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Taking care of your voice is a practice that you might not think about in the same way as you think about overall health, but there are a lot of similarities. Choosing well-being over excess physical and emotional stress has a powerful effect on your body and your voice. If you’ve ever had vocal fatigue from overusing your voice or a sore throat from blocking emotions such as sadness or anger, you will know exactly what effect those stress factors have.

Although we don’t always put it into practice, most of us know what to do for our physical well being. It’s a matter of education and making good choices. Become aware of what you need to do for your vocal health and understand that what your voice needs may be different from someone else’s needs.

Here are the top six factors for taking care of your voice in order of priority.

Good Vocal Technique

Although you may think that vocal technique is just for singers, this is more important than any other factor for everyone. Knowing and using good vocal technique is essential to the long term health of your voice. It will help you avoid problems and ending up in a crisis situation. Watch for signs that your voice is out of balance: if you have a chronic sore throat, if your voice tires easily, if it’s too nasal or too husky, you are putting stress on your vocal mechanism. Over time it can worsen if you reinforce the habit. A good voice coach can help you prevent this or even help you recover your whole voice if you feel any of these signs of vocal stress.

Warming Up Your Voice

Good vocal technique is a long term strategy. Warming up your voice before speaking or singing is an important short term strategy. Most people don’t think about it but even a few minutes of warm-up may help keep your voice healthy especially if you use it a lot. Even ten minutes in the shower in the morning or vocalizing on the way to work could make a tremendous difference to maintaining a healthy voice. Find a good vocal exercise CD or program that feels good and is easy to understand and use.

Pitch Modulation

People who don’t modulate the pitch of their voices sound monotone. When speaking in the normal course of your day, modulate the pitch so that you are not feeling any strain. Remember pitch modulation is not the same as modulating the volume. Raising your voice to be heard over noise causes fatigue even though you may not feel it for a while.

Whispering

Whispering is another thing that will cause strain because it’s extremely hard on the vocal folds. And if you have laryngitis, avoid talking altogether until you are well again, even if it means carrying a notepad and pen with you to communicate. Better yet take some time off if you can.

What Affects Your Voice?

Anything that is not good for the body in general is not good for the voice so use common sense when it comes to the consumption of alcohol, caffeine, or cigarettes. Certain foods will affect your voice adversely as well. One common food that many people react to is the dairy category. Others are nuts, wheat for some people, even certain juices. If you’ve identified food allergies, all of your body including your vocal apparatus will react to them. Although for a small percentage of the population, the effect is dramatic and involves a trip to emergency, for most the effect is minor. Nonetheless, it can mean your voice is less than it could be.

A Voice Timeout

If you can, give your voice a time-out, especially if your work involves heavy use of it, such as phone sales. Find a way to rest it for a few hours. It’s the same as any other part of you and it needs a break from work.

Good vocal production and vocal care mean more endurance, more resonance and a more satisfying experience with your voice.

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Yesterday I had plans to have lunch with a friend who is almost always bubbly and flowing over with enthusiasm. But when we met yesterday I could tell that all was not well with her, mostly by the sound of her voice. No bubbles, no enthusiasm.

As we were sitting at one of my favourite restaurants waiting for our order, I asked her what was up with her. She couldn’t identify anything as the source of the feeling, but said that she woke up yesterday morning with the blues, feeling constantly on the verge of tears. As she spoke about it, I could hear the tears in her voice.

We continued to talk and as we finished lunch and left the restaurant, I could hear subtle changes in her voice. In the space of an hour her energy had shifted and her voice was the voice I’m used to hearing.
Since she couldn’t identify the source of her discomfort, she didn’t really talk out ‘a problem’. It was simply a case of being heard, of someone acknowledging her feelings.

I hear you.

One of our greatest desires is to be heard and understood by the people who are important to us. We want connection. The flip side of that is to be open to hear the response because other people have the same desire.

Voices can be a portal to understanding so much if we listen with discernment. Communication is a dance of speaking and listening.

It’s an act of co-creation.

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To sing well there are two important attributes to cultivate.

