2023.08.26 – 0968 – The ‘Tired’ Voice
Tired voice
Symptom: You sound dull, flat and a little ‘slurry’ as your tongue has trouble forming words.
Prescription:
· A voice will become tired with the amount, volume or the tone of the sound it is being asked to perform (see: ‘vocal loading’ and episode 756). Regulate your speaking so you don’t speak for too long, too loudly. Consider that 10 x 1-minute breaks allow your voice-tissues to recover more effectively than 1 x 10-minute break. (Episode 774 has ‘Voice Advice From Justin Timberlake and Larry Hagman’ on this.)
· As well as warming-up the voice, don’t forget to warm-down too, to relax the voice into its usual state and not harm it. There are some exercises in episode 928.
· As well as considering and correcting what might be making you anxious mentally, do a ‘condition check’ on yourself physically to see how anxiety has affected how you are holding yourself and how that is affecting the efficiency of your voice-use. Episode 846 is titled ‘Fit Body, Fit Voice’ and may be of interest.
· A voice will also be tired if you are physically or mentally tired. So, have a good night’s sleep and if on a night shift, have an energy boost (being careful to avoid caffeine and sugar energy peaks and troughs, they’re mentioned in episode 853’s ‘Food And Drink Naughty List’). Inevitably, “hydrate, mate!”
· Physical tension (perhaps in a rush to meet a newsroom deadline) will drain your energy so control any temptation to panic. Episode 815 is about how you can achieve Relaxation From Tension