Happy World Voice Day!

Today is World Voice Day – a day to recognize living healthy and keeping our voices strong as a result.

Last week we talked about what to avoid when it comes to caring for your voice. This week I’d like to give you tips on how to train your voice.

Everyone has a great voice inside.  The key is training and using that voice Try these vocal and breathing exercises:

Breathing Exercise:

Do this in five-minute segments while you drive, walk, or watch television. Not only will it help you breathe properly, it will help you to relax, slow down, and release tension.

Place your hand on your midriff and inhale deeply. You will feel the diaphragm and stomach expand like a bellows. Now, exhale and feel the stomach and diaphragm contract. You may inhale and exhale silently through your mouth or nose. Do this exercise three times in a series of 10 breaths each for five minutes.

Vocal Gymnastics:

Focus on a spot far away. Say the vowel eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Try to get your voice to reach that spot.

Courtesy, Creative Commons

Combining  Breath and Vocal Gymnastics:

Place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your diaphragm. Feel them expand, and then pull your abdominal muscles in and up, saying:

• ONE!           w-UH-n (one word in one breath)
• Do the same on each number, slowly lingering on the vowels:
• TWO!          t-OO
• THREE!        thr-EE
• FOUR!         f- OR
• FIVE!           f-I-v

 REMEMBER: NOTHING BUT THE ABDOMEN AND THE DIAPHRAGM SHOULD MOVE. SHOULDERS AND CHEST ARE STEADY.

Our voice is an important tool, we need to treat it with respect and not misuse over overuse it. Without it, we can’t be heard – literally!

World Voice Day is April 16th!

Our voices need to be heard. But what good is a voice if we don’t take care of it? Every year on April 16, otolaryngologists – head and neck surgeons – and other voice health professionals worldwide join together to recognize World Voice Day. World Voice Day encourages everyone to assess their vocal health and take action to improve or maintain good voice habits. A lot of professionals north-america wide have sponsored or supported World Voice Day since its inception in 2002. And here at Release Your Voice, we certainly do as well!

Many professionals warn against the following when it comes to keeping your vocal chords healthy!:

Voice Misuse and Overuse

Speaking is a physical task that requires coordination of breathing with the use of several muscle groups. It should come as no surprise that, just like in any other physical task, there are efficient and inefficient ways of using your voice. Excessively loud, prolonged, and/or inefficient voice use can lead to vocal difficulties, just like improper lifting can lead to back injuries. Excessive tensionin the neck and laryngeal muscles, along with poor breathing technique during speech leads to vocal fatigue, increased vocal effort, and hoarseness. Voice misuse and overuse puts you at risk for developing benign vocal cord lesions or a vocal cord hemorrhage.

Common situations that are associated with voice misuse:

• Speaking in noisy situations
• Excessive cellular phone use
• Telephone use with the handset cradled to the shoulder
• Using inappropriate pitch (too high or too low) when speaking
• Not using amplification when publicly speaking

Key Steps for Keeping Your Voice Healthy:

• Drink plenty of water. Moisture is good for your voice. Hydration helps to keep thin secretions flowing to lubricate your vocal cords. Drink plenty (up to eight 8-ounce glasses is a good minimum target) of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages throughout the day.
• Try not to scream or yell. These are abusive practices for your voice, and put great strain on the lining of your vocal cords.
• Warm up your voice before heavy use. Most people know that singers warm up their voices before a performance, yet many don’t realize the need to warm up the speaking voice before heavy use, such as teaching a class, preaching, or giving a speech. Warm-ups can be simple, such as gently gliding from low to high tones on different vowel sounds, doing lip trills (like the motorboat sound that kids make), or tongue trills.
• Don’t smoke. In addition to being a potent risk factor for laryngeal (voice box) cancer, smoking also causes inflammation and polyps of the vocal cords that can make the voice very husky, hoarse, and weak.

Celebrate your voice! Let us know on Twitter @ReleaseUrVoice or through email: katharine.sawchuk@gmail.com at how you’re going to do just that. Keep an eye on more tips and tricks leading up to the 16th!

Expand your mind; learn a language!

Do you speak another language besides English? Have you always wanted to learn? If you have, there is endless research proving that knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, active and powerful. The more we know of other languages and cultures, the more we’re able to cross borders mentally, as well as physically.

Languages feed your brain power! Image courtesy: Creative Commons

A recent article in the New York Times: Why Bilinguals Are Smarter by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee brings up some great points. I’ve highlighted the top five benefits below:

1. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improve cognitive skills not related to language and even shield against dementia in old age.

2. Studies suggest the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

3. Bilingualism’s effects also extend into the twilight years. In a recent study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by the neuropsychologist Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism — measured through a comparative evaluation of proficiency in each language — were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.

4. In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, scientists found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it.

5. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.

What’s the best way you have learned a language? Let me know at info@releaseyourvoice.com

Fuel before a presentation: What to eat, what not to eat, and how to boost your mood

Ahhhhh cheeseburgers and fries. Delicious pastas with garlic bread. Blueberry pies and ice cream. And those funny, sweet little alcoholic drinks with the umbrellas tucked in. So good but soooo bad at the same time – and not in the calorie-laden, make-you-launch-into-a-coma way either…

These are foods, or types of foods, you shouldn’t munch on before a heavy presentation. In my experience, sugars, heavy meals, spicy foods and alcohol (trust me, you DON’T want to be THAT speaker that loosens up a bit ‘too’ much) are not the right ways to go prior to a performance.

Bad before a presentation...

Sugars will make you crash hard, depleting your energy, heavy meals of fats and carbs will slow you down, and spicy foods….may make you uncomfortable even more so if you’re already nervous for speaking in the first place.

