Can`t Speak, Can`t Teach

Once it's gone, there's no getting your voice back again. You can't simply go out and buy and new one! In a profession most likely to experience occupational injury in this area, it's time we started looking after one of the greatest assets we have - our voices. How many of us have bravely `soldiered on` when you feel that hoarse, burning in the throat, thinking "if I can just make it to the end of the day!" We are professional voice users, falling into the ranks of actors and singers in that, without the ability to vocalise, we would not be able to do our jobs. Unlike the actor and singer however, many teachers are still unsure about how to use their voice safely and well. What follows are a few tips, which may help to better develop and extend the life of your voice. Even better, if you can, find a vocal coach and secure some CPD in vocal practice. It will without doubt be one of the best investments you can ever make.

Drink!

And be merry! Well... at least be hydrated! As many an oracle has dictated, maintaining a good level of hydration is one of the most important things you can do; and it needs to be more than a quick cup of coffee in the staffroom at break time. Ideally you should be looking to drink water; somewhere between six and eight glasses per day, taken in short, regular bursts. Lugging back half a pint of water just before you begin using your voice won`t be as effective as drinking the same amount in smaller quantities at more regular intervals. The mucus that keeps the vocal folds/cords working well requires the whole system to be well hydrated and this only happens well if it`s continually topped up. First thing in the morning when this is more difficult, drink warm water, which will help to hydrate and lubricate the vocal cords, without the cold water shock! Another good tip I picked up is to have plants in your classroom. The water in the bases of the pots is an easy way to help keep the air from drying. It makes your classroom look good too, so bonus!

Prepare

When using the voice professionally in the classroom, we enter the realm of the vocal athlete and so preparation needs to take place to ensure that the voice is ready for the marathon than lies ahead. Simple warm-ups for the voice will ensure you eliminate or greatly reduce the possibility of vocal damage. Your voice is created with a muscular system, which needs to be gently warmed up and stretched in much the same way as your hamstrings before a run. The great thing about these are that you can do them quickly, with ease and whilst you`re driving to work in the car!

1. Sirening. Do this alone, as it is one that people usually find embarrassing. It is however, highly beneficial in preparing the voice by gently moving the larynx up and down so it`s ready for action; and causing the vocal cords to vibrate gently at a higher frequency. It also begins the process of ironing out the natural bridges in your voice (which we all have), that are the most likely to cause it to `crack` under stress. Complete this exercise using a more nasal sound, on the latter part of sing - the /ng/- and hum, gently ascending and descending across the whole range of your voice. Go as high and as low as you can, developing the sound so that there is no stopping from one extreme to the next.

2. Simple buzzing exercises that get the lips moving will help to prepare the speech muscles for phonation. Imagine you`re a horse and this one will come with ease! Extend it by humming and buzzing the lips together on ascending and descending passages. We`re not looking for this to be a beautiful singing sound. Whatever it sounds like, it doesn`t matter. This is a process for preparing your voice for the day ahead, not an audition for the X factor!

3. Sing a favourite song. If you`re in your car no one will know (just be aware of who's sitting next to you at traffic lights when you're rocking out to "The Macarena"!), or you could get to school a little earlier and let rip in your classroom (the acoustics are wonderful - or so I've heard!). Get your voice moving and your body energised by singing. Indulging in this guilty pleasure will make you smile, feel good, fill you with energy for the first session of teaching and do wonders for your voice. A must for all of us first thing in the morning!

There are many vocal resources on the market for warm-ups, most of which come with CD's; you simply need to sing along. There are even Apps to warm up to!

Breathe: it helps!

Most important of all, is to make sure you breathe well. Think like a hovercraft. If the voice is to work efficiently it needs to be powered, just as any mechanism would. Every time you speak, aiming to project your voice above the realms of normal communication (i.e. someone sitting next to you during conversation) it requires a cushion of air on which to travel. Breathing for everyday speech is called shallow breathing: light and high to the chest, which rises and falls accordingly. When projecting speech to an audience, we need to breathe deep, imagining a slow flow of air filling your body from your feet and rising up through the legs toward the torso. Low or deep breathing will encourage your body to expand and support phonation, help your voice project and stay safe as you increase your output.

Low breathing is something which takes time to develop. Practise at home, while lying down to begin with, so you can better feel the expansion in your whole body. Still follow the direction to breathe low, upwards from the feet, until you feel your middle expand and your back push down gently to the floor. Once you have mastered this, try to recreate the feeling when standing. The chest and shoulders should not rise and the knees should remain slightly bent and flexible, so the lower pelvic muscles can be used efficiently. In both singing and projecting speech the process should be the same:

1. Take a low on breath 2. Find the muscular support of the body, bringing the tummy gently in towards the spine. 3. Phonate, using the large supply of air and support muscles to project well across the room. Remember: projecting well, is not shouting!

