Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist

Many of the textbooks on communication devote a great deal of space to the techniques of breathing, intonation, pronunciation and gesturing. Doubtless there is much to be learned here, but it is possible to overstress the importance of these elocutionary actions.

Beyond the essentials of clear and distinct speech there is little that must be said. Variety in tone and pitch stem from one’s natural interest and enthusiasm. If they are ‘put on’ or practiced in front of the mirror, the result can seem self-conscious and even theatrical – in a word, unnatural.

Being natural should not be equated with vocal relaxation, however. It includes giving expression in our speech to the natural emotions that human flesh is heir to.

For many of us, our education and culture teach us to suppress any public display of emotion and this can make communication sound stilted and artificial.

It is unfashionable for orators to weep in public nowadays, although Winston Churchill brushed the odd tear from his eye on more than one occasion. But naturalness follows if we allow the emotions of the moment – interest, curiosity, anger or passion – to colour our voices and our movements.

Yet they should serve the voice and not master it. ‘I act best when my heart is warm and my head cool,’ declared the American actor Joseph Jefferson, a sound principle for anyone who speaks to an audience.

If you think out what you are going to say – think it out over and over again, make a few notes and then trust that the words you need will come to mind – your performance will be human and natural. True, your talk may be a little halting in spots, your phraseology may not be perfect, and you are almost certain to leave out some of the things you intended to say; but what you do say will get over far better and more naturally than a memorized oration.

You may ask what gestures you should make. As far as the audience is concerned, it won’t be necessary to make any gestures. But gestures may help you to let yourself go. Nevertheless, don’t plan them in advance. You ought to be thinking only of your ideas, your message and your audience.