72: Help! I lost my voice. Now what?

You have an important presentation, speech on air, interview, or perhaps you have to speak on stage in front of a lot of people and you lose your voice. Canceling isn't an option and you have less than 24 hours to recover your voice. What can you do to get it back quickly, especially if you are on the road and you do not have access to a kitchen cabinet full of remedies or easy access to a pharmacy? Losing a voice. It's like losing an arm. You don't realize how necessary it is until you lose it. On this week's episode what to do when youn need your Voice Back Quick and what not to do the remedies I received from the Twitterverse and the Google Verse I asked for support because I lost my Voice less than 24 hours before I had to appear on stage. It was gone, but I got it back in time for the talk this week on the podcast How I Did It. So there I was at an annual meeting. A huge annual meeting, one that I do a lot of work with currently in my business. There were a lot of people to meet, plenty of networking and lots of work to do. It was shaking up to be a very busy week for me. I had to facilitate three three all day workshops on public opinion, Communications board, consumer relations and squeezed in that work. I was also a guest on a video series for the association I was working with. Oh, and the event, it was held in New Orleans and when you're in NOLA there is no staying in. So for reference, the last time I went to this annual meeting in New Orleans it was a few years ago. I returned to my hotel room the night before. I had to leave at 5am not my normal hours for a conference, but when in nola. So here I was after four days. I was surprisingly energetic and organized. I was on my last day of facilitating the workshops. I went down to the meeting rooms that morning to set up my computer and as I was walking into the hallway I said hello to someone who approached me. And there it was. Or wasn't. In this case, my voice. My typical how you doing Greeting from the morning came out like a dying frog. A lot of air and a lot of croak. This was unfortunate because not only did I have to facilitate a workshop all day and engage and interact, I had to speak on stage the next day. And it didn't even occur to me that I didn't have a voice because I hadn't opened up my voice that morning to speak yet. And the first time I did it was when I was speaking to that person. So I was in a bit of a panic. Now, typically, I don't lose my voice. I speak a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. Just even when I meet people, I talk to people all day. And the last time I had an issue with my voice was St. Patrick's week, many, many years ago in St. Paul during my reign as Ms. Shamrock. You heard that, right. The weeks leading up to that St. Patrick's Day of my reign left me with shredded VOC cords and about an extra five pounds of beer weight. But there was a lot of talking, a lot of singing. You know, it's St. Patrick's Day, after all. So there is a history with my voice hightailing it in March. So even though I was doing a lot of work for that conference, the key moment of that conference was going to be this talk, because I was a part of a panel presentation. It was about governance and reputation management, and I was speaking alongside two admired CEOs, and in the area where I did work, about a topic I could speak about in my sleep. Reputation management, crisis management, how people can manage their reputations in times of trouble. It's my bailiwick, and I was so excited to do it. But unfortunately, it appeared that I didn't have the voice to do it. And even worse, on the day that I realized my voice was gone, I had to speak all day, which meant I didn't have access to go get anything. And I didn't have easy access to get anything because I was in a hotel in New Orleans and I had to work all day to do it. And then I had to immediately go to another party after that. I was close to a casino and I was close to a Neiman Marcus Last Call store, but I wasn't anywhere near a pharmacy. I was in a jam. So that Sunday morning when I realized my voice was gone, the wifi in the hotel was awful, as it typically is because you never know if you can ever get online, even if you sign in, and it takes forever. But with the lagging WI fi, I resorted to, no kidding, the Brady Bunch episode when Carol Brady lost her voice before she had to sing at church on Christmas Day. Do you remember the episode Honest to Pete? I was sitting there trying to remember what she did in the episode. I remember that she had a warm washcloth compressor press on her throat because Alice gave her a Nelson home remedy that smelled awfully bad. And I also recalled that the plot didn't recall any of the ingredients because I suppose that didn't make for riveting television. What was in the compress? And sadly, the only other part of the episode I remember was that Cindy asked Santa Claus for her mom's voice back, and that's how Carol Brady was able to sing oh Come All Ye Faithful on Christmas Morning. So I was very impressed by my pop culture memory. But I didn't have a Santa and I didn't have an Alice and I didn't have Wi Fi. So I didn't know what to do. But I figured it out. On today's episode, I'm going to share with you the mistakes I made, the remedies I used, and where I found them, and foreshadowing I figured it out all in the nick of time. I wasn't at full strength, but I wasn't painful to listen to take a listen. We went out there to help people. We would go into a town even when the trailers came in. We were the agency that gave money to everybody. We were helping people on the ground. But there was a discordance with the press telling everyone that we were this war. Not too bad, right? I mean, not pleasing to the ear. But from the gruesome croak from the day before, it was pretty good. So if you're someone who could ever find themselves in a jam where they need their voice today, I'm going to tell you how to get your voice back quickly when you use it. A Disclaimer I am not a medical professional. I'm a professional speaker and podcaster. Natch. This list of remedies is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis or treatment. Of course you want to seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding this medical condition. When you lose your voice, it is often due to laryngitis, and laryngitis occurs when your larynx, your voice box, becomes irritated and inflamed. It can happen when you have a cold. And I knew I didn't have a cold, so I knew it was irritated. That was my problem. I strained the vocal cords. Now, before I get to the remedies, I want to start with the mistakes. These were the regrettable choices that I made that led me to my predicament and what not to do when you need to save your voice. 