To develop a positive mental state try repeating the following mantra:

To improve your articulation and the clarity with which you speak, do this exercise, concentrating on the movements of the lips and the work they do in producing clear syllables:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.
If Peter Piper picked a peck pf pickled pepper,
where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?

Enhance the way you speak by introducing energy and focus into your style of speaking. Do the following exercise to develop your powers:

Tell a story or describe a favourite holiday in the following modes -

• As an opera Diva
• As a barrister summing up to a jury
• As if you were telling a child a bedtime story

As the Opera Diva the voice will modulate and have interest. Use extreme body language. As the Barrister, keep in mind that the jury must remember key point. Pause for dramatic effect. When speaking to a child, fill the voice with modulation and excitement. The body language will also be heightened.

Hone your skills in using emphasis when speaking by reading the following sentences aloud and noting how the meaning changes:

Emphasis demonstrates contrast. When a word is emphasised it becomes different from the others around it. See what happens when you change the emphasis in the following sentences -

• Mary had a little lamb (Mary, not Kristina, Libby or Max)
• Mary had a little lamb (She had it once, but doesn't have it now)
• Mary had a little lamb (She had one, no more, and not 'the' lamb)
• Mary had a little lamb (A small one, not a large one)
• Mary had a little lamb (A lamb, not a goat or a cat or a yak)