We can learn to be able to effectively control our voices when giving speeches. Here are some of the more important aspects of a speaker's voice which we should learn to control.

The Five Factors involved in voice quality

(Ranked from the easiest to control to the hardest)

1. Volume

   Although technology bestows on us technological marvels such as the microphone, we frequently have to present with no technological aids. This means that as speakers, the volume of our speech should be of primary importance to us.
   
   It is important to vary your voice taking into consideration your surroundings as well as the size of your audience. Generally, speakers tend to speak too softly, and this is because one's own voice always sounds louder to you than to a listener. Remember to pay attention to your audience's reactions to have a gauge whether are you speaking loudly enough.

2. Rate

   Rate refers to the number of words spoken per minute. There is no such thing as a one size fits all “ideal” rate of speaking. It all depends on factors such as the nature of the speech, the mood which the speaker is trying to create as well as the natural attributes of a speaker.
   
   Typically, people tend to deliver public speeches at a rate that is too fast. I personally find that presenting at a slower rate allows me more time to think about my points, as well as reduces the frequency of my pause fillers such as “er” or “em”. Rate is a factor, similar to volume that can and should be improved upon fairly easily.

3. Pauses

   Adding pauses to your speech is another simple and easy way to make a speech more effective. It is used, by poised and confident speakers to build tension or to allow audiences to ponder over an interesting point made within the speech.
   
   There is also a matter of the length and timing of the pause, but improving upon this can only come from valuable experience.
   
   From this factor onwards, it gets more challenging to improve upon these factors. I personally struggle with these factors.

4. Pitch

   Pitch is defined as the highness or lowness of a speaker's voice. Inflections, which are changes in the pitch or tone of a speaker's voice, help to make your speech dynamic and make you appear to be confident and full of energy.

5. Vocal Variety

   Vocal Variety is defined as changes in the speaker's pitch, rate and volume that gives the voice variety and expressiveness. Your voice should not be merely used to speak words, but should be used to add impact and reinforce your message. Varying your rate, pitch and volume when expressing yourself works like magic when it comes to an interesting and worthwhile speech.
   
   Finally, in order to improve on the above points, you will have to rehearse. And as your rehearse, you will only get better and gain confidence. Join a local toastmasters club to provide you with the opportunities to practice your speeches and you will be on your way to becoming an excellent public speaker.

The first thing you must do to make a persuasive speech is to prepare. Rehearse and memorize your speech. Practice presenting your speech alone or in front of others.

There are many other things you must do. You must establish an ethos, or credibility, with your audience. Start your speeches with something that will get the attention of your audience. Say something that will show your sense of humor and elicit laughter.

Good eye contact is important. Common sense should tell you that you should not look at the ceiling or the floor. Convince yourself that the people in the audience are your best friends and look directly at them. Look at the entire audience so that no one will feel like he or she is being singled out. Only speak while reading your notes once in a while, if that is necessary. If you decide to give your speech away from the podium, hold your notes away from your face. It is okay to walk in front of the audience.

Your body language and posture can help make or break your speech. Do not put your hands into your pockets. You will probably build a wall of resistance if you cross your arms. Do not move your hands too much. Avoid pointing at the audience. Do not lean on the podium.

The facial expressions you use can play an important part in persuading your audience to accept and incorporate your message. Do not frown or look sad. If the message you are trying to convey is serious, you may display a neutral facial expression; however, you should not spend too much time being stoic. Your face will not break if you smile throughout your presentation.

It is important to pay attention to the tone of voice you use. Do not use a tone that is too soft, harsh or weak. It is important to not present your speech in a monotone; therefore, you should occasionally change the tone of your voice a little. Let your current mood help dictate your tone. For example, you should use a tone that displays excitement when you cover a point you are very passionate about. If you have a tape recorder, please record your rehearsals.

Never let your emotions overcome you. In November 1994, Republicans gained control over the United States House and the United States Senate; subsequently, they instituted radical changes. When I gave a political speech to my class in 1996, I lost my cool. I blasted the Republican Party as being mean-spirited politicians who enjoy cutting benefits for poor people.

This tantrum made it harder to persuade the audience to vote for Democrats in the following election. My classmates criticized me for “having an axe to grind”. While tutoring me in algebra a few months later, a former classmate said she liked every speech I gave except my speech blasting Republicans. I should have only discussed the good things Democrats do.

Please do not be afraid to give an important speech. Follow these steps to make a persuasive speech.

Today there are many competitive books out on the market, including Longmans and ETS editions all wanting a share of the TOEFL market, they allow the student to become familiar with a lesson plan so that he can learn the language in its four parts: spoken, read, listened and written. I have had the opportunity to attend an ETS workshop and brush up on methodology and it comes down to several facts. The student has to follow the instructions that he is given according to the prompts he sees on the pop-up screen and then he has to answer the question to the best of his ability.

Obviously a person who organized his thoughts into a coherent whole with an introductory sentence and a conclusion will have a better score than one who has disjointed sentences. If the person has some sense of giving an answer and has backed up his answer with a reference to the written text after hearing something orally than he has a good chance of getting a score that will fall in the midrange.

Often a student is docked marks if he defends his argument with one point instead of a required two. He is also often penalized if he cannot formulate sentences on his own but reiterates phrases from the text as though he were speaking on his own. There might be a cultural basis for this, in the Chinese culture much emphasis has been on memorization, but memorization is as we all know not the key to individual expressiveness.

Students will often have difficulty remembering what the required information is being asked. On these tests he can often go back and forth from the text questions to the text and check to see if he is on the right track. Another fallback is that the student might expect to remember details without taking notes and he should get used to taking these especially if he is listening to a lecture. Notes can be taken for conversations as well but are more difficult to take.

Current TOEFL tests involve conversations that are longer than before and can be more challenging because the speaker might digress from his main topic. Earlier tests had shorter texts, I was told and there was less digression, ie. the speaker stuck to his point. Since real life conversation involves some digression, that was the reason for remodeling the exam, I was informed.

Students should be prepared to answer question not only on what is being asked directly, or what is the supporting information for a argument, he should also be prepared to answer what was being inferred in a conversation. So there may be a moment where the CD may play a discourse between a student and an academic adviser and the latter gets rhetorical over what the student says. The language learner has to know how to interpret that rhetorical statement.

Teachers can afford to be generous with the language learned if they hear that he is able to piece information on his own, uses good transitional statements, speaks in an orderly fashion and can then judge if he merits a higher score if his vocabulary is more complex or if the student has bothered to go into some detail to back his answers.Obviously if the students answers the question in his native language is going to be eligible for a zero score on that question, because no effort is being shown to speak in English.

If the new speaker answers in some English which is unrelated to the information that is solicited he is also a candidate for a low score but the specific score all depends on the way he presents his information.