1. Keep talking and talking and talking. I had to speak all day. And then, as I mentioned, I attended a party on a riverboat that night where I kept talking to people. People had to lean in to hear me. And I remember in Some cases, a look of their face like, oy, what's with the voice? Like, why do I have to listen to this person? So at the end of that party, it was wrapping up and I was in a mood. I was starving, so try eating gluten free at an annual meeting. It's not fun. I was drained, my throat hurt, and I was annoyed because here I was at this networking event and I couldn't use my finest tool in my communications toolkit. My charm in personality. I realized I'm not as interesting when I can't speak. Now this next tip is one that Carol Bridge Brady did that I followed. But I didn't know it was a bad thing to do until I saw it on Google, which is don't whisper. Who knew whispering is harder on the vocal cords than regular speech. So when you whisper, your vocal cords pull tighter and it slows down the recovery. So I was practicing my talk in a whisper until I spotted that tip online. So now you know. Next, grab a mic when you can. I had to speak all day and I didn't ask for a mic. On the last day of facilitating, I should have done it. It would have saved my voice and people would have heard me a lot better. Next mistake, drinking alcohol, New Orleans weekend. This was going to be tough, but after one drink on the steamboat, I knew it was a bad idea. So I immediately switched to water. I knew I had to hydrate my voice. And remember, alcohol dehydrates you, right? Think about your hangover. Think about how you wake up. Drinking also dries out your throat and that's going to further damage your voice overnight. And it's the same with decongestants. And if you're in smoky areas. So avoid all of them at all costs. If you you lose your voice. And this leads to my final mistake if I have to be honest. And it's lent after all. So I need to be. This is the real reason why I lost my voice. That horrible sound you hear is from video taken at Lafitte's Bourbon Street. A bunch of Gen Xers, maybe a boomer thrown in the mix with money to give a piano player. And of all the mistakes I made that weekend, this was the biggest. And I'm not even a piano bar, sing along type of a galaxy, but Guenanola. Okay, now onto the Solution. It was 10 o' clock at night, Sunday night, and I needed my Voice back by 11:00am the next morning. This is a mix of the advice that I received in person, online and on Twitter that helped me get my voice back in time. The first one is ask for help. I sent a tweet out into the Twitterverse and received excellent responses. Some were predictable, others I had never thought of before, but they were all incredibly helpful and thoughtful. So if you have a question, go to social media. People will answer it for you. And also go to Google if you want to see what some of the remedies were, you can go to my Twitter page and you can see them. Molly McPherson next tip. Don't talk. You need one to two full days of little to no talking. I had less than 12 hours. Stop speaking immediately. I never should have gone to the party on the steamboat. I should have gone right back to my hotel room. Next tip. And this was not a remedy I ever would have thought of until it was shared with me on Twitter. Use over the counter pain relievers. Pain relievers like an ibuprofen, that's Advil and Motrin can help reduce the swelling in the vocal cords. So I was taking that repeatedly and I think that helped me. It went a long way in bringing my voice back. All right, number four, Drink plenty of liquids. This will help you heal as quickly as possible. Now in general, you should always aim to drink at least, you know, eight eight ounce glasses of water today you can up it to 10, but drink as much water as you can. I knew instinctively to drink warm water. It just felt better. So tea, broth, soup, all of those liquids are gonna help you. Green tea is better than black tea. I order tea to my room, no kidding. $25 later for just a pot of tea. But I also used the coffee maker in the hotel room for hot water, which frankly grossed me out. But desperate times. Fast forward to the speaking session. The moderator of the panel where I was speaking, Pat, he was considerate enough to bring me a hot tea beforehand, but then he took it from me. I kept it for himself. Next. Instinctively, I knew I needed to avoid caffeinated drinks like coffee. I knew I was not going to be able to drink my lat. I knew that milk wasn't going to be good. But I wasn't quite sure of the tea mix and what had caffeine and what didn't because I knew I needed to hydrate and I knew caffeine dehydrated me. So I defaulted without googling to the chamomile and lavender. I assume those didn't have caffeine. Turns out I was right. Next tip. Gargle with salt water if you can. I was on a hunt for salt because this was always a trick from my late grandmother, Esther Callahan. She was a big apple cider vinegar big salt with warm water person. Add a teaspoon of it to warm water and then you can gargle it. It's a go to that works with a sore throat and also a lost