Speaking Slowly

I gave a presentation on Wednesday and my teacher gave me her comments and critique at the end of class. Apparently, I had done really well in researching the topic and I had an easy, conversational style. She did say, however, that I should slow down my talking a bit and to project my voice. I'm not sure if I can learn to project my voice any better, but I could learn to speak slower. My mother's always telling me that I talk too fast. Little did she know that I learned to talk fast so I could get my whole thought out before she interrupted me. And my mom interrupts people a lot, especially my brother and me. Then again, my friends also tell me that I talk too fast sometimes, and they don't interrupt me very often. I suppose now is a good time to start learning. Maybe I could find some books or articles on how to speak slower and to project my voice.

I was also talking to my counselor yesterday morning and she said that it would really help me if I learned to take deeper breaths. I suddenly connected that I was often out of breath whenever I talked really fast. Maybe my fast talking is connected to the fact that I take such short, shallow breaths. Perhaps if I learned to breathe more deeply, I could sit back and enjoy the moment instead of constantly worrying about getting all my thoughts out before someone interrupted me.