III. Effective speakers learn to control their voices to enhance the impact of their message.

Whatever the characteristics of your voice, you can be sure it is unique. Because no two people are exactly the same physically, no two people have identical voices. Some of the most famous speakers in history had undistinguished voices. Abraham Lincoln had a harsh and penetrating voice; Winston Churchill suffered from a slight lisp and awkward stammer.

A. The volume of a speaker's voice is basic to effective delivery.

1. If a speaker talks too softly, he or she will not be heard.

2. If a speaker talks too loudly, he or she will be thought boorish.

3. Whether speaking with or without a microphone, a speaker must adjust her or his volume to the acoustics of the room and the size of the audience.

B. The pitch of a speaker's voice has an impact on delivery.

1. Pitch is the highness or lowness of a speaker's voice.

2. Speakers who do not change their pitch speak in a monotone, which makes their voice flat and lifeless.

3. Effective speakers vary their pitch to generate interest and to convey meaning and emotion. It is the inflection of your voice that reveals whether you are asking a question or making a statement; whether you are being sincere or sarcastic.

C. The rate of a speaker's voice will affect the outcome of a speech.

1. Rate refers to the speed at which a person speaks.

2. The most appropriate rate depends on the speaker's voice, the mood the speaker is trying to create, the audience, and the occasion.

4. Two obvious faults to avoid are speaking so slowly that listeners get bored or so fast that they lose track of the message.

Franklin Roosevelt spoke at roughly 110 words a minute, John Kennedy at 180. Martin Luther King opened his “I have a dream” speech at a pace of 92 words per minute and finished at 145. A fast rate helps to create feelings of happiness, fear, anger, and surprise while a slow rate is better for expressing sadness or disgust. A slower tempo is called for when you explain complex information, a faster tempo when the information is already familiar to the audience. Finally, the research suggests that in most situations listeners will find a speaker with a somewhat faster rate than normal to be more competent and more persuasive than a speaker with a slower rate.

D. Effective pauses can contribute greatly to a speaker's impact.

1. Pauses can be used to signal the end of a thought unit, to give an idea time to sink in, or to lend dramatic impact to a statement.

2. Novice speakers can develop their use of pauses by practice and by observing experienced speakers.

3. Above all, a speaker should avoid vocalized pauses.

a. Vocalized pauses include statements such as "like," "er," "uh," or "urn."

b. Research shows that too many vocalized pauses reduce a speaker's credibility and persuasiveness. “The right word,” Mark Twain noted, “may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”

E. Pronunciation is another vocal feature that influences the outcome of a speech.

1. Errors in pronunciation can reduce a speaker's credibility.

2. If a speaker has doubts about how to pronounce a word, she or he should check the pronunciation in a dictionary or with another person.

F. Articulation also has an impact on how a speech is received.

1. Articulation refers to how crisply and distinctly we form particular speech sounds.

2. Most errors in articulation are caused by laziness – by failing to produce speech sounds clearly and precisely.

3. Articulation errors caused by physical problems often require the aid of a certified speech therapist.

5. Articulation errors caused by laziness can be remedied by diagnosing the errors and working to correct them.

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