Anatomy of Speech
Goal: In this section you will learn how the voice is produced, the anatomy of speech. Because you intend to work in the field of communication, the subject of voice is very important.

Learning Objectives:
1.  List six qualities of your speaking voice that you must be able to detect and improve.
2.  Outline the "path of breath," naming the parts of the head which assist voice production.
3.  State how breathing compares to fueling an engine.
4.  Describe the action of the vocal chords during speech.
5.  Explain how resonance works.

Information Sheet #1 - Anatomy of Speech
A successful performer must have a definite personality to project. Our objective is to develop and bring out this personality. This requires your desire to better yourself, for unless you are willing to spend hours of practice, the art of being a performer will remain beyond your reach. Speaking to people is as normal as eating and breathing, but speaking before an audience is an art. Aside from developing your breathing technique, you must learn popular psychology, how to size up your audience, how to best make them like you, and how to hold their interest. During a commercial you must be a salesperson. You are the direct contact between the product and the public. If a product sold itself, it wouldn't need to be advertised. You must sell the product and yourself to the unseen audience.
Develop your own personality. Don't try to imitate anyone. Don't try to sound like a known announcer or DJ. You don't want people to say that you sound like someone else.
Pay particular attention to the way your voice sounds. You must develop the ability to listen to yourself. You must listen and not simply hear. Part of this is to listen for specific key items of speech. Listen for pitch, tempo and volume. Your own ear is the best teacher, once you know what to listen for and when you are then able to determine what mistakes you are making.
Keep in mind the reasons you are talking. You want to tell something, amuse someone, want to make an audience believe you or change the way they think. Your success as a performer will depend on how well you project your message and retain the interest of your listeners. You can't hold their interest unless your sincerity and belief in what you are saying shines through.
Perfect articulation means perfect understanding. Every syllable must be pronounced and every word ending must be carried out to its full value. The following are the qualities of your speaking voice that you should learn to detect and improve:

Voice Quality:		throaty, nasal, lisp, monotone
Voice Pitch:		low, medium, high
Pace:		average, slow, deliberate, rapid
Volume:		weak, heavy, medium, soft
Enunciation:		clear, clipped, garbled, slurred, careless, no endings, accent
Personality:		friendly, sincere, happy, affected, drab
Intonation:		flexible, singsong, flat, dull

Breathing
Do you sound at ease when you speak? Are you tense or nervous before a group? Above all, do you breathe properly? Correct breathing is the first step in developing a good voice.
Breathing is the basis of good speech. It is as important as fuel to an engine. It is only truly effective when supplied in sufficient quantity and regulated in an efficient manner.

The parts of the human body, mainly in the chest, neck and head, which assist in voice production are displayed above. Air from the lunges passes between the gap through the Vocal Cords causing them to vibrate. The resulting sound is amplified by the resonating cavities of the head and formed into words by the tongue, lips and teeth.
Outgoing breath comes upward from the lungs. The first part of your speech equipment to be activated by the outgoing breath is the vocal cords. Vocal cords are best described as a drumskin with a slit across the middle. The space between the two edges of the split is known as the Glottis. When you are not speaking, the two pieces of drumskin, which are muscular bands about one inch long in a man and ¾ inch long in a woman, are relaxed allowing plenty of space for the air to pass through the glottis without vibration. During speech, the vocal cords become taught, narrowing the glottis. The breath forces its way through the narrowed opening causing the cords to vibrate. This is the origin of vocal sound. There is nothing you can do to consciously control your vocal cords. Vocal cords are contained in the Larynx, sometimes called the voice box, which is made of muscles attached to the larger muscles of the neck. During times of stress, nervous tension can raise the pitch of your voice beyond the normal level. The more you relax, particularly your neck and shoulder muscles, the better.
After leaving the vocal cords, the breath travels along the throat and through the Pharynx. The pharynx is the area of the throat reached by the sound waves before they turn the corner and sweep forward into the mouth and nasal cavities. There is nothing you can do to control the pharynx either.
As the breath turns the corner, it passes between the back of the tongue and the Soft Palate. The soft palate is fleshy and operates like a draw bridge. During normal breathing, when the mouth is closed, the soft palate is in the lowered position allowing air to pass through the nose. During speech, the soft palate raises and breath is directed to the mouth. This occurs except when saying nasal sounds, such as "em," "en," and "ing." When saying "ah," the soft palate is raised to its highest point, opening the throat as wide as possible.
Breath next crosses below the Hard Palate. This is the upper area of the mouth cavity, the roof of the mouth. If you run your tongue back from the upper teeth over the roof of the mouth, you can feel the solid nature of the hard palate. If your tongue is long enough and flexible enough, you may be able to feel back far enough to locate the point where the hard and soft palates meet.
There is no direct link between the nose and throat during speech because the soft palate is raised. Your palate serves as a drum head giving extra resonance to your speech. Articulate speech is formed by the movement of the tongue and lips, and by the lower jaw, whose movement determines the position of the lower teeth in relation to the upper teeth.
Efficient breath control is necessary to make the vocal cords vibrate steadily. A rich full vocal tone is dependant on a strong supply of air correctly controlled and directed.

