Your voice is a star!
The festive season is upon us, bringing good cheer and hope for the future.
Yet this season makes a lot of demands on our voices. The weather is cold, dry or wet and windy creating challenges for our lungs and therefore our voices. Indoors, the heating is on, leading to a dry atmosphere which can make us cough.
It is tempting to not bother to warm up our voices at this time of year as it’s too much effort to go to the bother of breathing and humming, stretching out our bodies and relaxing our shoulders. Much better to get on with the huge work pile and speak only when it’s essential. Emails can do the job just as well, can’t they?
Well, our voices deserve a bit of respite too, this festive season. Our voices don’t demand expensive, difficult-to-find presents left on the doorstep by a courier – our voices need us to treat them well. Our voices need lubrication, just sips of water will do nicely, they need gentle exercise to keep them in good shape and they above all, need to be used.
How often have you been sitting for hours working at your computer, only to at last get up for a drink or something to eat then find your voice is quite croaky? It’s telling you it wants to be used.
So what are the solutions at this wonderful time of year to keep our voices healthy and working well?
- Treat yourself to frequent sips of water – tap water is fine – or a milk-free warm drink, such as peppermint, berry or green tea.
- Take time away from your desk to refresh yourself by speaking to someone. If no-one is at hand, call someone or read something aloud to yourself, or recite a poem!
- Relax your shoulders and neck muscles to alleviate tension in these areas. Tension builds up quickly and transfers to your voice. Stretch out your arms, rotate your wrists, lift, drop and circle your shoulders.
The best thing of all is to indulge in some singing! Gently warm your voice up using the above tips, plus do some gentle humming up and down a few scales. Hum a little higher and a little lower at each breath you take until you feel your voice running smoothly over the various notes. Next, find a carol service to attend or join a community group to sing to the public to raise some money for a charity.
Singing is an excellent way to keep your voice healthy now and throughout the year and has the added benefit of creating feel-good hormones.
It’s also a great way of meeting new people and encouraging the natural use of our vocal folds – in other words, it’s great to chat!
Be the star of your wonderful festive season, look after yourself, look your voice and please get in touch if you would like to have a chat about voice and / or accent coaching in the New Year.