower your voice again. Repeat thisexercise until you can lower yourvoice without producing breathiness.

� Improving Your ArticulationTo improve your articulation, you mustfirst decide that you are going to be care-ful with your speech. You are going to beyour best – no more careless, sloppy,slovenly talking.

Next, your mouth must be capable ofopening fully. You might as well talk withyour hand in front of your mouth as totalk with teeth and lips half closed. Openyour mouth.

Third, loosen lazy lips. Make your lipsflexible, wrapping them around your wordsas if each word were a tasty morsel.

Fourth, teach your tongue to keep itsplace. This is less difficult, because thetongue usually acts without your con-scious direction. But if it gets in the wayof your words, you must consciously makeit respond to your demands.

And fifth, practice. Every time youspeak, remind yourself to speak eachword well.

Your speech muscles must be trainedand exercised just as you would trainyour body’s other muscles for athleticactivity. As you perform the followingexercises, exaggerate the specifiedactions while remembering to breathediaphragmatically. The secret of correctarticulation is the positioning of the lips,tongue, and teeth. The purpose of theseexercises is to help you obtain the great-est possible flexibility.

1. Lip Exercisesa. Stretch your lower lip over the upper

lip, then stretch the upper lip down



over the lower one. Alternate thisprocess with increasing rapidity.

b. Pucker your lips as tightly as possible,then widen them vigorously. Do thisslowly 10 times, then do it another10 times rapidly. Relax and repeat.

c. Repeat the following syllables slowly,then increase your speed, exaggerat-ing your lip movements:

be-me-be-me-be-me-be-mebo-po-bo-po-bo-po-bo-poflee-flee-flee-flee-fleevro-vro-vro-vro-vro-vrowhee-whoo-wa-whoblee-be-kee-blee-bee-keemla-mla-mla-mla-mla-mlaflack-mack-flack-mack

d. With your jaw and tongue relaxed ina normal position, try to use onlyyour lips as you read the followingvowel sounds. Make a distinctchange between each:

ah-aw ah-aw ah-aw ah-away-oh ay-oh ay-oh ay-ohee-oo ee-oo ee-oo ee-oo

e. Now, with your lips and tonguerelaxed, pronounce the followingvowel sounds by closing and openingyour jaw:

ee-oo ee-oo ee-oo ee-oooo-aw oo-aw oo-aw oo-awee-aw ee-aw ee-aw ee-awee-ah ee-ah ee-ah ee-ah

2. Tongue Exercisesa. Double your tongue back against

your palate as far as you can, then

stretch it outwardfrom your mouthas far as possible.Repeat 10 times.

b. Push your tonguehard against onecheek, then theother. Extend itover the upper lipand down over thelower lip, thenwaggle it from sideto side. Repeat 10times. Relax and repeat again.

c. Round your lips tightly and, groovingyour tongue, push it through theopening. Repeat several times.

d. Press the upper surface of yourtongue against your palate andrelease it. Repeat and increase inrapidity.

3. Jaw Exercisesa. Say the following sounds with a

broad movement of your jaw.Exaggerate and prolong the vowels:

wee-ee-ee-ee-eewhy-y-y-y-y-y-ywo-o-o-o-o-o-owah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

b. Utter the following syllables whileexaggerating your jaw movements:

bah-bah-bah-bah-bahmah-mah-mah-mah-mahwah-wah-wah-wah-wahfah-fah-fah-fah-fahpah-pah-pah-pah-pahbee-boh-fee-foh-mee-mohwee-woh-de-doh-gee-goh-jee-


joh-pee-poh-tee-tohkee-koh-lee-loh-nee-noh-kwee-

kwoh-ree-roh-see-soh

c. While uttering the following sylla-bles, exaggerate your tongue and jawmovements:

dah-dah-dah-dah-dahjah-jah-jah-jah-jahlah-lah-lah-lah-lahkwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwahsah-sah-sah-sah-sahthah-thah-thah-thah-thahgah-gah-gah-gah-gahkah-kah-kah-kah-kahnah-nah-nah-nah-nahrah-rah-rah-rah-rahtah-tah-tah-tah-tah

d. With your jaw completely relaxed,rest your tongue normally in thebottom of your mouth. Then pushdown your tongue and pronouncethe following syllables, returning tothe relaxed position after each:

sah say see so soozah zay zee zo zookah kay kee ko koogah gay gee go goo

� Talk With Time, Not Against ItIf you are a high-energy person, you prob-ably will not be able to permanently slowdown your rate of speech. But you canlearn to vary your rate. People live accord-ing to patterns or rhythms, usually struc-tured around a work week and a weekend.Language is also rhythmic. It contains reg-ular beats and pauses. Your languagerhythm is an expression of your life’s

rhythm. If you are a slow speaker, you canconsciously vary your rate to increasespeed. Your speaking rate is similar to yourrate while reading out loud. A slow speakerreads about 120 words per minute, while afast speaker reads more than 190 wordsper minute.

