And we
wonder why people consider us bores.
Don't be afraid to open your mouth when you talk. First know what you
want to say, be sure that it is worth saying, and then say it calmly,
confidently, /through your mouth/ and not through your nose. Too many
people talk through tightly closed teeth and then wonder why people don't
understand them. Enunciate clearly and give to your vowels and
consonants the proper resonance.
Another mistake to avoid is rapid speaking. To talk slowly and
deliberately, is to enhance the pleasure and beauty of the conversation.
Rapidity in speech results in indistinctness, and indistinctness leads
invariably to monotony.
EASE IN SPEECH
There are two languages of speech-voice and gesture. Voice appeals to
the ear, gesture to the eye. It is an agreeable combination of the two
that makes conversation pleasant.
"A really well-bred man," a writer once said, "would speak to all kings
in the world with as little concern and as much ease as he would speak to
you." Confusion is the enemy of eloquence. Self-restraint must be
developed before one can hope to be either a good conversationalist or a
social success.
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