Breathing
Goal: In this section you will learn how to recognize and correct one of the most common weaknesses found in speaking - incorrect breathing. Breathing is the basis of good speech. Correct breathing technique makes all the difference between a well produced voice and a bad one.

Learning Objectives:
1.  Explain and demonstrate proper diaphragm breathing.
2.  List the advantages of diaphragm breathing over "chest" breathing in speech.
3.  Define the term, "phrasing."
4.  Demonstrate proper phrasing by reading a 60 second exercise.
5.  Define "flexibility."
6.  Practice exercises.

Information Sheet #2 - Breathing
To achieve good speech it is necessary to breath deeply and cultivate flexibility. Lungs are constructed so they are capable of great expansion at their lower ends, where they rest on the diaphragm, above the stomach. At the upper end, where the apex of the lungs project toward the neck, expansion is limited due to smaller area and the upper ribs create a cage which is less moveable. Many people are upper-chest breathers. This is not good for announcing. If you have heard announcers snatching small breaths while talking, sounding like a small snorting effect, it is a result of upper-chest breathing.
The air supply is limited when breathing shallowly, causing a speaker to make unnatural pauses to replenish the limited supply. The breaks in the speaker's rhythm detract from what is being said, and this thin breath results in a thin voice with little power. Correct deep breathing comes from the diaphragm, a large, strong muscle separating the chest cavity from the abdomen. It is attached to the ribs and the abdominal muscles.
Take a deep full breath. The ribs that encase you lungs move sideways and outward, allowing your lungs to expand. At the same time, the diaphragm, which had been relaxed in a curved position, moves downward and flattens out. The flattening of the diaphragm cause a vacuum-like effect in your chest cavity and allows your lungs to fill fully. As you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes, the muscles of the ribs contract and the lungs are compressed inside the chest cavity.
Diaphragm control is achieved by regulating the movement of the ribs and stomach muscles. When speaking the demand is for a speedy intake of air and controlled release of that air. This flexibility, quick intake and controlled release, is most important.
When you breath without speaking, you naturally breath through your nose. When you use your voice, this would not be natural and would take too long. So, when you talk and do exercises, you should breath in through your mouth. Take a deep breath through your mouth and feel the area around your waist. Don't throw out your chest or raise your shoulders. Next, tighten your abdominal muscles and bring your stomach in. Vocalize as the air comes out slowly and easily. It is more important to work on this flexibility than to worry about the ability to take a very deep breath and hold it for a long time. Don't "pack" your lungs. Practice quick intake and controlled exhalation of breath, based on the duration of the sentence or phrase you are attempting to say. This is where the term Phrasing comes from. It means taking breaths according to the phrases or clauses in a sentence. Most people with vocal problems tend to speak too long on a single breath. Anyone can be trained to go a long way on one breath and use up most of the air in their lungs, but you should only use a quarter or half the air in your lungs when speaking. If you go beyond that point, you begin to use supplemental air. Try speaking as long as you can on a single breath. You'll reach a point where you can still speak if you compress you chest and squeeze the air out, but it will also result in muscle tension on the larynx. Take frequent breaths patterned according to the phrases you are saying. Practice phrasing.
The best breathing comes from the diaphragm with less strain on the rib cage. This causes maximum movement of air with a minimum of effort. Inhalation must be quick and silent. Exhalation must be controlled and with a minimum of interference in the throat.
Voices don't fail because of a lack of air taken into the lungs. They fail due to insufficient air taken in, or taken at improper times, and improperly used.

