How to keep your voice hydrated!

The Christmas season is upon us and throughout the festivities, your voice will be called on again and again to perform.

But in between the late nights, social office parties and maybe slightly over-doing the sparkling cocktails, more-ish mulled wine or Christmassy craft beers, work must go on. And you need to keep up and lead vital conversations.

Somehow, due to awful scheduling, the day after your office party, you’re presenting to an important potential client and your performance has to be top-notch. But wait, your senior manager has called in sick and you have to take over the vital team talk of the new department. And right up there, is the second interview for your new job – the one you really, really want.

Where to begin and how can you back-peddle to make amends for the voice-affecting late night and all that partying? A croaky voice never impressed anyone.

The human body is made up of around 60% water and this can drop significantly after a night’s binge. The vocal folds in the larynx in particular need plenty of moisture to work properly as they need to move and vibrate to create the sound of your voice. The better shape they’re in – the better your voice will sound.

Therefore, give your voice a really cool present this year. Give your voice water, plenty of hydration – even before you go out to celebrate. Leave a large glass of water out on the side (preferably where you won’t knock it over when your come back in your happy-Christmas state) ready to drink when you stagger in.

Next morning, drink water at breakfast (if you can manage it) with your usual cup of tea or coffee and have another glass when you get to work. Sip water frequently to help your voice perform, it will help keep you present, too.

When you’re making your speech, pitch or presentation the morning after the night before, take a large vessel of water with you. You will sound better if you keep your voice hydrated with small mouthfuls of refreshing H2O.

Sipping water is also a good technique to give you a bit of extra thinking time, too. It’s amazing how quickly the brain can fire off new ideas for you in the time it takes to raise a glass. By the time you’ve swallowed a few drops of water, new creative ideas could be brimming at your lips, ready to enthuse and impress your audience.

Just to sum up, then, here are three top tips for Christmas presence for your voice.

To help avoid a croaky, strained, thin voice the morning after the night before:

• Drink plenty of water before, during and after your Christmas celebrations
• Plan ahead and put out glasses of water to drink when you get home
• Sip generous amounts of water throughout the next day.

Rehydrate steadily and thoroughly – your voice will repay you by giving you much more Christmas presence. And your fabulously lubricated voice could mean a new client win this side of Christmas, getting that new job or even being promoted as you did such a good job in your manager’s absence.

How about that for a fully vocal Happy Christmas?

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year from Voice Synergy.

For help with your voice issues, please get in touch.