Voice care tips for teachers

The first term of a new schooling year has many new challenges: getting to know your students, establishing the classroom expectations and environment, and of course communicating, instructing, and raising your voice over excited chatter and wandering attention spans!

Vocal strain is highly common amongst teachers, and without healthy voice care practices in place, chronic and permanent vocal problems can develop.

Here is a quick self-assessment checklist to see if you may be experiencing signs of vocal stress:

• Do you find yourself coughing or clearing your throat a lot with the added vocal demands in the classroom?
• Does your throat feel sore, scratchy or tired, during or after a day talking?
• Do you experience difficulty using your voice with ease during outside play supervision?
• Do you run out of breath before the end of your sentences?

Now, more than ever, is a good time to establish some healthy habits with your voice and avoid stress, strain and vocal loss.  Here are a few quick tips to get you started:

1. Take sips of water regularly throughout the day to ensure those amazing vocal cords of yours are well hydrated!
2. Take "voice rest" breaks every day.  Several 5-minute rests per day can make a big difference.
3. Notice your breathing & posture – use deep breaths into the diaphram and avoid shallow breathing as this will support your voice quality, volume and strength. Bad posture can put strain on the supporting muscles of your neck that surround the chords as well as restricting proper breath support.

If you have consistent ongoing vocal discomfort, loss or strain, or a hoarse or croaky voice, you might benefit from a visit to your local speechie to learn techniques for healthy ways of speaking up without straining those precious vocal cords!
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