Here are the things to remember about breath control:
•  Breath from the central portion of your body, not the chest.
•  Shoulders should not rise or fall and there should be minimal chest movement.
•  Neck muscles should remain relaxed.

Think when you speak. What are you saying? How are you saying it? Never anticipate the end of a sentence. If you take it phrase by phrase, you are less likely to run out of breath. Think from your diaphragm to your mouth. Ignore the throat and all the bits and pieces between. Concentrate on projecting that jet of air carrying the voice to the hard palate and out. Direct the voice forward so the listener receives it clearly, as a well resonated sound, naturally and without strain. Correct breathing is the basis of efficient delivery.

Projecting Voice
Goal: In this section you will learn to control vocal intensity. The voice should be sufficiently loud to be heard easily and variation in vocal intensity is necessary to emphasize and subordinate ideas, stress certain syllables and make speech interesting.

Learning Objectives:
1.  State the proper source of volume. Explain.
2.  List some of the simple precautions you should take to protect your voice.
3.  Define "projection."
4.  Explain the basic rules of proper projection.
5.  Demonstrate projection from across a table, ten feet away, across a room.
6.  Practice the exercises.

Information Sheet #3 - Projecting Voice
The difference between conversation and performance is volume and projection. Volume comes from increased air pressure below the larynx. It does not come from tightening your throat muscles or straining.
Raising your voice above a conversational tone, to be heard at a distance, is projection. Your voice must have the ability or power to carry, without being shrill, without yelling, without raising its tone or pitch to an unnatural degree.

Protecting Your Voice
Avoid clearing your throat audibly. This action irritates the throat and causes raspiness. Try swallowing instead, pausing or taking a deep breath may also be of help. If you must clear your throat, do it as gently as possible and without voice. Always keep your head straight when you talk. When you speak, your larynx rises and if your head is down or to one side, you out pressure on it and interfere with proper breathing. Don't wear a tight belt or collar or eat too much before talking. Avoid talking when you are overly tired or after having a few drinks. After drinking your larynx becomes desensitized and you are apt to misuse it because you think it sounds and feels better. When you have to shout above constant noise, try to rest your voice frequently. These simple suggestions will keep your voice good and strong and guard it from physical abuse.

Projecting
Your throat must be open and your articulation more exact when projecting your voice. Tones must be clearly formed by your mouth and lips. Feel the sound in your mouth, not in your throat.
Each tone must be sustained longer and the tempo must be slower. Phrases and sentences should be shorter to avoid wasting air or running out of breath. Don't force or push the tone or your voice may crack. Volume isn't sufficient alone, you must be understood as well as be heard.
Try to estimate different distances and talk accordingly. Talk to an object ten feet away, speak to a chair on the other side of a large room. Make yourself understood in the next room. Each time, increase your breath power until you have control over your projection.

