“Language is the dress of thought.”

~Samuel Johnson

People judge you by what you do or say. The way you look at others and the way you smile reveal your personality.

Your speech – the words that you use and how use them and the tone of your voice – is also directly related to your personality.

Do you like a woman who shouts or mumbles when she speaks?

Do you respect the man who uses course language?

Here are some tips that you should observe when you speak:

First of all speak clearly.

This will make your voice pleasing and your message well understood.  Do not swallow your words. Learn to control your breathing. Shallow breathing prevents you from speaking clearly. Fill your lungs with air, expand your chest, and raise your shoulders and throw them back.

Secondly speak in a moderately loud voice.

Womens’ voices are pitched higher than men. Study what pitch is pleasing and easy for you, and speak in that pitch. Remember that a loud, high-pitched voice is irritating. Likewise if you speak very low and too softly, your listeners will have to strain themselves to hear what you are saying and may soon simply ignore you.

Try these exercises:

A. Count slowly from one to twelve. Pause for breath after three, six, nine, and twelve. Begin counting again.

B. Read each of the following sentences in one breath and at a normal rate of utterance. Unless it is for comma, do not pause for breath until you complete the sentence. When you can read all the sentences comfortably, you know how to breathe properly.

1. It was a pretty garden.
2. It was a pretty garden full of green grass and sweet-smelling flowers.
3. It was a pretty garden enclosed by a high stone wall, and in it were lovely flowers of different kinds and colors.

Did you notice how you had to take a deeper breath as you read sentences 2 and 3?

If you ran out of breath while reading the last sentence, our normal breathing is probably too shallow.

Develop better control of your breathing.