Read the following passage in youreveryday speaking style. Don’t attempt toread interpretively or use vocal variety. Aslash (/) occurs at 50-word intervals. Use astopwatch or a watch with a second handto time yourself and determine yourspeaking rate.

from THE U.S. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEON EDUCATION TO CONGRESS, JANUARY 29, 1963

Education is the keystone in thearea of freedom and progress.Nothing has contributed more to theenlargement of this nation’sstrength and opportunities than ourtraditional system of free, universalelementary and secondary educa-tion, coupled with widespread avail-ability of college education.

For the individual, the doors to the/ schoolhouse, to the library, and to


the college lead to the richest trea-sures of our open society: to thepower of knowledge – to the trainingand skills necessary for productiveemployment – to the wisdom, theideals, and the culture which enrichlife – and to the creative, self-disci-plined understanding of / societyneeded for good citizenship in today’schanging and challenging world.

For the nation, increasing thequality and availability of education isvital to both our national security andour domestic well-being. A freenation can rise no higher than thestandard of excellence set in itsschools and colleges. / Ignorance andilliteracy, unskilled workers andschool dropouts – these and otherfailures of our educational systembreed failures in our social and eco-nomic system: delinquency, unem-ployment, chronic dependence, awaste of human resources, a loss ofproductive power and purchasingpower, and an increase in tax-sup-ported benefits. The loss / of only oneyear’s income due to unemploymentis more than the total cost of twelveyears of education through highschool. Failure to improve educationperformance is thus not only poorsocial policy, it is poor economics.

At the turn of the century, only10 percent of our / adults had a highschool or college education. Today,such an education has become arequirement for an increasing num-ber of jobs. Yet nearly 40 percent ofour youths are dropping out beforegraduating from high school; only43 percent of our adults have com-

pleted high school; only 8 / percentof our adults have completed col-lege; and only 16 percent of ouryoung people are presently complet-ing college. As my Science AdvisoryCommittee has reported, one of ourmost serious manpower shortages isthe lack of Ph.Ds in engineering, sci-ence, and mathematics; only aboutone-half of 1 / percent of our schoolage generation is achieving Ph.D.degrees in all fields.

This nation is committed togreater investment in economicgrowth; and recent research hasshown that one of the most benefi-cial of all such investments is edu-cation, accounting for some 40 per-cent of the nation’s growth and /productivity in recent years. It is aninvestment which yields a substan-tial return in the higher wages andpurchasing power of trained work-ers, in the new products and tech-niques which come from skilledminds, and in the constant expan-sion of this nation’s storehouse of useful knowledge.

In the new age of science / andspace, improved education is essen-tial to give new meaning to ournational purpose and power. In thelast 20 years, mankind has acquiredmore scientific information than inall of previous history. Ninety per-cent of all the scientists that everlived are alive and working today.Vast stretches of the / unknown arebeing explored every day for mili-tary, medical, commercial, and otherreasons. And finally, the twistingcourse of the cold war requires a


citizenry that understands our prin-ciples and problems. It requiresskilled manpower and brain-powerto match the power of totalitariandiscipline. It requires a scientificeffort which / demonstrates thesuperiority of freedom. And itrequires an electorate in every statewith sufficiently broad horizons andsufficient maturity of judgment toguide this nation safely throughwhatever lies ahead.

John F. Kennedy

If you’re a fast speaker (over 150 wordsper minute), take a full two seconds to sayeach of the following words:

droopy roarlovely glimmerrustle lonelycrash grumblesnowflake sluggishstroll fluffygloomy lusciousmerry passionhush happysputter murmurstretch moanlover deliciousgrisly rumble

If you’re a slow speaker (less than 120words per minute), say each of the following words rapidly:

flick glibtip snapclip nitflip chipsnit pipblip fib

flit dipglint bitsnit click

Write a one-page composition describ-ing your daily activity. Then read it aloud. Ifyou are a slow speaker, read it as rapidly asyou can. If you are a fast speaker, lengthenthe time you spend saying each word.

