Get A Better Broadcast, Podcast and Voice-Over Voice

2023.06.05 – 0886 – Studio StressStress may be seen as ‘extreme nervousness’. It too is triggered by a ‘presenting situation’ and is usually short-term. If controlled appropriately, a rush of chemicals in your blood can lead to a heightened state of awareness, and a more powerful performance: a stressful person may be loud and energetic, seemingly thriving on the pressure (‘nervous energy’ or ‘nervous tension’), with symptoms similar to nervousness: a raised heartbeat and faster breathing. But stress can also show itself as irritability or even anger, nausea and a feeling of being overwhelmed.  Pressures in the news production process can be hourly, and largely unavoidable. Live ‘to time’ programmes, breaking news, altered running orders, no-show show guests, lost links to a reporter in the field, a frozen autocue, a producer in your earpiece as you present…  and you’re the ‘name and the face’ of this output… . Some people seem to love these kinds of settings, at least in the short to medium term and with the knowledge that there will be an obvious end to the pressure, say when an election programme comes off the air, so some kinds of stress isn’t bad.

2023.06.04 – 0885 – Studio NervousnessNerves, stress and anxiety Nervousness, stress and anxiety are part of the same bodily reaction of fight-flight-freeze which we’ll look at in a bit more detail later, and because they have similar symptoms it can be hard to tell them apart. Here is a rough, non-expert guide. Nervousness may be triggered by a specific situation but it doesn't usually prevent you from getting on and doing that thing.  Think of a great opportunity to present your first professional news bulletin or being the voice of a character in new cartoon series: you have prepped for this, you’ve dreamed about it and yes, you’re nervous, possibly apprehensive or a bit worried, but there’s no way you’re going to turn this down. Sweaty palms, an increased heart rate, and fluttering in your stomach are typical signs, along with pacing, fidgeting or nail-biting … maybe a desire to go to the loo, ‘nervousness’ is sometimes misdiagnosed, instead of what it may be: ‘excitement’.  And consider, a bit of nervous energy may be to your advantage. Some adrenalin may make you more alert, sharper, and maybe funnier, but it can also affect your performance and your voice as we will see in a bit.

2023.06.03 – 0884 – Mic Fright  "The actor's nightmare", “…what it must be like to give birth"Laurence Olivier, on stage fright INTRODUCTION Do you want to express yourself, but it feels like a boa constrictor gets hold of your throat?[1] In this section, we look at powerful mind shifts that can help you get a better broadcast, podcast and voice-over voice. Yes, because the mind does affect the voice. Indeed, you are your voice: what you say is shaped by your culture and experiences, dreams and nightmares; how you verbalise your thoughts are shaped by your mindset and vocabulary; what your words sound like are shaped by things you have little effect on, such as your body shape and length of your vocal folds, but also how, as we have seen, things like how you sit and how you breathe and how tense you are, and also what you are feeling (anger or anxiety, calmness or confusion, sadness or satisfaction are all heard in your voice). But central to all of this is the mind. It’s what drives the thoughts which we want to share, it’s what instructs other organs to breathe and articulate.  You can’t separate yourself from your voice. It is a window into your thoughts. And if you think “I’m nervous”, others may think that of you too when they hear how you talk. So, in this section, we look at what kind of things may create that feeling in you and then, how we can avoid those situations, or how we can re-interpret them. Then we look at confidence, how we get it and build it, and then finally, ways of coping if things do go wrong. [1] In 2014, 25.3% of Americans said they feared speaking in front of a crowd. In 2018 that was 26.2%. https://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/survey-american-fears.aspx

2023.06.02 – 0883 – Self Massage Self-massage·        Put your first and forefinger together on each hand. Gently at first and then with stronger pressure stroke by stroke, draw your double-fingers in a diagonal line down the side of your neck from just behind your ear across to where your throat starts, just short of your ‘Adam’s apple’. This massages the large sterno-cleidomastoid muscles which support, turn and nod the head. ·        Now place one palm on top of the back  of your other hand and rotate them slightly to form a diagonal and place them high up on your chest just under your throat. Press and pull down but not actually hard enough to move your hands – keep them in position. Tip your head back and face the ceiling for a second or two, and then open and close your mouth to stretch the muscles down the front of the neck.·        This one may make you a bit squeamish, so do it gently. Take your two forefingers and your thumb as though about to pick something up from your desk. Instead, carefully hold your larynx and wobble it from side to side. You may feel a click or two which is quite normal. ·        Use your thumbs and a picture (from elsewhere in this book) to locate the root of your tongue under your chin and before your neck and ‘Adam’s apple’. Massage this area for 30 seconds.Use your fingertips on the side of your face just above your cheeks, in front of your ears, where your two jaws meet. Bite down and you will feel the bump of a muscle at this joint-point. Gently apply pressure here, massaging for about thirty seconds.  

