Speech problems can lead to a communication breakdown or give the wrong impression. Some people have speech problems that result from a physical condition (such as a stroke). Other people may wish to alter their accent or improve public speaking skills. These issues are usually addressed with speech therapy or specialized speech training.
Aspects of speech that may interfere will intelligibility or naturalness:
| Articulation: | the way you pronounce sounds |
| Word stress: | the way you emphasize different parts of a word |
| Sentence stress: | the way you emphasize different words in a sentence |
| Intonation: | the way you raise and lower your pitch in a sentence |
| Speech rate: | how quickly you talk |
| Loudness level: | how loudly you talk |