� Spice Up Your Speaking

1. Pitch VarietyThere are four types of pitch changesyou can make within words. Thearrows below indicate whether thevoice goes up, down, or remains levelin the examples.

No change in inflection

Johnny �

Inflection up or rising pitch

Johnny �

Inflection down or lowering pitch

Johnny �

Inflection up and down

Johnny �

Inflection down and up

Johnny �

Practice the following words and sen-tences, and change the pitch as indicated:

a. hello goodbye hello goodbye hello goodbye


yes no yes no yes no

what?

doing

b. Stop

doing

that.

mean?

you

what

that

c. Is

that

what

you

mean?

d. Take sentences from a book, maga-zine, or newspaper, and break themup in step shifts up and down as inthe preceding examples. Practice inthis manner with various kinds andstyles of reading materials.

2. Duration VarietyDuration refers to the amount of timeyou take to say a word. You can changethe meaning and importance of wordsby saying them quickly or drawing themout. Try this while you read the follow-ing poem.

THE NEW COLOSSUSNot like the brazen giant of Greek

fame,With conquering limbs astride

from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset

gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch,

whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and

her nameMother of Exiles. From her

beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her

mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin

cities frame.“Keep, ancient hands, your storied

pomp!” cries sheWith silent lips. “Give me your

tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to

breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming

shore,Send these, the homeless, tempest-

tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Emma Lazarus

3. Pause VarietyPauses are periods of silence betweenwords and phrases. Their function is toseparate ideas and hold attention. Readthe following selection and pause ateach dash. Then take a selection from abook, magazine, or newspaper and dothe same.


from THEIR FINEST HOUR

The whole fury and might – of theenemy – must very soon be turnedon us. Hitler knows – that he willhave to break us in this island – orlose the war. If we – can stand up tohim – all Europe – may be free –and the life of the world may moveforward – into broad sunlit uplands.– But if we fail – then the wholeworld – including the United States– including all that we have knownand cared for – will sink into theabyss – of a new dark age – mademore sinister – and perhaps moreprotracted – by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore –brace ourselves to our duties – andso bear ourselves that – if theBritish Empire and its Common -wealth last for a thousand years –men will say – “This – was theirfinest hour.”

Winston S. Churchill

4. Loudness or Volume VarietyRemember to use diaphrag-matic respiration to project volume. Asyou read the following speech by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., interpret whatwords should be spoken loudly andwhich ones softly.

from I Have A DreamI am not unmindful that some ofyou have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of youhave come fresh from narrow jailcells. Some of you have come fromareas where your quest for freedom

left you battered by the storms ofpersecution and staggered by thewinds of police brutality. . .Go back to Mississippi, go back toAlabama, go back to SouthCarolina, go back to Georgia, goback to Louisiana, go back to theslums and ghettos of our Northerncities, knowing that somehow thissituation can and will be changed.Let us not wallow in the valley ofdespair.I say to you today, my friends, thatin spite of the difficulties and frus-trations of the moment, I still have adream. It is a dream deeply rootedin the American dream.I have a dream that one day thisnation will rise up and live out thetrue meaning of its creed: “We holdthese truths to be self-evident; thatall men are created equal”…I have adream that my four little childrenwill one day live in a nation wherethey will not be judged by the colorof their skin, but by the content oftheir character.I have a dream today…I have a dream that one day everyvalley shall be exalted, every hill andmountain shall be made low, therough places will be made plain, andthe crooked places will be madestraight, and the glory of the Lordshall be revealed, and all flesh shallsee it together.This is our hope. This is the faiththat I go back to the South with.With this faith we will be able tohew out of the mountain of despaira stone of hope. With this faith wewill be able to transform the jan-


gling discords of our nation into abeautiful symphony of brotherhood.With this faith we will be able towork together, to pray together, tostruggle together, to go to jailtogether, to stand up for freedomtogether, knowing that we will befree one day.This will be the day when all of God’schildren will be able to sing with newmeaning, “My country ’tis of thee,sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.Land where my fathers died, land ofthe Pilgrims’ pride, from every moun-tainside, let freedom ring.”And if America is to be a greatnation, this must become true. Solet freedom ring from the prodigioushilltops of New Hampshire. Let free-dom ring from the mighty mountainsof New York. Let freedom ring fromthe heightening Alleghenies ofPennsylvania!Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado! Letfreedom ring from the curvaceousslopes of California! But not onlythat; let freedom ring from StoneMountain of Georgia! Let freedomring from Lookout Mountain ofTennessee!Let freedom ring from every hill andmolehill of Mississippi. From everymountainside, let freedom ring.And when this happens, when welet freedom ring, when we let itring from every village and everyhamlet, from every state and everycity, we will be able to speed upthat day when all of God’s children,black men and white men, Jewsand Gentiles, Protestants andCatholics, will be able to join hands

and sing in the words of the oldNegro spiritual, “Free at last! Freeat last! Thank God Almighty, weare free at last!”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rehearsing Speeches Find a place where you can be alone whenyou rehearse your speeches, and turn yourvoice loose without inhibitions or interrup-tions. Vary the pitch, volume, rate, andquality of your voice, and work diligentlyon varying your delivery rate.