 2023.06.01 – 0882 – Vocalisations of Different Voice Sounds  These are sometimes described different, with different words and terms[1]. Ok let’s go for this:·        Aphonic – a whisper ·        Biphonic – two pitches at the same time·        Breathy – air in the voiced is heard ·         Creaky – the sound of friction between surfaces·        Flutter or bleat – like the bleating of a lamb·        Glottalized – another term for vocal fry, the low clicking sound·        Pressed – loud and harsh·        Wobbly – a variation in soundYawny – sounds like a yawn in the voice [1] Adapted from the “All Things Vocal” podcast 3.5.22 

2023.05.31 – 0881 – Surgery And The Voice SurgeryIf you are given anaesthetic, it’s likely you will be intubated, that is have a tube put down your throat and past your vocal folds, to help you breathe.  This process can cause:·        Dislocation of your vocal folds - or more specifically the cartilage that attaches to them·        Injury to your vocal folds – the hard tube is inserted somewhat blindly and can rub or scrape on its way down·        Inflammation – where cartilage is exposed to any further damage, like acid reflux ·        Partial or total paralysis of your vocal folds – as the breathing tube puts pressure on the vocal nerves. Fully understand the risks of any surgery involving intubation, and ensure doctors know your area of work.

2023.05.30 – 0880 – Vomiting And The VoiceVomitingWe’ve mentioned this a few times in terms of acid reflux and alcohol consumption. Let’s take a second to look at it a little more closely. (Ugh!)Vomiting is extremely damaging to the voice and it’s not surprising, as the stomach contents flows ‘the wrong way’ into the pharynx and larynx and potentially into and out of your mouth (‘reflux’ means ‘regurgitation’ or ‘backwards flow’).With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (or GERD) the stomach contents stay in the oesophagus and produce symptoms like heartburn. With Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) the acid-and-food contents rise all the way back up to and coating the larynx.In bulimia-induced vomiting though, the valve in the stomach that keeps acid down is deliberately overpowered, causing irreversible damage to the valve so that reflux occurs constantly; the entire contents of the stomach come back up.Acid on your vocal folds is not too bad occasionally but say, daily, they won’t have time to heal and so become:·        Swollen – leading to hoarseness, coughing, throat-clearing and a lower pitch·        Heavier – leading to less range ·        More easily injured ·        More prone to polyps and nodules

2023.05.29 – 0879 – HPV And The Voice HPVThe Human Papilloma Virus can be sexually transmitted but can also be shared in other ways not fully understood. It causes many different diseases, often in the cervix and also in the throat sometimes leading to head and neck cancer and sometimes ‘recurrent respiratory papillomatosis’ which causes warty growths in the throat, most commonly on the vocal folds themselves, resulting in:HoarsenessVocal fatigueLoss of vocal rangeDifficulty breathing

2023.05.28 – 0878 – Alcohol And The VoiceAlcoholIt’s unlikely you’ll be having a drink just before a broadcast show, podcast recording or studio session, but what might be the damage to your voice if you’ve had one (or several!) the night before, or for serval nights before? Alcohol can:·        Contribute to dehydration of your whole body – and drier vocal folds don’t vibrate properly, contracting your range and making you sound strained. I mean, you know this already right, because after a ‘session’ you feel thirsty and crave water·        Make you produce more mucus – reducing the flexibility of your folds and needing you to clear your throat·        Make you lose your judgement about how much you’re using your voice (for example at a pub karaoke or singing on the way home), leading to damage·        Be sold in places like bars and clubs which are noisy, causing you to raise your voice·        Have an anaesthetic effect that causes you to push your vocal folds harder to get a normal sensation when talking·        Promote acid reflux and vomiting especially if you have drunk too much·        Interfere with your sleep – and a rested voice is a better voice·        Make you more relaxed, decreasing your heartbeat and so reducing your breath support·        Lead to a hangover and brain fog and lack of co-ordination and clear thinking – slurred words, unable to read a script or operate a studio desk·        Cause cancer[1]o  Mouth cancer – tumours can also develop in the tonsils and saliva glands, lips, tongue, cheeks and gumso  Pharyngeal cancer – your throato  Laryngeal cancer – at your larynx or vocal folds The symptoms of all of these are wide-ranging and depend on where the cancer has developed. Between 22% and 38% of all mouth, throat and voice box cancers in the UK are caused by drinking alcohol. [2]Taking a look at some of the most common drinks:·        Wine is packed with preservatives which may will dry out your throat·        Beer is slightly acidic which can cause mucusCocktails are a literal cocktail of phlegm-causing, sugar-rush syrups, acidic juices as well as dehydrating spirits [1] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-and-neck-cancer/ [2] https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/