This research, although conducted in 1967, investigates whether speech characteristics of an individual have an influence on others' perceptions of how effective the person would be as either a school counselor or a school speech therapist. The research stemmed from assumptions that (1) speech characteristics of the counselor or therapist may well affect both the client's image of the counselor and the value of the counseling itself, and (2) an identification of speech characteristics that might influence client perceptions of counselor effectiveness would be valuable to counselor-therapist educators and to counselor-therapists engaged in professional practice. Twenty male counselors-in-training recorded a phonetically balanced reading passage, and 96 undergraduate students listened to the recordings and predicted how effective they believed each speaker would be as a counselor or therapist. The listeners were also asked both to identify and rank-order the speech characteristics which had influenced their judgment. The data indicated that (1) the students were in general agreement about how effective each of the speakers would be as a therapist (either a counselor or speech therapist), and (2) the vocal characteristics associated with predictions of effectiveness were either a good vocal stresspattern, a good speaking rate, good articulation, or a combination of these factors. (Author)