8 Tips for Saving Your Teacher Voice

Losing your mind as a teacher? No big deal, we lost ours a long time ago. (Jokingly!) But losing your teaching voice, well, that’s a real job hazard. We spoke to the singing teacher and coach Mollie Bennett Weikert who gave important and easy-to-understand tips on how teachers can preserve their vocal cords.

1. Stay healthy.

The fastest route to a fragile, hoarse voice is via a cold, so the disease-avoidance techniques we use during cold and flu season are vital to maintaining our voice year-round.

Keep your hands — the culprits of germ conduction — away from your eyes, nose, and mouth, and keep them as clean as possible. Get the best sleep and eat healthy (easier said than done, we know).

2. Don’t speak too loudly.

Yelling is the easiest way to ruin your voice, so use every strategy to keep loud language to a minimum. If your classroom is exceptionally noisy, get a bell or other signal to quiet your class without trying to yell about it.

If you are speaking at meetings or multiple classroom gatherings, take the administrative steps to obtain a microphone. It only takes an afternoon talking on the phone across a crowded cafeteria and days later hearing a sore, strained voice.

3. Slow down your speech.

According to Weikert, one of the most common ways we strain our voice is by speaking too quickly. “Even though teachers have a lot to say to their students, speaking very quickly keeps the vocal cords tense and tense, and then damage can occur.” When we strive to always speak at a normal pace, our voices remain strong.

4. Watch your breathing.

Throughout the school day, check with yourself that your breathing is regular and even. As a guide, Weikert recommends thinking about our breathing before going to bed.

At the end of the day when we lie down, our abdominal muscles expand on the inhale and deflate on the exhale. We should aim for this style of breathing during our hectic days.

5. Find your natural pitch.

The more we speak in the same pitch that our voice is used to, the less we strain ourselves. Our best speaking pitch isn’t the highest or lowest pitch in our natural range, it’s somewhere in the middle.

Teachers often speak lower than natural for a more authoritative tone, or higher than natural to convey friendliness. Both settings can overload the voice.

Instead, aim for the range of sounds that naturally correspond to your voice, such as B. the tone of your voice when you spontaneously say “uh-huh”. The top note of your “huh” typically reflects your natural and optimal speaking pitch. If the voice you speak in in the classroom is different from your natural pitch, you might be straining.

6. Do vocal cord straw exercises.

If a hoarse, strained, or lost voice is a regular occurrence, add vocal practice with a simple drinking straw to your day. These simple exercises only take a few minutes a day, but can make a big difference in voice maintenance. Weikert recommends This video and more straw voice exercises on YouTube as great starting points.

7. Stay hydrated.

It’s important to keep your voice and body hydrated with plenty of water. Coffee doesn’t count and caffeinated beverages can have the opposite effect and dry out our voice. Water lubricates the vocal cords and prevents wear.

8. Watch out for tuning roasts.

Young women (and those of us who might want to socialize with young people) are most likely to use Vocal Fry’s voice pattern. Think of a Kardashian sister saying “Sooo cuuuute.”

That deep, creaky vocal vibration is caused by a fluttering of the vocal cords that really abuses them roast meat our voices. Weikert says this style of speaking is very damaging to the vocal cords and can cause vocal nodules and everyday hoarseness.

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