What to avoid

What to do instead

• clearing your throat and coughing a lot

• Drink water.
• Swallow more often.
• Hum, cough, or clear your throat gently.
• Blow your nose from time to time, in case post-nasal drip is triggering you to clear your throat or cough.
• See your doctor if the cough won’t go away.

• speaking over background noise or from a long distance

• Turn down noise.
• Choose quiet restaurants or find a quiet corner when out in a crowd.
• Be no more than an arm's length away when talking to another person.

• yelling, screaming, and cheering
• making unusual noises (like animal noises, special effects, forced whispering, harsh laughing)

• Use noise makers, clapping, foot stomping, or hand signals to celebrate or get someone's attention.

• talking too fast, too loud, too high, too low, or when you're almost out of air

• Speak in a comfortable pitch range, and relax the muscles in your shoulders, neck, jaw, tongue, and face.
• Breathe easily while you're talking, and make sure you take a breath before you feel like you’re running out of air.
• Breathe from your belly to help make talking easier.

• talking or singing to large groups without a microphone

• Use an amplification system that's loud enough for the room.

• talking a lot
• talking when you're ill or when your voice is already strained

• Give your voice rest breaks throughout the day.
• Let others know you need to rest your voice so they can support you.
• Spend less time talking.
• Use text messaging to communicate.

• singing beyond a comfortable pitch or loudness range

• Warm up your voice, starting softly with mid and low pitches, then gradually go higher and louder.

• a dry throat caused by alcohol or caffeine, including pop, coffee, tea, chocolate

• Drink 7 to 10 glasses of water a day, or as recommended by your healthcare provider.
• Drink herbal tea or non-caffeinated drinks.

• foods that give you heartburn or acid reflux (stomach acid going back up your throat can damage your vocal folds)

• Talk to a doctor if you're often hoarse, have heartburn, or feel like you have a lump in your throat.
• Wait 2 to 3 hours before lying down after eating.

• using throat lozenges (they may numb your throat and hide a problem)

• Drink water.
• Suck a non-medicated hard candy.
• Talk to a doctor if your sore throat doesn't get betters

• smoking, vaping, second-hand smoke, and other air pollutants

• use supports to smoke less or stop smoking
• stay away from polluted places
• use air filters in your home, including in the furnace

• clenching your jaw or teeth

• Let your jaw move easily.
• Open your mouth when talking.

• holding the phone between your shoulder and chin

• Use a phone headset.

• anything that causes you a lot of stress and upsets you

• Practise relaxation techniques for your body, especially your head, neck, jaw, and shoulders.
• Think about talking to a healthcare provider if you're worried about your level of stress or emotions.