{"id":14026,"date":"2020-01-30T16:08:48","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T21:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/?p=14026"},"modified":"2024-10-31T18:53:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T22:53:57","slug":"vocal-health-vs-your-social-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/30\/vocal-health-vs-your-social-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Vocal Health vs. Your Social Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-responsive\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px auto;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_DRr54PcafZk\"><div id=\"lyte_DRr54PcafZk\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FDRr54PcafZk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DRr54PcafZk\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FDRr54PcafZk%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px auto;\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a voice-over artist, your voice is your instrument. It\u2019s the most important tool you have when you walk into work each morning and it must sound consistent each time you step behind the microphone \u2013 which means it\u2019s part of your job to stay in good vocal health. Of course, occasionally we all get sick. We\u2019re only human. But as a voice-over artist, you can\u2019t sound \u201ctired\u201d or \u201ccroaky\u201d at 9 am and expect to work as a professional for long. Unfortunately, this truth can often butt heads with your social life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The thing about having a social life is that sometimes, it\u2019s, well \u2013 loud.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> And I don\u2019t mean loud in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHey we\u2019re all 21 and party all the time and stay up until 5 am Ke$ha-style\u201d <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kind of way. I mean loud in a mature 30-something <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cmy brother\u2019s getting married this weekend and I have five events over the next three days that all involve talking to a lot of people over loud music and also drinking a more-or-less responsible amount of alcohol\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> kind of way. You want to sing along to the awesome band, you want to talk to every cousin, and you definitely want that third glass of champagne but Lord knows that combination doesn\u2019t mesh well with the 100 pages of audiobook recording you\u2019ll be doing less than 24-hours later. <\/span><b><i>How do you balance attending an event you wouldn\u2019t miss for the world with the fact that Monday morning you need to be behind a microphone at 9 am and speak for four consecutive hours without turning into a teetotalling square that leaves the party early?<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You could become a hermit, steaming your vocal cords every morning and night, excelling at your job and climbing to the top of your field\u2026only to realize at 40 that you have no lifelong friends because you\u2019ve spent all your \u201ctalking time\u201d reading to strangers behind a microphone and not developing close relationships. That\u2019s a bit extreme, obviously, but honestly it <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> feel that way at times. <\/span><b>To keep your vocal health intact and balance a healthy social life, you must make calculated choices.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Because the question at hand is hardly a new one, it\u2019s the age-old debate of work\/life balance. And like work\/life balance, what\u2019s \u201cright\u201d will vary from voice-over artist to voice-over artist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you need a place to start, here\u2019s what I do:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Seek \u201cSilent Social\u201d Options<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This isn\u2019t a complete replacement of your social life, obviously. But I will actively engage a couple nights a week in a silent social activity that allows me to rest my vocal cords while still interacting with others. This can be via social media or text message while you sit at home with a face mask on, resting your voice. Or going to a movie, play, or concert with friends where you can all enjoy the performance together without talking for a few hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Buffer Big Outings<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I\u2019ve got a big social gathering that I know will be loud and I don\u2019t want to miss out on any of the fun, I buffer my voice-over schedule as much as I can. Putting a rest or recovery day between the event and your next recording session will help you stress less about having that third glass of champagne because you know you can hydrate, steam and luxuriate over your hot mug of tea all day Sunday while preparing your voice for Monday\u2019s long session behind the mic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Combat Dehydration and Over-Use<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14029\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14029\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14029\" src=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/kelsey-chance-tAH2cA_BL5g-unsplash-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14029\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It isn&#8217;t good to bottle up your social energy!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest daily killers of vocal health are <\/span><b><i>dehydration and over-use.<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Dehydration is exacerbated by caffeine and alcohol intake, as well as smoky environments. But this doesn\u2019t mean you need to stay home from every bar \u2013 <\/span><b>simply take your vocal strength into account when you\u2019re there.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Skip coffee the morning after you\u2019ve had a couple beers, opting for a second glass of water instead. Hydrate before bed after a night out at a particularly loud concert where you sang along happily to every song. And never forget the power of a 10-minute steam the morning after in the shower, over a pot on the stove or with a steamer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When in studio, <\/span><b>always start the day with a good vocal warm-up<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so you\u2019re not going into a long recording with cold cords. Also <\/span><b>make sure to time yourself behind the microphone<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, taking a break every 50 minutes to finish your water, make another cup of herbal tea, and <\/span><b>rest your voice<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for 10 minutes while relaxing your vocal cords.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s an exercise I love: <\/span><b>exhale out of your mouth, puffing out your cheeks and blowing air through your lips like a horse. Doing this for 10-20 breaths each hour is a great way to release any tension building up in the throat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that can easily affect how long your voice sounds \u201cgood\u201d behind the mic for long reads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Choose Social Gatherings Wisely<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If possible, <\/span><b>suggest quieter venues<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where you won\u2019t have to talk over loud music or a crowd. This can help you use your voice wisely while still building relationships with friends and loved ones. In boozy environments, <\/span><b>volunteer to drive others home and order sparkling water<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And if you are stuck in a loud environment, <\/span><b>try over-enunciating your words instead of speaking louder<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Often this can help make you easier to hear without having to yell or strain your voice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treat your vocal health like it\u2019s part of your job\u2026because IT IS. Work\/life balance is difficult in any field, and ours is no exception. Make calculated choices to keep your voice in shape so you can have a long and healthy career behind the microphone while not devolving into complete hermitude and foregoing human contact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Check out all of our blog posts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLrtCHh7rVAqMXRNxb_ruwVnTyLZ1fbVAZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Such A Voice Youtube Channel<\/a> or check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/2020\/01\/23\/work-life-balance-establish-plan-preserve\/\">last week&#8217;s blog post<\/a> on work-life balance.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Caroline Turner Cole is a storyteller from Dallas, TX. Find out more at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carolinecolestories.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.carolinecolestories.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or follow her on social media @carolinecolestories on Instagram and @ccolestories on Twitter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a voice-over artist, your voice is your instrument. It\u2019s the most important tool you have when you walk into work each morning and it must sound consistent each time you step behind the microphone \u2013 which means it\u2019s part &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Vocal Health vs. Your Social Life\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/30\/vocal-health-vs-your-social-life\/#more-14026\" aria-label=\"Read more about Vocal Health vs. Your Social Life\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7655,"featured_media":20423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"slim_seo":{"description":"Voice-over life can be hard! Guest writer Caroline Turner Cole talks about balancing your social life with maintaining your instrument as a VO artist.","title":"Vocal Health vs. Your Social Life - Such A Voice"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"popup":[],"class_list":["post-14026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-in-vo","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"mfb_rest_fields":["title"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21138,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14026\/revisions\/21138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14026"},{"taxonomy":"popup","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/popup?post=14026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}