Exercises For Development of Loudness Control

1. Stand erect in a place where you can push against a wall with one hand. Count to ten in a normal voice, taking a separate breath for each count. Repeat the exercise while pushing vigorously against the wall with one hand, allowing the waist muscles to contract tightly on each count. Can you get a stronger tone by exerting pressure as you push?
2. Read the following sentences using a single breath for each one. Do not lower vocal intensity at the end of the longer sentences.
   1. I don't want to go.
   2. The engineer cautioned us to drive slowly.
   3. Deep, well controlled breathing is required to read a long sentence on one exhalation.
   4. Scarlett O'Hara, the heroine in Gone With The Wind, was a Southern beauty of great personal pride, ambition and will power, who would make any ordinary sacrifice to achieve her ends.
3. Try to read the first part of the sentence normally, and the last part forcefully, without raising your pitch.
   1. You must not come here. Please move along.
   2. If we win that victory, what a celebration we shall have.
   3. I believe in a program for the preservation of peace, but certainly not peace at any price.
4. Read the above sentences again, this time raise the pitch of your voice in the last part of each sentence to increase the intensity.
5. Read the following sentences, giving considerable force to the underlined phrases. Use normal force on the sections not underlined.
   1. I know not what others may think, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.
   2. This is the last time I shall request that those in the back row keep quiet.
   3. The mills of the gods grind slowly and they grind exceedingly small.
6. Read the following sentences, without, then with, vigorous stress on the underlined words.
   1. He who laughs last laughs loudest.
   2. It's a marvel to me that she stays with it.
   3. Mister, he said, you dropped something.
   4. The boys in North Africa certainly didn't agree with him.
   5. Sarcasm is a woman's weapon.
   6. If I were in his place, I wouldn't stand for it.
   7. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Try saying the sentence, "How does this gadget work," in the following ways:
tense, throaty whisper
nasal whisper
open mouth resonance
aspirated, or breathy, tone
high metallic tone
highly nasal tone
raspy, harsh, throaty tone
relaxed muscles and open mouth

Pitch and Tone
Goal: In this section you will develop pitch and tone control. The pitch of your voice is an important signal of your intentions. It communicates to the listener as much as rate and loudness, and should suggest the mood of what you want to say. Variation of inflection helps impart meaning and makes speech more interesting.

Learning Objectives:
1.  Explain the value of the ability to vary pitch.
2.  List the octave range for conversational speech.
3.  Demonstrate your ability to change inflection and pitch by reading exercises.
4.  Practice the exercises.

Information Sheet #5 - Pitch and Tone
The more musical and flexible your voice, the more listenable will be. Good speech requires a variety of pitches. Emphasis and expression are gained through melody within your range rather than by increased volume on stressed words. A one octave range, or eight full notes, is advantageous in developing conversational speech and can be extended further for platform speaking, acting or singing.
Listening with concentration is good training for your ear. It can also be excellent training for inflections in pitch. The best practice material is found in the classics. Read aloud passages from the Bible, anything by Shakespeare, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address or other famous works and speeches. To develop rhythm, read poetry.

Exercises For Pitch and Tonal Control
Call off each number from one to ten, using "first, second, third, fourth, fifth," and so on. Be sure to correctly finish each word, especially those ending in "th."

For expression, learn to say "Oh" at least eight different ways. Try to say it as though you were experiencing the following feelings:

Surprise		Polite Interest		Indifference		Pity
Sarcasm		Disgust		Disappointment		Anger

Take the sentence, "You are very pretty," or "You are very handsome" and give it four different meanings by accenting each of the four words in turn. Let your voice convey sincerity every time.

Sound the vowel sound "ah" at your regular pitch. Now, vary the pitch upward a half step at a time until you go as far as you are able. Step back down to your regular pitch and continue downward a half step at a time. Try to find the level at which you achieve the strongest resonance. Is it higher or lower than your normal pitch?

Say the word "well" to indicate the following meanings:
I never would have thought it possible!
That's a small matter.
What do you want? I'm very busy.
Now, let me think a minute.
So, you thought you could get away with it.
I am very pleased to see you.

Read the question, "What are you doing," as it would be expressed by the following:
A burly policeman
An old man or woman
A frightened child
A loving young husband or wife
An ignorant tramp

Read each of the following twice, first in a monotone, then with the tonal quality suggested by the mood of the sentence:
My, You think you're smart, don't you?
I never thought you would sink low enough to pull a trick like that.
Isn't he a cute little thing? And he's only five.
There doesn't seem to be any use trying. I'm thoroughly exhausted.
Watch out! You'll hit the car.
I am so full, I fell as if I'll burst; and it was all so good.
We're so proud of Steve. He takes his honors like a man.
I never want to see your face again. Now get out.
Say that again, and smile when you say it.

Read the following with an upward or downward step in pitch where indicated:
It's nonsense.
Go away.
Come Here.
You may pick it up, but handle it with care.
How much?
I love the excitement, but I am very tired.
The plan of attack, abacus of the land mines, was changed at the last moment.
If any of you are doubtful, and I suspect you are, here is the proof.

