Consecutively interpreted speeches, or segments of them, tend to be short.

His mind was still sharp, though his speeches tended to flounder and get lost in their own arguments if they went on too long.

Further, his speeches still tend to be longer on flag, family and anti-Dukakis zingers than anything else.

Distinguishing characteristic: Their speech tends to be clear, fast and loud.

Mr. Dole's brief speeches tend to stick to the here and now.

Since the war, the speeches have tended to last between 90 minutes and two and a half hours.

This incautious speech by no means tended to appease the ferocity of the crowd.

However, current informal American speech tends to use the simple past: Did you eat yet?

He had found that it was not the sound, but the thought that counted; the speech tended to focus the thought suitably.

(Polite speech tends to be less differentiated, with male speech becoming more similar to female).