Keeping audiences engaged is the key to an effective presentation. One of the easiest and most powerful things you can do is capture them with your voice, and that just requires speaking conversationally.

The guiding principles in these techniques are variety and ease of listening. People are lulled by a monotonous voice because it's predictable. Vocal variety keeps people interested and engaged. It also makes it easier and more pleasant to listen to you and your ideas.

Here are seven ways to keep your voice novel and hold an audience’s attention.

1. Volume: Vary the volume of your voice. Not wildly, but speak a bit louder and softer, as appropriate. This keeps the audience interested. Don't you pay more attention when someone whispers? It's sometimes effective to make critical points in a softer tone of voice, rather than by elevating your voice.

2. Pitch: This is the quality of your voice, as in a high, soprano voice; a low, basso voice; or something in between. Let your voice shift naturally, because our voices definitely drop in pitch when we're more serious, and they rise in pitch when we're excited or lying. This keeps the audience engaged. Use it for emphasis or maybe to get a smile.

3. Pace: How fast do you speak? Most of your talk should proceed at a typical conversational pace, which is fast enough that listeners don't need to strain to hear. Some points are best made slowly because they're complex. Some information can be given a bit faster. (If you tick quickly through a minor list for five to 10 seconds, you increase your credibility). The audience will appreciate if you pick up the pace over duller or less important points.

4. Pause: A respite is good. Both you and the audience enjoy a chance to mentally catch up, or rest, which is important. Pauses also build tension, which is effective, and expectations. (In drama, a long or pregnant pause is deliberate and highly effective.) The best broadcasters will also use pauses to catch your attention. The audience is accustomed to hearing speech, so it's sudden absence has them look for it.

5. Pronunciation: Pronounce your words correctly. Read everything over aloud beforehand, and learn how to correctly pronounce everything. Nothing in your speech should be a surprise to you. Learn how to properly pronounce every name and term you'll use before you get in front of the audience. Take no chances.

6. Articulation: This refers to how well you annunciate each syllable. Be conscious of every word you use, which also rules out the chance you'll unintentionally blurt something out. You need not be pretentious — don't overannunciate — but definitely be sure to actually hit every syllable that should be pronounced. If you see people turn to one another and whisper, "What'd she say?", repeat yourself.

7. Accent: We all have one, so either get comfortable with yours or use more of that flat pronunciation you hear from national newscasters. If you're a Texan speaking in Houston, you're fine. If you're a Noo Yawker presenting in Atlanta, you're a novelty and again fine. So long as you're intelligible, you're probably fine. But throw in a regional reference — something the audience will be surprised you know — to build rapport.

Finally, please practice. Talk your speech out to yourself, when no one's around, just so you hear how the points you wrote down or thought about actually sound, because that's how your audience will learn them. There's a big difference between the written and the spoken word. The only way to nail it is to talk out your presentation before you get to the front of the room.