Master the Mechanics

When you have mastered the mechanics of speech you will no longer be troubled with monotony. The complete knowledge of the principles and the ability to apply them will give you great variety in your powers of expression. But they cannot be mastered and applied by thinking or reading about them—you must practise, practise, PRACTISE. If no one else will listen to you, listen to yourself—you must always be your own best critic, and the severest one of all.

You can be natural—but improve your natural gifts until you have approached the ideal.

“The gun that scatters too much does not bag the birds.” The same principle applies to speech. The speaker that fires his force and emphasis at random into a sentence will not get results. Not every word is of special importance—therefore only certain words demand emphasis.

So far as emphasis is concerned, you may consider the average sentence as just one big word, with the important word as the accented syllable. Note the following:

“Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice.”

Speak it aloud and see. Of course you will want to emphasize destiny, for it is the principal idea in your declaration, and you will put some emphasis on not, else your hearers may think you are affirming that destiny is a matter of chance. By all means you must emphasize chance, for it is one of the two big ideas in the statement.

Another reason why chance takes emphasis is that it is contrasted with choice in the next sentence. Obviously, the author has contrasted these ideas purposely, so that they might be more emphatic, and here we see that contrast is one of the very first devices to gain emphasis.

Practice the following statement, changing it each time with the emphasis on a different word.  See/hear how it sounds and how it changes what is being said.  It is a simple sentence, but where you put the emphasis makes a difference.

I said I would do it.

I said I would do it.

I said I would do it.

I said I would do it.

I said I would do it.

I said I would do it.

I said I would do it.

work on self

To your speaking success

Fran Watson

 

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