Read the following sentences with an upward or downward slide as indicated:
Isn't that a beautiful sight?
Is that what you mean?
He doesn't know the meaning of ethics.
He won't believe it.
I have tried everything.
I simply will not permit it.
I've never doubted it for a moment.
Now, what do you say to that?
How do you do this?
Now, what do you say to that?
How do you do this

Speaking Rate
Goal: In this section you will develop rate control, an important aspect of effective speech. Your speech should be fluent, but neither hesitant nor too gushy. Rate variation is an effective way of suggesting the nature of the thought being expressed and the relative emphasis to be given to that thought.

Learning Objectives:
1.  Explain the effect of rate variations on speech.
2.  State the result of too fast a rate of speech, the result of too slow a rate.
3.  Define a "vocalized pause."
4.  State the effect of these pauses on listeners.
5.  Demonstrate your ability to change pace and use pauses by reading exercises.
6.  Practice the exercises.

Information Sheet #6 - Speaking Rate
Pace, the rate at which words are said, can lend sparkle and interest to your delivery and significance to your pauses. Say your words slowly enough to be understood and fast enough to sustain the listener's interest. In speaking, this is ordinarily between 130 and 150 words per minute. Rate variation is an effective way to suggest the nature of the thought being expresses. Your speaking rate should vary with the relative importance of the ideas, and it should never be so fast that your phrasing or emphasis suffers. Speech that is too fast generally results in the shortening of your sounds and pauses. This often results in slurring and bad articulation. Nervous speakers sound like they are trying to say what they need to before they forget what it is. They frequently talk too fast for their listeners to follow their ideas.
Too slow a rate of speech can be dull, tedious and boring to the listener. It often results in poor phrasing. It can also suggest a lack of knowledge of the subject at hand. Sometimes a speaker will talk slowly in an effort to be very clear in what they are attempting to say. They try to sound every syllable completely. It most often results in sounding choppy and mechanical.
Of great concern is when a speaker has a pause in their performance, but continues to speak through the pause. They may say, "ah," "uh," or "um." They may include connector words, such as "and," "now," or others. A pause can have a tremendous positive effect on the audience. It can increase their attention as they wait for the next word, the answer to a question, the definition of a term. Vocalized pauses reduce the rate and potentially confuse and irritate the audience.
In broadcasting clarity is absolutely vital. Use pace to heighten the sense of urgency and enthusiasm. Never sacrifice meaning by omitting pauses of decreasing emphasis. Use pace to make a point plain and easily understandable. While doing this, be careful not to be over dramatic or overbearing.

Exercises For Speaking Rate
Read the following sentences rapidly or slowly as their meaning suggests:

Watch out! It's hot.		Come as quickly as you can.
Please let me do it.		The fried pheasant was delicious.
They trudged wearily up the trail.		What a beautiful view you have from this window.

Read the following selections rapidly or slowly as their meaning suggests:

"Bowed by the weight of the centuries, he leans upon his hoe."  Markham

"The day is cold, and dark, and dreary."  Longfellow

"And slowly answered Arthur from the barge,
"the old order changeth, yielding place to the new."  Tennyson

"And near comes the soldier, sudden and quick in quarrel."  Shakespeare

Articulation
Goal: In this section you will practice to improve your articulation. Articulation and pronunciation both concern the formation of the sounds of spoken language and are obviously important to satisfactory communication. The purpose of the study of articulation is to teach you to make each sound, word, phrase and thought clearly understandable.

Learning Objectives:
1.  State the most important criterion of satisfactory articulation. Explain why.
2.  Name a second criterion and explain.
3.  Describe the advocated method of improving pronunciation.
4.  Name five common causes of pronunciation errors and give examples of each.
5.  Identify the best source of information for proper pronunciation.
6.  Demonstrate your ability to articulate by reading exercises.
7.  Practice the exercises.

