I've been practicing my monologue for Acting class, and I think I'm finally starting to "get it." What helped is my delivering it into the aforementioned microphone, and hence getting to hear what I rush through, what I fail to enunciate, what I just plain screw up.
But this last run I did was actually almost pretty good- there are some pauses while I open the book and find the line because of spot blank-out, my nose is a bit clogged, and I still put too much air into it, but it's a big improvement. And hence I have decided to let y'all out there in Internet-land hear my actual voice!
http://students.cec.wustl.edu/~abn1/ToBreakABedHabit.mp3
It is weird how different one's own voice sounds when carried through the air instead of carried through one's skull. I know I have a high voice, but I didn't know it was that high. I sound really gay.