Words and intent

I keep stumbling when talking to people I don't know. No matter the intent, I end up having some voice modulation that throws all I say into the "lecture" mode instead of "explanation" mode. Being polite seems only to strenghten the feeling of condescendence people get when I say things to them. This is starting to cause me some distress. Even when answering simple requests for directions, I can blabber on too much and lose the simple answer people want.

I'm not sure if there are schools of diction anymore, though... I'm not sure of this falls under the mandate of Toastmasters.