How You Sing

First there are the technical aspects of your singing. You want your voice to have the physical attributes of freedom and strength. Freedom is essential in order to have your voice move throughout your range comfortably. Strength is mainly in the body when singing correctly and is essential for singing without getting tired. Good vocal technique allows you to have power and the ability to project your voice throughout your range, while simultaneously feeling easy and comfortable in the area of the larynx.

Why You Sing

The second attribute is more abstract. It is not related to how you sing, but why you sing. You and your audience have the possibility of a meaningful connection through the way you express the music and how the audience responds. Regardless of your musical genres or whether you’re performing your own music or the music of another composer or songwriter, every audience can recognize magic.

The question is, how do you achieve both these things?

Knowing How to Sing
The muscles inside the larynx, the inhalation muscles in the chest, the diaphragm, even the muscles within the ribcage are all involved in your vocal process and must feel strong with no constriction. You achieve that by vocalizing and warming up your voice every day, developing body support by doing consistent practice over a long period of time, and learning to use your kinesthetic sense to discern when your voice is working well. Working with a good voice coach who mirrors that back to you will speed your progress. Working on your own, you can learn what it feels like when your voice and your body coordinate to produce your best sound. Your voice will work well if you can tune into the feeling and let your intellect get out of the way. When you feel both power and ease, tune into your awareness and anchor the feeling with an image or phrase or a particular sound.

Knowing Why You Sing
The best guide for this journey of discovery is yourself. If you are called repeatedly to sing, or write music to perform, or you feel you must perform to an audience, trust the guidance that is calling you. Find your own way of connecting to the composer, the meaning of the music and words, the experience of singing. Find the way to connect first to your core (very important!) and then to your listener.

Although they are discussed here separately, these two attributes are completely intertwined. Vocal technique is the vehicle that lets you sing the way you want to sing. Heart connection is the energy and communication that passes back and forth between you and your audience.

Together they can make magic for you and your audience.

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(Today’s post was written by Allison Maslan, CCH,  HHP)

Did you know that from age twenty-five to sixty-five, we spend 73,600 hours at our work? And that 87 percent of Americans dislike their jobs? That means that 87 percent of Americans spend 73,600 hours in their lifetime doing something they don’t like. What a massive loss that is! Because each part of our lives has an influence on every other part of our lives, this could make for a lot of unhappy people. Why is this? Could it be that so many people have settled because of fear or lack of direction when it comes to going after their dream career?

What is your purpose? Your destiny? Have you known for some time what you are meant to do for a career, but you just aren’t sure how to transfer it to real life? Are you still searching for that path you can call your very own? Everyone was blessed with certain gifts, talents and personality traits that can be transferred into a fulfilling, satisfying and financially prosperous line of work. Some people know from the get-go what they want to be when they grow up. Others, like me, find their purpose through an evolvement of life’s experiences and challenges. Either way, you come to find that it is perfectly right for you.

I truly believe that you have the full potential to pinpoint, develop and achieve your dream career. Yes, you! One of the things that really saddens me is when I see someone with such potential for greatness, who is not allowing themselves to step into it and fully own it. I can share with you the important do’s and don’ts and give you valuable tools and support; however, you need to be the one to take that first step.

As you set out to find your purpose, or first commit to living a life of purpose, what drives you may still feel a bit elusive. Many people have no idea if they have a real purpose on earth. Ask a friend randomly what their life purpose is, and they may take a long pause before answering, “Good question. I’m not sure.” Well, I’m here to tell you (and them) that you do have a purpose and it’s probably not as mysterious as you think. Most likely it’s right under your nose. Maybe your purpose is to feed hungry children, build a gigantic bridge, love your children, or just be in the moment. Your life purpose is most likely connected to the areas that create passion and meaning in your life. Here are some simple steps for accessing your life purpose.

• Get in touch with what really matters to you in the world and in your life. What do you get passionate talking about, reading or exploring? Before taking impulsive action steps toward a new career, business opportunity, or new relationship, ponder what gives you that inner surge of excitement. This could be the most important key for long-term staying power and success.

• Gather your thoughts and focus your energy toward these ideas. Find a way to involve yourself in this activity.

• Explore several possibilities before settling on one. However, if one really moves you, then go for it!

• Connect with other people on a regular basis who are passionate about these ideals or activities.

