Bad Habit |
Healthy Alternatives |
Clearing your throat or coughing on a regular basis. |
Yawn to relax your throat, swallow slowly, drink water, hum. |
Yelling, cheering, and screaming to get attention. |
Use non-vocal sounds: clap, whistle, ring a bell, blow a horn or whistle. |
Talking for extended periods of time from a distance and in cold weather |
Move closer so you don't need to yell, practice safe vocal projection. |
Talking over extreme noise (music, traffic, etc) |
Reduce background noise in your environment, face the person you are speaking to, wait until your audience is attentive |
Trying to address large audiences without proper amplification. |
Use a microphone for public speaking, and learn proper microphone technique. |
Trying to sing beyond your comfortable range. |
Know your physical limit for pitch and volume, seek professional vocal training, never sing a high note you cannot sing quietly. |
Nervous habits like throat-clearing, holding your breath, speaking too quickly, speaking without enough breath, speaking at too low a pitch. |
Learn strategies to avoid nervousness while public speaking, ask a friend to watch for bad vocal habits. |
Speaking extensively during strenuous physical exercise. |
Avoid grunting or other vocal sounds, relax after aerobic exercise until you are ready to speak. |
Talking in monotone or with a rough or gravelly sound. |
Keep your voice powered by breath flow, and allow your pitch to vary naturally as you speak. |
Holding your breath while thinking of what to say, and creating sudden tense vocal onsets. This is what happens when you start pushing air upwards before opening the airway. It is called a "glottic attack". |
Relax your throat before beginning to speak, and use breathing muscles and airflow to start speech phrases. |
Speaking or singing beyond a natural breath cycle: avoid squeezing out the end of a phrase without enough breath. |
Speak slowly, and breathe at natural phrase boundaries. |
Tightening your upper chest, shoulders, neck and throat to breathe in or to push out. |
Allow your body to stay aligned and relaxed, allow your abdomen and rib cage to move freely. |
Clenching your teeth, tense your jaw or tongue. |
Keep your upper and lower teeth separated. |
Whisper, growl, squeak, or imitate animal or machine noises. |
If you must talk softly, use extra breath instead of a harsh whisper. If you must make unconventional sounds for a performance, do so carefully using strong breath support. |
Forcing notes into an unsuitable register. For example, forcing notes that are usually sung in the head voice down into your chest voice. |
Allow your vocal register to change naturally with pitch. Consult your singing teacher to learn technique for smoother transitions. |
Demanding too much from your voice. |
Rest regularly as you would for any other part of the body. |
Using your voice when you are sick or feel tired. |
Learn to be sensitive to the first signs of vocal fatigue: these include hoarseness, throat tension, dryness, and pain. Consult your doctor if you have throat problems for more than 10 days. |
Exposing your voice to pollution and dehydrating agents: cigarette smoke, chemical fumes, alcohol, caffeine, dry air. |
Use a humidifier in your bedroom at night. Drink 8-10 cups of non-caffeinated beverages each day (more if you exercise). Don't smoke! |
Slouching or adopting unbalanced postures. |
Practice good posture and alignment exercises. |
