Taking care of your voice

As part of our free series of webinars to support Swim England’s Returning to the Pool Guidance, we hosted professional voice coach Priscilla Morris from Loud and Clear.

As swimming teachers, tutors and coaches we often rely on our voice to get our message across. As we get back to the pool, we may find that our voice struggles after not being used in the same way during the lockdown.

Here are some of these tips to keep your voice in good condition while you work poolside.

• The safest way to power your voice is a deep breath.
• Try to warm up your voice before work.
• Hum, slide your voice up and down the scale and try some tongue-twisters.
• If you continue to work with a poorly voice you are more likely to lose it.
• Keep medicines natural. Avoid throat sweets.
• Gargle with Tea Tree (3 drops) in a medicine cup of warm water and suck fruit pastilles.
• Invest in a steamer and use it for 10 minutes after work to protect your vocal cords.
• Take care with the amount of caffeine and alcohol you drink as this can reduce the hydration of your vocal cords.
• Drink room temperature water throughout coaching sessions.
• Rest your voice whenever you can.
• Remember it is part of your ‘toolkit’ and treat it as an essential element of your working day.

Watch out for our full length ‘Voice Protection and Projection’ CPD which will be available later this year.