Information Sheet #7 - Articulation
The most important criterion of satisfactory articulation is that your speech is intelligible. That is, you must be easily understood. Many words differ from one another only in the articulation of a single sound. The failure to articulate that distinguishing sound properly can cause confusion in the audience and promote a lack of clear understanding. For example, tin and ten; wet and what; fussy and fuzzy.
A second important criterion is social acceptability. There are informal and formal levels of articulation. A performer must attempt to achieve a level of skill in articulation that meets the demands of the most exacting listener. Perhaps the most common difficulty in articulation is what is called "lip laziness." The result is mumbling or general oral inaccuracy. On the other hand, some people go to extremes to get an affected niceness of enunciation, particularly of certain words, about which the speaker is selfconcious.
Articulation and pronunciation are interrelated and for our purposes will be treated as one and the same. Improving pronunciation is a matter of selecting the proper sounds, putting them together into syllables and words, and uttering these combinations distinctly, giving each syllable the proper stress. Articulation forms the basis for pronunciation.

There are five common classes of pronunciation error:

1. Substitution: agin for again; fer for for; wuz for was; end for and; dis for this; etc.
2. Additions: rem(i)nent for remnant; pang(ga) for pang; across(t) for across; sing(g)er for singer; tech(i)nic(k)al for technical; etc.
3. Omissions: col for cold; reconize for recognize; dimond for diamond, eights for eighths; battry for battery; nex for next; lass for last; secon for second; etc.
4. Inversions: occifer for officer; calvery for cavalry; pervide for provide; interduce for introduce; etc.
5. Misplaced Accent: ad’-ult for ad-ult’; re’-search for re-search’; super’-flu-ous for super-flu’-ous; fu-tile’ for fu’-tile; im-po’-tent for im’-po-tent; po’-lice for po-lice’; tech-ni’-cal or tech-ni-cal’ for tech’-ni-cal; etc.

Most mispronunciations occur because the words were first heard the wrong way of because the first pronunciation was a bad guess which initiated the habit. It is best to use the pronunciation of words acceptable to the more careful speakers of the specific country. Obtain a good dictionary and check your pronunciation constantly. Dictionaries attempt to follow rather than dictate acceptable pronunciation. In most cases, as the way in which words are generally said changes, the dictionary will modify the pronunciation guide for those words to follow popular pronunciation. Pronounce each word according to its proper syllabication, or the way it is divided into syllables. Avoid omitting syllables. Children say A’-rab for Ar'-ab, and some people say ho-mog’-o-nous for ho-mo-ge’-ne-ous. Reproduce speech sounds accurately. Avoid carelessness and lip laziness.

Exercises For Articulation
Practice the following exercises on sound combinations. Be prepared to do them when called upon in class:

Peter Prangle, the prickly, prangly, pear picker, picked three pecks of prickly, prangly pears from the prickly, prangly pear trees on the pleasant prairies.

Big black bugs brought buckets of black bear blood to their big black bug beds.

Pillercatter, tappekiller, killerpaller, patterkiller, caterpillar.

Better buy the bigger, better rubber baby buggy bumpers for the better baby's buggy.

A tutor who tooted the flute, tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor, "Is it harder to toot, or to tutor two tooters to toot?"

Seven shell-shocked soldiers sat sawing six slick, slender, slippery, silver saplings.

A biscuit, a box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits, a biscuit mixed.

A big black bug bit a big black bear
And the big black bear bled black blood.

He was a three toed tree toad,
But a two toed tree toad was she.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A woodchuck would chuck all the wood a woodchuck could chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Sister Suzie went to sea to see the sea you see.
So the sea she saw, you see, was a saucy sea.
The saucy sea was the sea she saw.
A sort of saucy sea was seen by Sister Suzie.

Let the little lean camel
lead the lame lamb
to the little lake to the left of the ledge.

Theopolis Thistle, the successful thistle sifter,
in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles,
sifted three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.
See that thou, or thou unsuccessful thistle sifter,
sift not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,
he thrust his fists against the posts
and still insists he sees the ghosts.

A skunk sat on a stinky stump.
The stump said the skunk stunk
and the skunk said the stump stunk.

Thomas a Tattamus took two T's,
to tie two tops to two tall trees,
to terrify the terrible Thomas a Tattamus.
Tell me true how many T's that is.