voice. Next tip. And this one was helpful. Take a hot shower. A long hot shower. The steam moistens the vocal cords and it soothes the sore throat. Now, if you can, and I'm going to do this henceforth, bring an essential oil with you, like eucalyptus. That will help as well. And put it in the. Now, if you're someone like me who hangs their clothes that you're going to wear that day in the room, which I always do in the bathroom. It's my natural iron. You may not want to have the essential oil there because you will carry it as you walk through the hallways. But very helpful when it comes to bringing your voice back. This ties into something I didn't think about and I wish I would have done it, is bringing a humidifier to the room. Of course you're not going to bring it with you in your luggage, but call down and ask if they have a humidifier. Guest services if you are a titanium megaplex point person like I am for one hotel but not another, they may have that for you. But something I'm going to ask for from here on out. Because the throat, it dries out during the night and when you sleep, you produce less saliva and all that bacteria builds up. And that's why you have morning breath, everyone. But if you have a humidifier, ask for one. Next tip. And this was from Twitter. You want to chew some gum or suck on a Legends because it increases saliva production. You want to keep your throat as moist as possible. Other remedies? Ginger. It's a natural remedy. It suppresses irritation and dry cough that's often associated with laryngitis. Also, honey. I was using a lot of honey. It's nice at a conference because they'll usually have honey sitting right next to the tea. It's a superfood and it can reduce cough and mucus. Lovely. I was adding it to my tea along with lemon, which I later found out was a big no, no. If you research how to come back from laryngitis, you will read a lot of articles about lemon. But I read one article and I believe it. It was on a medical website. It's acidic and it can harm the vocal cords. And it's a myth to take lemon with water. Or honey or tea when you need to soothe your throat. Now, I know this is true, or I can at least back this up, because it's just like soccer moms. The myth that all kids on soccer teams want cut up oranges as their snack. Well, one, they don't because they're kids. But number two is the orange peels. And I learned this. I was a soccer coach and a soccer rep, and I learned that the orange is acidic and it doesn't help muscles recover. It's one of the worst foods that you can have. Chocolate milk is better for your muscles, but not your vocal cords, because that has milk and that again, brings mucus. Lovely. So no lemon. Now, during your talk, have warm water close to you. Not a tea. Warm water. Me, I never drink water during talks. People will do it reflexively, and they do it out of nerves. They'll do it on stage, they'll do it on talk shows. And it's kind of weird and awkward when you see it, and it's just nerves. So if water's there, just as a speaking tip, don't use it. It's there when you need it, when you need to lubricate your vocal cords or you start coughing. But otherwise, keep it away because then people are going to hear you. Especially if you're on mic. Never a good sound. Speaking of the mic, use a mic. It amplifies a softer voice. When you lose your voice, you're going to speak softer. You're going to speak more gingerly with your V. No yelling. It was my big mistake the day before, but I had a mic for my talk. Next. Acknowledge that you lost your voice. It's an elephant on stage, if you will. Now, I uttered a quick reference to sounding like Brenda Vaccaro, and that was a reference catered to the age of my audience. If I said Miley Cyrus, no one would have known who I was talking about, if you know what I mean. But if you are a speaker, you should mention it, especially if your voice has been compromised. Compromise. If it's a little squeaky, a little scratchy, that's fine. But if it's more than that, you may want to mention it. Because if someone wants to hire you, they may think, this voice, I can't listen to this voice again, much less pay for it. Now, if you are a professional speaker, plan for the day when you lose your voice the next time in your work, in your professional world, if you're someone that speaks often, if you present often, especially if you're on the road, plan to have something in your go kit to prepare for this if it ever happens to you. Me, I'm adding eucalyptus essential oil to my go kit. I'm also gonna add salt along with all my other little tricks of the trade in there. Something else I'm going to do to plan in the future, a little vocal mitigation is I'm gonna warm up my voice. I'm gonna do this before any talk or workshop that I do because it's gonna prevent the strain from future problems. So if you see me walking down a hallway before a workshop or before a talk, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. That will be me, me, me, me, me, me, me. Warming up. If you think about it, it's no different than warming up before a run. You're going to stretch your muscles. Why not stretch your vocal cords? And not for nothing, I went on a morning meeting attendees. And when I was running and talking to some of the people in the group, my voice a mile into it was fine. No croak whatsoever. It was like liquid. Then as soon as I got back from the run and I went up to my room, it was raspy all over again. Perhaps endorphins have something to do with helping your vocal cords. I don't know. All right, everyone, that's all for this week. Thanks for listening. I hope some of these tips will help you plan when you have a big talk or a big presentation. And you'll lose the most important tool in your toolkit, your voice. And if you want to check out some of the remedies that I received on Twitter, you can go to my Twitter feed. It's Molly McPherson and look at the week of March 1st. Now go forth and communicate with confidence.