A valuable aid in rehearsing is a taperecorder. Record your voice and continueto practice until the playback satisfies you.Then record the entire speech. Pay atten-tion to your organization and sincerity, aswell as to your voice. The sound of yourrecorded voice may surprise you at first,but it is closer to what an audience hearsthan the voice you are used to hearing asyou speak.

Presenting SpeechesMake use of the voice techniques youdevelop while rehearsing. Speak out withenthusiasm and use a wide variety of vocalstyles. Let the motivation for voicechanges come from the context of yourspeech. Reflect sincerity when you are sin-cere, humor when you’re amused, emotionwhen you feel deeply. Build appropriatepauses into your presentations to give lis-teners a chance to mentally digest whatyou have said and catch up with you.

When you speak, stand up straight, butdon’t be tense and rigid. Give your lungsroom to expand. Take moderately deepbreaths as you speak and varyyour voice to match your words. Speakclearly and project your voice so the entireaudience can hear you.


Your Voice and Your Image Your voice and your face are your “publicrelations” agents. More than any other fac-tors, they serve to establish an image ofyou in the minds of others. Your face,body, and speech are the interpreters ofyour mind. They reveal your character –the real you – as nothing else can.

A smile – whether it starts in your face,your disposition, or your voice – reacts onthe other elements and tends to induce a

positive, constructive complex whichmakes your attitude and appearanceattractive and pleasing.

Your best voice can help bring out yourbest self. Nature has given you a pricelessgift in your voice. It is the means by whichyou can communicate with others – themedium of your message. It also makespossible understanding and camarad erie.Take advantage of the information and exercises in this booklet, because by yourvoice and your words, you influence others.

� For the Speaker:1. Before presenting a manual speech, arrange with your club’s vice president education

to have a member evaluate your voice according to the Speech Profile.2. When the evaluation is completed, draw a line connecting the marks on the profile.

Any characteristics rated four or less on the scale indicate possible voice problems.3. Refer to the corresponding exercises in this manual for help in correcting your voice

problems.

� For the Evaluator:1. Identify each of the characteristics on the speech profile. During the speaker’s pre-

sentation, rate each characteristic on a scale from one to seven, one being negativeand seven positive.

2. Return the profile to the speaker at the conclusion of the presentation. You maywish to verbally evaluate the speaker’s voice.

Speech Profile Instructions


Speech ProfileThis profile has been designed to help you determine what is right and what is wrongwith your voice. Before using it, please read the section entitled “Your Speech Profile.”Instructions for using the profile appear on the opposite page.

NEGATIVE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 POSITIVE

LOUDNESS OR VOLUME: LOUDNESS OR VOLUME:Too quiet • • • • • • • Good projectionInaudible • • • • • • • Easily heardFlat • • • • • • • Vibrant and dynamic

PITCH: PITCH:High • • • • • • • LowShrill • • • • • • • FullMonotonous • • • • • • • Varied

VOICE QUALITY: VOICE QUALITY:Nasal • • • • • • • OpenBreathy • • • • • • • ClearHarsh, raspy • • • • • • • MellowLifeless • • • • • • • Enthusiastic

ARTICULATION ARTICULATION(WORD USAGE): (WORD USAGE):Slushy • • • • • • • ClearLazy lips • • • • • • • CrispTangled tongue • • • • • • • ControlledTight jaw • • • • • • • Open mouthMumbling • • • • • • • ProjectionMispronunciation • • • • • • • Pronunciation

TIMING OR RATE: TIMING OR RATE:Jerky • • • • • • • SmoothSlow, plodding • • • • • • • FluentUnvaried • • • • • • • Varied, excitingHesitant • • • • • • • Deliberate

VOCAL VARIETY: VOCAL VARIETY:Emotionless • • • • • • • Conveys emotionUnfriendly • • • • • • • GenialStrained • • • • • • • NaturalDull • • • • • • • Vital

ITEM 199


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