Betty Botta bought a bit of butter,
"But," said Betty, "this butter is bitter.
If I put the bitter butter in my batter
it will make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter will make my bitter batter better."
So she bought a bit of butter better than the bitter butter,
and added it to the bitter batter making the bitter batter better.
So it was that Betty Botta bought a bit of better butter.

Esau Wood sawed wood.
Esau Wood would saw wood.
All the wood that Esau Wood saw, Esau Wood would saw.
In other words, all the wood Esau Wood saw to saw, Esau Wood sought to saw.
Oh, the wood Wood would saw.
And, oh the woodsaw with which Wood would saw wood.
But one day Wood's woodsaw would saw no wood, and thus the wood Wood sawed was not the wood Wood would saw if Wood's woodsaw would saw wood.
Now, Wood would saw if Wood's woodsaw would saw wood.
Wood would saw wood with a woodsaw that would saw wood, so Esau sought a saw that would saw wood.
One day Esau saw a saw saw wood as no other woodsaw Wood saw would saw wood.
In fact, of all the woodsaws Wood ever saw saw wood, Wood never saw a woodsaw that would saw wood as the woodsaw Wood saw saw wood would saw wood, and I never saw a woodsaw that would saw wood as the woodsaw that Wood saw saw wood until I saw Esau saw wood with the woodsaw Wood saw saw wood.
Now Esau Wood saws wood with the woodsaw Wood saw saw wood.

Reading Aloud
Goal: This section is designed to help you develop skill in oral reading for the purpose of communication, to impart ideas and information and to motivate your listeners. Many people speak well, but read aloud poorly. Effective oral reading depends on many of the same factors that produce effective speech. The difference between the two seems to center on the speaker's ability to communicate ideas from an outside source.

Learning Objectives:
1.  State the purpose of marking copy.
2.  List and explain some general ways of marking a script.
3.  Explain the purpose of editing copy.
4.  State the normal speech rate for copy read in 30 seconds, 60 seconds.
5.  Define the purpose of a Thesaurus.
6.  Explain energy. Demonstrate its use by reading copy.
7.  List six ways of achieving emphasis in speech. Demonstrate each.

Information Sheet #8 - Reading Aloud
To achieve a smooth, expressive reading of any piece of written material, or copy, it will have to be well marked. First, read the material for understanding and meaning. Then go through it line by line and word by word. The object is to place the right emphasis on key words or phrases. Sometimes a faster pace of reading will be more effective than a slow, deliberate pace. You'll find places between words where a pause will emphasize an important point.
There is no standard way to mark a script. You will probably develop your own style in keeping with your own style of speaking. Above all, mark your material well and get the most out of it for every piece of copy you read.

General Ways of Marking a Script
•  An underlined word means special emphasis.
•  "Quotation Marks" set off an important statement.
•  Words in (parenthesis) indicate throw away phrases.
•  A caret means a word ^ (inserted) between two others.
•  A line between two words | denotes a pause.
•  An arrow means a broken sentence or speech continued  -->  elsewhere or on the next page.
• Speed-up and slow-down signs are marked beside a paragraph.

When you first read a piece of copy, your main concern should be its content. What is the meaning, what is it all about? Next, you must decide how to present it. Should you be excited or relaxed, dramatic or conversational, hard hitting or give a soft sell? Carefully edit every line. Look or words with which you are unfamiliar. Correct and typographical errors. Now you can mark the copy and practice it for correct time.

The so called "normal" speech rate for copy is about 140 to 160 words per minute. To make the reading more effective, slow down a bit.
45 to 55 words in 20 seconds
60 to 70 words in 30 seconds
120 to 140 words in 60 seconds

