Voice Care for Coaches

by: Catherine Franz

Coaches rely heavily on their voice to service clients.  If you also give teleclasses or workshops, voice  maintenance needs to be one of their top self-care  priorities. This information also applies to singers,  speakers, or sales professionals.  During flu and cold season, vocal cords become highly  sensitized and need as much care as a valuable  instrument. Think of your voice, and we should, as an  expensive, rare violin. If you were going to play the  violin the next day -- same relation as having a  speaking engagement or a full day of coaching -- you  wouldn't expose that violin to a night in a smoke  filled room, lay cigars or pour alcohol all over it and  expect it not to suffer from the abuse the next day.  Antibiotics don't help viral infections or laryngitis  -- a common result from a viral infection caused from a  cold or flu. Recently, I suffered got the flu and  suffered from a severe case of laryngitis. I had to  cancel a teleclass, lose a week of work, and almost a  paid speaking engagement. The more I self-treated  through media knowledge or recommendations, the worse  the laryngitis got.  It took over 20 days before I improved and then two  weeks later, it returned. After great frustration, I  finally visited my ear, nose, and throat specialist,  only to learn that everything I was trying was actually  contributing the extended suffering. Let me pass along  some of my learning so you don't need to go through  this. Like me, some of it will surprise you.  Food and Beverages  Warm or hot beverages work best. Cold beverages with  ice produces the voice center to spasm generating  coughing that results in laryngitis. Stick to drinking  room temperature water.  Black Currant Pastilles, which are glycerin-containing  lozenges for adults, keeps the throat moist. Pastilles  are perfect to take before, during, and after flying or  traveling from one temperature extreme to another, say  New York to Florida in winter. It is good to have  these on hand since they are difficult to find. Many  professional singers use Black Currant Pastilles 24  hours before their performance.  Avoid anything with mint or menthol.  Throat Coat® Tea, designed specifically for voice  professionals, is rated higher than Pastilles. The tea  contains licorice root, which is widely used to enhance  throat and upper respiratory tract health. Any  beverage that affects your stomachs acid level, like  caffeine, will also affect your vocal cords. Caffeine  is a mild diuretic and dries the throat and vocal  cords. Coffee, including decaf, due to its natural  oils causes acidic results that cause vocal damage.  This includes chocolate. If you suffer from acid  reflux disease, you need to take extra care of your  voice since it cause permanent damage. Sodas also  cause acid reflux and damages vocal cords.  With a cold or flu, we usually drink orange juice.  This acidic beverage actually lengthens laryngitis. So  does the amount of lemon you use in water. A tiny bit  of lemon in warm water with a small amount of honey is  a great elixir that actually smoothes the vocal cords.  Dairy increases throat mucus for some people. If after  you drink milk, you feel even a little mucus in your  throat, you probably have a very mild milk allergy.  This will affect your vocal health and can length  laryngitis. Nuts have the same allergy affect.  Common Causes of Voice Strain  It’s common knowledge that shouting, screaming, and  excessive talking strains voice cords. But, did you  know that whispering, coughing, loud sneezing, crying,  laughing, and throat clearing could do the same damage?  Emotional or environmental stress also causes voice  strain. Especially major changes like separation/  divorce, new job, kids going off to college, grieving,  not enough sleep, moving, and even hormonal changes in  adolescents or maturing adults. If you add any of  these with the need for a quality voice, you will need  to take extra care in order not to bruise or damage  your throat center or vocal cords.  Voice Maintenance  When experiencing laryngitis, limit unnecessary  talking, and pause frequently to swallow and remoisten  your throat, even during speaking engagements.  Relaxation techniques, like yoga always help, yet  conscious aware of your posture and breathing during  speaking can save or further bruise voice projection  especially if your voice is weak from a cold.  One of my favorite exercises that I do every morning or  while driving to a speaking engagement is a vowel  review. Stretch your neck comfortable upwards and  recite the vowels -- a, e, i, o, u. Let your vowel  trail off after each one especially the "u." If  experiencing laryngitis avoid whispering. Whispering  actually stresses vocal cords reducing recovery  significantly. If you smoke or visit smoke-filled  rooms, triple your maintenance plan, smoke is very  damaging.  If you lose your voice, you will require additional  rest time over a 4-7 day period. This means limiting  your voice to 15 minutes a day. Looking on the bright  side, listening skills will definitely improve. Keep  phone calls brief; avoid all non-speech voice use,  including throat clearing, coughing, and sneezing or  any odd sound effects. Snoring also doubles strain.  Over-the-Counter  Even though they give brief relief, throat sprays and  medicated lozenges dry the throat and extend recovery.  If used for an emergency, you must follow with extreme  care.  Herbs can also cause side effects. You will want to  discuss their use with your doctor or herb  practitioner. Herbs like barberry reduce inflammation  and infection caused from respiratory infections, but  can also cause an allergic reaction especially if  already using another remedy. Herbs like eucalyptus,  German chamomile, goldenrod, goldenseal, licorice,  marshmallow, peppermint, saw palmetto, or slippery elm  are remedies for vocal cord inflections. Adding garlic  and ginger to your foods also reduce cold symptoms  including sore throat and don't need professional  advice.  Support Team  If your voice is vital to your income, you will want to  have an ear, nose, and throat physician familiar with  your medical history and working with singers. With an  ongoing relationship, it’s easier for them to provide  advice when out of the area.  Last year, while experiencing a mild case of  laryngitis, I saw my doctor before I left for a  speaking engagement but I didn't know to mentioned I  was traveling to a high elevation. By the time I  checked in at the hotel, I was in bad shape. An  emergency call and I was armed with new instructions.  The next morning I was fine. Did you know that most  taxi companies will pick up and deliver called-in  prescriptions usually at the same rate as a cab ride?  (c) Copyright 2005, Catherine Franz. All rights  reserved.  About the author: Catherine Franz, a eight-year Certified Professional  Coach, Graduate of Coach University, Mastery  University, editor of three ezines, columnist, author  of thousands of articles website:  http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com