No connected group of words should be delivered in a monotonously level pitch.  The voice must rise and fall.  These changes must answer intelligently to the meaning of the material.  Such variations are called inflections.  The most disagreeable violations of required inflections are raising the voice where it should fall—­as at the completion of an idea, and letting it drop where it should remain up—­as before the completion of an idea, frequently answering to a comma.  Other variations of pitch depend upon emphasis.

Emphasis.  Emphasis is giving prominence to a word or phrase so that its importance is impressed upon a listener.  This result is most easily secured by contrast.  More force may be put into its delivery than the rest of the speech.  The word may be made louder or not so loud.  The voice may be pitched higher or lower.  The word may be lengthened.  Pauses will make it prominent.  In speaking, combinations of these are employed to produce emphasis.

While all qualities of speech are important, emphasis is of cardinal value.  Listeners will never recall everything that a speaker has said.  By a skilful employment of emphasis he will put into their consciousness the main theme of his message, the salient arguments of his contention, the leading motives of action.  Here again is that close interdependence of manner and material referred to in the preceding chapter.  In later chapters will be discussed various methods of determining and securing emphasis of larger sections than mere words and phrases.

Phrasing.  Somewhat related to emphasis is phrasing.  This is the grouping together of words, phrases, clauses, and other units so that their meaning and significance may be easily grasped by a listener.  As has been already said, pauses serve as punctuation marks for the hearer.  Short pauses correspond to commas, longer ones to colons and semi-colons, marked ones to periods.  Speakers can by pauses clearly indicate the conclusions of sections, the completion of topics, the passage from one part of the material to another, the transfer of attention from one subject to its opposite.  Within smaller range pauses can add delightful variety to delivery as they can signally reinforce the interpretation.  No speaker should fall into the habit of monotonously letting his pauses mark the limit of his breath capacity, nor should he take any regular phrase, clause, or sentence length to be indicated by pauses.  In this as in all other aspects variety is the charm of speech.

Enunciation.  No matter what handicaps a person may have he may overcome them to secure a distinct, agreeable enunciation.  Care in enunciating words will enable a speaker to be heard almost anywhere.  It is recorded that John Fox, a famous preacher of South Place Chapel, London, whose voice was neither loud nor strong, was heard in every part of Covent Garden Theatre, seating 3500, when he made anti-corn-law orations, by the clearness with which he pronounced the final consonants of the words he spoke.