It’s important to eat a cleansing meal prior to speaking. Drink plenty of water, eat light. Salads, veggies, fruits, granola and whole grains are good. Once you’re down, chow down! Just make sure you give yourself enough light proteins and veggies to give yourself the energy boost you need. Even making a smoothie helps.

Good before a presentation (although maybe less appealing)...

Last year, CBS came out with a story about ‘six stress busting, mood-boosting foods.’  It gives great tips on how to eat around the office, how drinking tea is a great tip prior to a presentation, even what foods to serve the in-laws if you’re feeling stressed. What we put into our bodies will ultimately reflect how we act, how we feel, how we behave. So I encourage everyone to put that fizzy-burp-inducing soda down and grab a water and lemon before talking to the boss and his crew about your new financial plans for the company! Good eating!

Giving a reference

There are many forms of business communications; whether it’s employer to employee relations, employee to employee interactions or customer communications. One nice advantage of having a healthy work relationship with an employer – or if you’re the leader, an employee – is giving references.

References are a valuable tool when it comes to advancing in the workplace. A good reference can get you that great job you’ve been spying on, or that promotion you’ve been working hard for. If you’re the manager giving the reference, sometimes it can be as simple as explaining how you enjoyed working with this person and what a great job they’ve done. Other times the reference phone call isn’t as informal, there’s actual structure to it. If you’ve never given a reference before, here are some suggestions that may pop up the next time you need to.

1. Company Policy – what is it?

You’ve agreed to be a reference. Before you take that call, check out your company policy; what information are you allowed to give out? Some companies don’t allow details of employee duties such as certain performance details, missing work or tardiness, etc. If you want to give a stand up review with nothing holding you back, you can always write a letter of recomendation instead.

2. Don’t get personal

This is obvious, but don’t get into details regarding the person’s personal life; marital status, age, religion, etc. Stick to what they did best in the workforce. Getting personal may jeopardize their chances of getting hired, and may cause a rift between you and the employee. Trust could be broken, so stay clear of any personal tidbits.

3. Know the person!

Make sure you know the person well enough to give the reference in the first place. Remember; your credibility is also on the line. If you are unsure of the employee’s work habits, and you don’t have actual knowledge of their skills, you could end up hurting rather than helping. You will also be looked upon as someone who’s either passed on a good reference to someone who ends up doing well, or poorly. Make sure you feel comfortable!

What are your reference tips? Email me at info@releaseyourvoice.com.

Eye contact while presenting; how to use effectively

Eye contact is our most powerful tool when it comes to communication. Without it,  speeches and every day conversations will not be as potent as we want them to be. Using eye contact while speaking provides your listener with sincerity behind what you’re saying. It will also benefit you by letting you know how people act or look while you speak, as we receive information through sight; we can tell who is listening – and who needs a little extra something, something to pay attention. Below are a few tips on how to use eye contact effectively. Good Luck!

1.Make eye contact with a few individuals in a large audience

If you must present to hundreds of people, it’s impossible to do the usual scan back and forth, all the while making eye contact with everyone along the way. The best thing to do is find a few individuals in the front, middle and back and focus on them throughout your speech. Making such intimate contact with these few people, will help you present the material by helping you forget you’re speaking to hundreds of people in the first place! This will also provide those you’ve picked to look at with a personable and pleasant experience.

2. Know your stuff

When you understand your material, you’re able to focus on the audience. You can ‘finesse’ your delivery along with your body language. The whole point of a presentation is to present your material outwards – not presenting your words to cue cards. If you need cards to read off of, that’s fine! Just make sure you’ve prepared the night before, and have practiced as much as you can until you feel comfortable with presenting with minimal support from any materials.

3.Pay attention to how your audience is feeling

As mentioned above, we receive information through our eyes. While you’re speaking, pay attention to how your audience is reacting. Are they bored? Sleepy? Angry? Are they excited? This will tell you if you need to pace yourself, speed up, smile, change subjects, pause, etc. You may be nervous, but try to remember to control your nerves and focus on how things are going. This will determine the outcome of your presentations, and whether the audience has taken home the messages you wanted to convey.

Open for business! Tips to make your small business work…

It’s an exciting venture; starting and running your own business. In the beginning it can feel overwhelming and sometimes you may not know where to start. While I’m not an expert on the technical tips, I can give you advice on how to prepare yourself personally, before starting your adventure.

1. Believe in yourself Confidence is key. Don’t worry or stress too much on making mistakes. It’s how we learn and how we pick ourselves back up that matters. People will follow you if they pick up on how confident you are. They will believe in your leadership skills, if that’s what you’re putting out there.

2. Follow your path and don’t give up  It’s important to visualize the levels of success you want to achieve. Really picture it and stick to it. Be open to changing your plans here and there, but follow how you want your business to look, feel and run, and keep to those goals as close as you can. Surround yourself with positive people and ideas; they will be there to encourage you when things get a little crunchy.

3. Creativity goes a long way Have you ever heard of the phrase “It’s been done before?” Well, chances are it has. But that doesn’t mean you can’t re-shape, re-invent, or re-focus that idea. There’s always a way to add on, take away or expand on an idea you may have seen or read in the past that you thought was a great one. Be innovative! Think outside those boxes and see where it can take you.

4. Know thyself What are your skills? What are your weaknesses? Are you great at numbers but not so skillful at writing content? Are you a problem solver but not an idea person? Do you have social skills but less on the administrative duties-side? Knowing what points you can hit can really help your business. This way you can delegate certain duties to those people you know can make up for your lack of skillset. And you can really market and push yourself as an expert in your field!

5. Be kind to your colleagues How would anyone own a successful business without the help and respect of others? You never know who you may need on your way up, so keep things professional and kind. Word of mouth can either make or break you, so make sure your always courteous and don’t forget those who have helped you out!

What are some of your small business tips? Email me at info@releaseyourvoice.com!