Many people speak with their teeth together, hardly moving their lips, and then wonder why they are not understood. I’ve said that you should be taking in air and there is no reason to keep it trapped behind your teeth. You don’t have to save it. Let it out as you try this exercise. Say the alphabet out loud, opening your mouth wide as if you were talking through a half yawn and imagine your jaws cannot close and your lips cannot touch, except on the letters B, M, P and W. Repeat the exercise using twice as much air and projecting into the next
room; hold your pen in your hand between your lips to make sure they don’t touch.
Try saying these sentences smoothly all on one breath, without pauses or jerkiness:
• No man would listen to you talk unless he knew that it was his turn next.
• It is always the best policy to speak the truth, unless you are an exceptionally good liar.
• One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.