• See how you feel in this new arena. Does it stir your passionate energy? This is what we call “alignment,” or “being congruent.” When we are expressing our true inner thoughts, beliefs and ideals through external actions that match those thoughts, beliefs and ideals, we are operating in harmony rather than in conflict. The “practice-what-you-preach” philosophy.

• Not doing what you love could be very harmful to your health and your prosperity. Most people think that doing what you love is a luxury, so they settle for something they don’t enjoy. Someone who loves your career more than you do will no doubt perform the job better than you. This person will eventually be greatly rewarded because this work matters to them. Part of what you’ll get from being out of alignment in your work is dissatisfaction and burnout.

I know you can do it. After all, it’s your greatness I am talking about.

Allison Maslan, HHP, CCH is a homeopathic physician and the author of Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan To Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. As a life and business coach, she helps people create a new business and the best chapter of their lives.

The exciting launch of the book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan To Launch Your Dreams Into Reality is coming Tuesday 19 January 2010. To find out how you can buy the book and receive over 20 beautiful mind-body-spirit gifts during the launch, go to www.myblastoff.com/booklaunch.

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Turn Their First Impression into a Lasting Impression.

If you are a successful business leader and entrepreneur today, you know how vital it is to have executive level speaking and communication skills.

You must be able to motivate or impart crucial information. You must speak clearly and directly. You must be assertive without being aggressive to strike the balance between warmth and authority. Your audience must hear and understand you.

Your voice has a tremendous impact on how your message is received. To be most effective, the quality of your voice must genuinely match the meaning and content of your presentation. Is your voice all that you want it to be?

To illustrate how important your voice is, think about a time you had a phone conversation with someone and you knew exactly how they were feeling, simply from the sound of their voice. That’s because someone’s voice always reflects their inner state. It can be subtle or it can be very obvious but they transmit their feelings in the sound.

You can tell from someone’s voice when they are angry, depressed, happy, or nervous. When someone has a nasal quality, hoarseness, or they sound monotone, it’s harder to focus on what they’re saying. The most brilliant and innovative ideas and information can be lost as a result of a voice that’s hard to listen to for some reason. This inability to be heard or understood can have serious consequences in your business.

Ask yourself how others perceive you and the words you are saying. When your voice and your content of your message match, it gives you credibility. It makes you compelling to listen to. Your listeners will intuitively trust and respond to you.

One of the best ways to evaluate your own voice is to start listening to other people and consciously identifying who, in your opinion, has a compelling voice. To identify the qualities of a compelling voice, ask yourself these questions while you listen.

• Do they sound polished?
• Are they charismatic?
• Does their voice seem professional?
• Are they passionate but not pushy?
• Do you sense their warmth and sincerity?
• Would you trust what they say?
• Does their voice sound interesting and musical?
• Is their voice resonant and connected?
• Do they sound truly confident?

When you’ve identified the qualities you like, evaluate your own voice by recording yourself or getting feedback from a trusted friend or colleague. Your next step might be to find a good self-study voice exercise program or a qualified coach.

Developing a resonant balanced voice is an ongoing process and it may take several weeks or months before you start to notice the differences. However, it will positively affect your communication, your presentation, and ultimately your business or career.

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Your voice acts like a radio transmitter for what you’re thinking and feeling. Someone’s antenna will start to twitch if they sense something in the sound of your voice that doesn’t match the words you’re saying.  Although it may be at a subconscious level, they are constantly picking up and rapidly interpreting internal messages as they listen to you. Imagine how that might affect your business and personal relationships.

Here are three of the most common stumbling blocks to having the dynamic resonant voice that is rightfully yours.

1. My voice is just the way it is and there’s nothing I can do to change it.

Anything that affects us physiologically or emotionally affects our voice.  Factors such as stress, lack of sleep, nutritional deficiencies, or patterns of belief may mean that your true voice is not always present.

What’s important to understand is that everything you need for a full, resonant, and complete voice is already a part of you.  Your voice may be out of balance or need a strength building program but all the potential is there. There are two steps to recovering or uncovering your authentic voice.  The first step is to find a way to experience your complete voice in a feeling or kinesthetic sense.  The second step is to find a way to articulate your awareness and understanding of your experience so that over time it will become natural and organic.

