discourse. In singing, to secure purity of musical tone, the vowels
are likely to be disproportionately dwelt upon. Thus we have the
endless _la-la-la_ and _ah-ah_ of so many vocal show-pieces. The same
practice leads to the repeated criticism that it makes no difference
whether a song be in English or a foreign language--the listeners
understand just as much in either case.

In speaking effectively the aim and method are the exact opposite.
When a man speaks he wants to be listened to for the meaning of what
he is uttering. There are so many words in the language with the same
or similar vowel sounds that only the sharpest discrimination by means
of consonants permits of their being intelligible. The speaker,
therefore, will exercise the greatest care in pronouncing consonants
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