nsonants
distinctly. As these sounds usually begin and end words, and as they
are produced by rather sudden checks or interruptions, they can be
made to produce a wave motion in the air which will carry the entire
word safely and clearly beyond the ear into the understanding. In
public speaking no amount of care and attention bestowed upon
pronouncing consonants can be spared.

Tone. The most marked quality of a person's voice is its tone. It will
be enough for the purposes of this manual to assert that the tone
should be both clear and agreeable. In public speaking the first of
these is all important, though an absence of the second qualification
may almost neutralize all the advantages of the first. Clearness may
be impaired by several causes. The speaker may feel that his throat
closes up, that he becomes choked. His tongue may become stiff and
"cleave to the roof of his mouth"--as the feeling is popularly
described. He may breathe so energetically that the escaping or
entering air makes more noise than the words themselves. He may be
more or less conscious of all these. The others he may not discover
for himself. The instructor or members of the class will inform him of
their presence. Set jaws will prevent him from opening his mouth wide
enough and operating his lips flexibly enough to speak with a full
tone. A nasal quality results mainly from lack of free resonance in
the head and nose passages. Adenoids and colds in the head produce
this condition. It should be eradicated by advice and practice.

Usually whatever corrections will make the tone clearer will also make
it more agreeable. The nasal pessimistic whine is not a pleasant
recommendation of personality. High, forced, strident tones produce
not only irritation in the listener but throat trouble for the
speaker.

Articulate--that is, connected--speech may be considered with
reference to four elements, all of which are constantly present in any
spoken discourse.

Speed. First, there is the speed of delivery. An angry woman can utter
more words in a minute than any one wants to hear. The general
principle underlying all speech delivery is that as the audience
increases in number the rapidity of utterance should be lessened.
Those who are accustomed to addressing large audiences, or to speaking
in the open air, speak very slowly. A second consideration is the
material being delivered. Easily grasped narrative, description, and
explanation, simply phrased