A decoding method and apparatus for speech coding systems which takes into account the fact that the human auditory system is sensitive to changes in signal characteristics. For example, a sustained distortion of the spectral characteristic of reconstructed speech is usually less perceptible than an objectively smaller distortion which changes as a function of time. This property of the auditory system is advantageously exploited in the design of a speech coding system receiver in accordance with the present invention, by selecting the sequence of decoded speech parameter values on a perceptual basis. Illustratively, the sequence of decoded speech parameter values is selected so as to describe a smooth path through the sequence of Voronoi regions. The distance between successive parameter values is advantageously minimized, under the constraint that the resultant parameter values fall within, or nearly within, the appropriate Voronoi regions. In this manner, a smoother trajectory will result, thereby enabling the receiver to produce a perceptually superior reconstructed speech signal.