March 4, 2019
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Every single time you open your mouth to speak is an opportunity to use good voice…and you (as someone who consistently uses their voice) must remember that.
Opportunity? Opportunity.
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Successful people are simply those with successful habits (Brian Tracy). Healthy, efficient, dynamic voices are simply those that are cared for and used with good vocal habits. “A bad habit never disappears miraculously. It’s a do-it-yourself project” (Abigail Van Buren). Just as a long or short-distance runner (an athlete) creates specific strides to successfully achieve their running goals in a healthy and efficient manner, and just as a basketball player (also an athlete) practices shooting baskets with specific technique to effectively use the body to ensure success on the court, every time you use your voice as an occupational voice user (again, [vocal] athlete), you are actively playing a role in training your muscle memory.
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Your body learns how to use voice by the training you provide it every single time that you speak. Repetition is how we train our brain (and body) to learn and eventually master a desired task. However, repeatedly doing something the “wrong” way can engrain this into our mind and body, and this will have dramatic effects on our success—whatever the area of training may be. We then experience frustration or even worse—injury—and eventually realize we need to change our habits and relearn the way our body performs the task. This is why self-awareness and technique are so important. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an action but a habit” (Aristotle).
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Over the years, I have worked with many professional and occupational voice users, and also many people with voice disorders. A striking similarity I have noticed between all of them is that most “issues” with voice are related to a person’s habitual patterns of voice care or voice use—a.k.a. how they repeatedly “take care of” their voices and/or how they repeatedly USE their voices. Even if their goals are related to embodying a more dynamic use of voice for instruction or improved vocal performance for singing or acting, their success in these endeavors is based on habitually putting the elements into play, and consistently being attentive to doing so in the healthiest and most efficient ways possible. Even if the person's "focus" is singing or public speaking, how are they using their voice to speak to the dog, a family member, a friend, or the attendant at the drive through window?...(And what are they ordering at the drive thru?!)...
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In life, our habits truly decide our futures—and this also rings true for our voice quality and function. If you don’t choose your habits, your habits will choose you. Put another way, if you don’t actively decide to create and maintain good habits (for voice or otherwise), then “bad” habits may choose you.
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CHOOSE to habitually take good care of your voice. Keep track of water intake, schedule time for humidification and steam use, consider use of an ultrasonic nebulizer, create a vocal schedule to ensure time for “vocal naps”, and monitor your vocal demands. Eliminate throat clearing, manage your mucus, reduce reflux, and maintain a healthy diet and consistent exercise. CHOOSE to habitually use your voice in healthy, efficient, dynamic ways. Monitor your habitual speaking volume and ensure you are not straining (over noise or in general). Speak on consistent streams of easy airflow, and catch your voice if it becomes tight or “stuck” in your throat. Focus on clarity of speech, supported voice, and a forward placement of vocal tone versus a backward one. Be aware of your vocal tone (soft versus loud), rate of speech (fast versus slow), use of pitch inflection, and use of the pause. Ensure your voice is melodic versus monotone. To change your voice, you must change your habits. Every single time you open your mouth speak is an opportunity to use good voice. Decide to seize the opportunity and implement daily habits that train you and lead you towards your best voice.
Author
Sara Davis, M.A. CCC-SLP
Author
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