ESSENTIAL TIP: Speak up, speak out, slow down.

Think about how you speak.  More to the point, think about how others react to your speaking.  If people have to ask you to repeat, or worse, if their eyes glaze over as you're speaking and they seem to lose contact with you, chances are that you're either mumbling, or not articulating your words and word parts, or speaking so fast that no one can interpret exactly what you're saying.  So remember three things: 1. Speak up: don't mumble: project your voice enough that you are easily heard by the person farthest from you; 2. Speak out: articulate your words, don't slur them together; 3. Slow down: listen to yourself: especially when we're nervous or excited, we increase our pace. Gauge your pace, slow down if you need to.  Well-paced, clear, well-modulated speech is not only considerate, it helps you appear -- and be -- more confident in any situation.