Reading Practice
Listen carefully to all announcements and news stories on radio and TV. Absorb the rhythm, pace and feeling of the spoken phrases. Practice along the following lines, with the sound of how it is done firmly implanted in your mind.
For reading material, use anything. Newspapers are good. While newsprint is written to be read with the eye and is more difficult than radio script to read aloud, it is excellent practice. Reach a stage where you can read aloud fluently from the small, crowded print of a newspaper. If you can achieve this, you should have not problem with the large, well spaced scripts used for broadcast.
When practicing, sit at a table the same way you would in a studio. lean slightly forward with your arms resting on the table. Hold the script in front of you. Check your progress by using a tape recorder. Listen to your voice, your style, your clarity of pronunciation and meaning. Listen with an ear toward discovering your mistakes and correcting them. Make sure that you understand what you are attempting to make others understand. With a true knowledge of the meaning of your text, you are halfway to full communication with the listener. Concentrate on holding the listener's interest. Judge yourself on your accuracy, pacing and an air of authority born of understanding what you are saying.
Vocabulary is important. Unless you are willing to bet $100 that your pronunciation of a word is correct, look it up in the dictionary and check the pronunciation. The easiest way to improve vocabulary is to look up new words and understand their meanings. Keep in mind that the listener is not impressed by the number of big words you can use, but by your ability to transmit the thought and meaning of what you are saying.
Use the dictionary and the thesaurus. The dictionary is used when you have the word but are unsure of the meaning or the pronunciation. Use the thesaurus when you have the meaning, but need another word to use in its place. This is done when the same word is used several times in the same story to prevent sounding repetitious.
You may want to use the dictionary every day to select a word at random. Learn its correct pronunciation and meaning. Look it up in the thesaurus for other words that could be substituted should the need to do so arise. Occasionally, the dictionary will have several pronunciations for a word. In general, it is best to use the first, or preferred , pronunciation given. When selecting words to use in your stories and scripts, choose words that raise interest rather than eyebrows. In every well operated Program Office you will find a dictionary and pronunciation guide. Refer to them often, especially with proper names, composers, and classical music titles. It is better not to mention a name than to mispronounce it. When in doubt, look it up!
Energy is an important quality in vocal delivery. It is the controlling factor of the personality you project to your listeners. Energy is a state of mind. It is composed of enthusiasm, the right attitude toward what you are doing and saying, a will to communicate your thought and ideas. It is a force which carries your voice to the listener. It has nothing to do with volume. It is quite possible to speak in an energetic whisper.
Put your whole being into your delivery. Always give it everything you've got. Try to capture the mood of the material. Correct mood comes from knowing and understanding the subject. You are not relating words, but ideas. If an announcer is to be accepted as sincere, they must be sensitive to mood and sound as if they mean what they are saying.
This is the key to selling yourself and your product or idea to the listener. Don't just try to do it. Do it well. Don't just read the copy. Sell the product.

Emphasis
There are many means by which you can achieve emphasis in speech.
1.  Increasing and decreasing volume.
2.  Increasing breath force or intensity.
3.  Variation in intonation, changing inflection.
4.  Adjusting pitch.
5.  Lengthening the initial sound of the syllable (revving up).
6.  Pausing, either before or after a word you wish to emphasize.
7.  By facial expression (on TV or with a live audience).
8.  By gesture (on TV or with a live audience).

Any if these methods can be effective at the right moment. As an announcer, you need never be bored when you consider the many speech variations at your disposal.

Points to Remember
Always complete every word. Give full value to each syllable. Exaggerate your enunciation when practicing to get used to finishing each word. An up inflection means there is more to come. A down inflection usually means you are finished. Pauses are effective when used before or after certain words and phrases. There are many dialects in every country. Unless you a purposely try to do so and it is necessary, don't imitate them. Sensitive people will think you are making fun of them. Additionally, unless you can imitate a dialect well, you will give your audience the opportunity to make fun of you.

Familiar Styles of Delivery

Pitchman	-->	Smooth, well rehearsed delivery to sell goods at bargain rates.
Loud Puncher	-->	Tries to overpower you, scare you to death.
Smiler	-->	Everything is a joke. Is rarely taken seriously.
Valedictorian	-->	Impressed by their own words, serious, heavy, voice of doom.
Sing Songer	-->	Inflections up and down without meaning. Too much change of tone is just as bad and hard to listen to as no change at all.
Soft Sell	-->	Consistently the most agreeable and effective manner.

You will be called upon to do all types of delivery. Look for the good points of each and play down the bad. Strike a happy medium wherever possible.