2. People always misinterpret or misunderstand what I say.

Although much of your meaning is in the words you choose, the sound of your voice does account for a great deal of the meaning of what you say.  Vocal inflection, sound quality, pitch variation, word emphasis or any number of other factors can cause others to interpret your meaning in a way you didn’t intend.  Keeping your voice physically supported with your whole body will help your voice sound more authentic which will positively impact someone’s ability to really hear what you are saying.

3. I hate my voice when I hear a recording of it.

Many people think a recording of their voice isn’t really the way they sound. Allowing for mechanical reproduction, yes, it is.   You are hearing your voice through the bones of your skull and all the sinus and chest cavities and it gives you a unique experience of your voice.

But cringing at the sound of your own voice when you hear a recording usually doesn’t have anything to do with the sound itself.  The real issue has to do with a feeling that there’s something wrong with what you hear.  Asking that question will uncover what is really going on in your mind concerning your voice.  Working consciously with your voice will do more than help you change the sound of your voice so it’s more authentically you. It will also help you change your mind about your voice.

Three Quick  and Practical Suggestions:

1. Take just ten minutes to exercise and warm up your voice in the morning in the same way that you would warm up before exercising.  If time is limited, do your warm up on the way to work in the car.
2. Before a presentation, interview or other important event, take the time to breathe deeply and do some voice exercises.  Your voice will say thank you.
3. Take time out every day to just relax and BE, even if it’s only two minutes.

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For Singers and Speakers

A creative pleasurable approach will go a long way to building good vocal habits.  Here are seven days of activities that will activate multiple levels of your voice.  Some of them you can do while doing other activities. Some of them required all your attention. Nonetheless, they will take just a little time and be of huge benefit if a great voice is important to your career.

Day One: Exercise Your Voice

The most important thing is to warm up or exercise your voice on a regular basis.

On the first day of the week, choose a voice exercise for the whole week that will strengthen a part of your voice that needs strengthening.  Do some research online for ideas or get ideas at Vocal Mapping.  A few minutes a day of exercising your voice works to both strengthen and build a habit. This is the only exercise you will do each day along with the other daily exercises following.

Day Two: Write

Writing is like dumping the mental trash.  It also brings insights and aha moments.  Again this doesn’t have to be for a prescribed time or amount of lines covered on a page. How long or how much you write is completely up to you. When you know the trash is dumped, move on to your next activity of the day.

Day Three: Learn

Find something inspiring that you want to learn in a book, blog or podcast. Just pick a topic and type a few keywords into a search engine or make that trip to the library. Where does the voice come in? Read bits of it out loud as though you were reading to someone equally enchanted with the information. Learning keeps the brain activated and builds knowledge.  And you never know when that particular knowledge will come in handy.

Day Four: Listen

Today is the day you will be an active listener. Listen beyond the surface meaning of the words to the underlying messages. Unless directly asked, listen in silence without giving opinions, advice or feedback.  Just acknowledge that you really hear the other person.  Fully engage in what they’re saying.

Day Five: Voice Massage

I’ve observed that my voice was always lower and fuller after a regular massage. Often tension is carried in the throat area because muscles that are not really a part of the vocal mechanism are being activated. To give yourself a voice massage, sit or lie in a comfortable position and massage the area around the larynx. Avoid the absolute centre of the throat.  Instead massage the side of your neck and upper shoulders to loosen the muscles around the voice box.  Use massage oil to make it easier. Relax for a few minutes afterwards.  If you have a partner or friend who will do this for you, all the better.

Day Six: Play a Little

As adults we really take ourselves seriously.  And serious pursuits are part of life. It means we are passionate. But fun is also part of passion.  For day six, play with your voice a little. Tell some jokes to your cat. Recite a poem in your car. Sing a children’s song in the shower.  Was it fun or even a bit silly? Good.

Day Seven: Celebrate

You will very likely have had some insight, some moment, some triumph during the past six days.  Celebrate it. Or simply celebrate that you did all the activities for the six days.  Celebrate that you sound more confident.  Celebrate that you are well on your way to developing a great habit.  Celebrate the fact that you are going to start all over next week and repeat the seven steps.  Well done!

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