If you imagine that all you need to do is open your mouth, take a deep breath and speak, then you are a very long way from becoming a successful public speaker. But you certainly are not alone in ignoring the most vital tool in your speech-making arsenal. Very few speakers actually spend time in developing the correct speaking techniques - and even less time in caring for the single most important asset they possess.

After all, no voice, no speech!

So what can you do today to make certain that your voice is kept in the very best condition for speech-making? Here are the three simplest things you can do to ensure winning presentations every time:

1. Don't strain your voice in any way. That means no shouting encouragement at your favourite sports team! No matter how much you feel that they need your vocal input to score the winning point, restrain yourself - let others do the yelling and shouting.

2. Have plenty of water to drink. Get into the habit of continually sipping water throughout the day and you'll find that you will soon feel the benefit all round - not just in your voice. When delivering a speech, make sure that you have a glass of water easily to hand so that you never feel the need to struggle with a throat that is becoming dry.

Make sure that you avoid drinking too much alcohol in the days immediately before a speaking event and abstain completely in the 48 hours immediately prior to delivering your speech.

And no matter how nervous you might be feeling on the day - strictly no alcohol, for all sorts of good reasons, not just your voice!

3. Doing some vocal warm-up exercises is always a must before making your speech. If you only speak in public infrequently, it may feel a little odd to be humming and singing to yourself beforehand but it is important to remember that professional actors, speakers and singers always run through warm-up exercises in exactly the same manner as professional sportsmen do. If you really want to be able to deliver the best speech possible, these preparations will make a noticeable improvement to your performance.

And the better you perform, the better you will feel. And the better you feel, the more relaxed you will become. In turn, your audience will pick up on your confident manner and come away having enjoyed every word that you have spoken.

Your voice will have been your greatest asset - and you won't have suffered the embarrassment of delivering your speech sounding like a frog with a sore throat!