It can be difficult without working with a coach or singing teacher to find and engage the support muscles. A small trick is to imagine a diamond across the front of the body, with a point at the pelvis, two at either side close to the hips and the fourth just below the sternum. Taking in a deep breath (as described above), aim to feel the transverse muscles (just above the hips) push out slightly; and on phonation, the xyphoid process, (the muscle just below the sternum) push outwards. If you place two fingers gently, just below the sternum and make sounds such as 'Vfff' and 'Vzzz', the xyphoid muscles will move out so you can feel the sensation you're aiming for. You can experiment creating sounds and attempting to feel these muscles moving. The aim is that if you can engage the entire diamond as a support system, your voice will be on the way to working as efficiently as possible for you.

Be Bright!

If possible add extra efficiency to your voice by reproducing some of the 'mask resonances' found in the warm-ups. The humming and /ng/ sounds, which brought the voice forwards, so it was felt near to the sinuses, are excellent for brightening the tone of your voice. This will help to make your voice more expressive and exciting to listen to. Remember if you can capture the attention of your children and make them want to listen to you, there's a good chance you won't have to work as hard vocally to keep re-engaging them. Vocal expression is a key tool for any voice user. As teachers' it's imperative. We need to create voices that children want to stop and listen to. We can all recall the monotonous droning of a voice, which lost us soon after the first sentence. Make sure you're not this person!

Here's where your acting skills come into play. Just as great story tellers have the power to take you to another world, as teachers we should want to do the same. Using your voice expressively, with plenty of variation in tone (sometimes quiet and sometimes excited) will make them want to stay with you. By adjusting the tone quality of your voice, you also alter the tension in the vocal cords, giving them time to rest and recover as they need to.

Finally, think about what you're going to say in advance and how you're going to deliver it. Whilst I'm not suggesting you scri pt your lessons, you do need to try to avoid wasting energy by rambling! Be concise, speaking in short phrases, giving small chunks of information that your children can process easily. This will help your children learn more effectively, help you to communicate efficiently and ultimately prevent you from wasting your voice by having to repeat information.

"Oi!"

Look after your voice by not causing the vocal cords stress or harm. If you shout, you risk damaging your vocal cords, causing later dysphonia or the development of nodules. Clap your hands together as loudly and vigorously as you can and you begin to come near the impact shouting has on your vocal cords. Red and sore hands recover, but there does come a time when the vocal cords will not and at this point your ability to teach and your livelihood are at risk. Set up a series of classroom signals which require the children to do certain things. These can be anything from ringing bells or talking bowls (these are very good by the way!) to get the children to stop and listen; to clapping a familiar rhythm, which tells them to return to their chairs following an activity. Depending on the ages and abilities of your children, you could develop an entire system of signals, which require them to complete tasks from standing and sitting, to lining up quietly by the door. This kind of signalling is also beneficial to the children, as it encourages them to listen discriminately and respond quickly to signals with movement. Quick reactions and good listening skills are essential for children's development; and it all helps to keep the day lively and interesting for both you and them.

Use a concise, controlled tone of voice when you need to. This is not shouting, but speaking clearly and slowly so that you remain calm. Project using the breath techniques mentioned and bring your voice down as quickly as possible, drawing the children in, so they need to be quiet and listen. Classrooms can be very stressful places. Stress can have a great effect on the body and it shows in the voice. Take precautions to ensure your voice remains an effective partner in your career and you`ll keep it for the duration. Don`t and the simple answer is you probably won`t. There will come a time when the damage of youth or persistent misuse catches up.

Attention!

Finally think about your posture. The way you stand in class will affect the way you are viewed and received by your pupils (and I speak as a teacher only measuring 5'6" on the scale: standing well makes a big difference to your role as someone of authority). Good posture is also imperative to good vocalising. Think about the position of your head and neck. They should be upright, with some gentle extension in the back of the neck, preventing the chin from dropping forwards to the chest. Standing well (but not rigidly) will help you breathe well; giving your voice efficiency; and most importantly it will help to prevent the development of negative tension in your body. We all carry tension habitually, but it's important to try to remain as relaxed as possible when using your voice. Tension in your shoulders, hands and even your feet can have an impact on the negative tension your voice experiences during use. Find time both during and out of school to relax and let off steam, releasing the tensions your body may be holding onto.

Above all, have fun with your voice, experimenting to see what you can do. It is one of the most important assets you have as a teacher, but also one of the biggest tools you can use to engage and enthuse your children. Used well, it really is second to no other resource.