Ever lost your voice right before a big moment? Whether you're in the courtroom or on stage, vocal health is not something you can just “fix” when it breaks—it’s something you build before the crisis hits. In this episode, we’re breaking down the do’s, don’ts, myths, and remedies around vocal fatigue, scratchy throats, and how to actually care for your voice. From salt & vinegar chips to nebulizers to the real role of rest, you’ll walk away with practical tools—and maybe a little tough love—to keep your voice courtroom-ready.

 LISTEN HERE:

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why “quick fixes” for a scratchy voice rarely work

2. How saltwater, steam, and nasal flushes can help (and where they fall short)

3. What remedies soothe you vs. what actually reaches your vocal cords

4. The real risks of numbing the pain with sprays and lozenges

5. Why building vocal stamina is your best long-term strategy

Key Takeaway:

There’s no shortcut for vocal health. You can soothe symptoms—but prevention, rest, breath support, and conditioning are what keep your voice strong under pressure.

Favorite moment:

“I was shouting at the TV (using good supported vocal tone), 'YES! Let’s give him some voice lessons!'”

— when Kristi cheers for better vocal technique during a cycling race recap.

🔗 Links & Resources:

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Let’s keep your voice strong, clear, and courtroom-ready—every single week.

 TRANSCRIPT:

Helllllooooo! Hello, Foster Fam! Welcome back. Always glad to do a new episode and, of course, it's my hope that it's reaching you and resonating with you. You know, I started this podcast because I was frustrated by the limitations of posting on all the social platforms. It's hard to teach solid vocal technique, nonverbal strategies, and discuss thoughtful things in a 90-sec video reel. And then when the algorithm says that a 4-7 second reel is best? Well...you can see the challenge.

Now, I AM still really active on Insta & FB, and I'm getting more active on LinkedIn & Pinterest. So, find me wherever you are spending your scrolling time these days. You're going to get daily reminders, quick tips, and inspirations. But the best place to get free skill building from me is through the podcast and my weekly email newsletter. I'll put the link in the show notes for you to join my mailing list.

I'm just a little nervous about losing connection with you. You know...social media could go away at any minute, but MY email list and MY podcast are MINE.

So, take just a second to join the mailing list, and leave a star-rating and review for the podcast.

Okay, okay...commercial over. haha! Thanks for being here. I sure do like you a lot!

Today we're going to talk about all the ways to keep your voice healthy, and things to avoid when you're struggling. But as always, before we dive in, I like to share something that has piqued MY curiosity and see what you think about it too.

Last week, we explored the question, "what is it about people we're with that causes us to settle in, to be our most authentic self? AND, how can we cultivate not only in ourselves, but provide that for others?" And, i think there IS a unique calling to be authentic in the courtroom, meaning, we don't want to be performative or fake. BUT...

Yesterday, I was on a seminar call with Seth Godin, and something he said kind of flipped me on my head, and i wondered what YOUR thoughts were. If you don't know Seth, he is an author, a marketing strategist, entrepreneur, and a modern day thought leader on all things marketing. You maybe would recognize him if you saw him even if you didn't know who he was because of his signature bright yellow glasses.

Being a glasses person myself, I feel immediately drawn to him. hahah!

Anyway, what he said was this: "Authentic is a great lie of the social media era. But no one wants an "authentic" doctor, or "authentic" surgeon, or "authentic" bus driver. If you're authentically in a bad mood? We don't want to see it. We want you to be consistent regardless of your "authentic" state. Consistency will be what builds trust.

He went on to say that the best brands make promises and they keep them. When you consistently keep your promise, people trust you.

It reminded me of the time when I stepped into running the theater company after a bit of a rocky time in the former leadership. And one of my staff members, as she reflected on what good leadership meant for her, she said, "If you want to be trustworthy, you have to do trustworthy things."

So what does that mean for you in trial? It doesn’t mean you fake it. It means you decide on purpose how you want to show up — vocally, emotionally, physically — and then you stay consistent with that choice. That is authenticity. It’s just not impulsive or mood-based. It’s intentional.

What do you think? Is it better to be authentic? or to be consistent? Are they opposites? Or can they work in tandem together?

Maybe it’s not authenticity vs. consistency. Maybe consistency is how we earn authenticity in other people’s eyes.

Drop me an email ([email protected]) and let me know your thoughts on this.

So, I get asked all the time for my quick fixes when someone's voice is shot, or scratchy, or when they're vocally fatigued. Usually, I'm asked this in the midst of their vocal crisis and they want me to just wave a magic wand and "poof!" everything's fine and their healthy again.

Unfortunately, vocal health doesn't really work like that. Keeping your voice healthy really starts BEFORE you ever put it in a taxing situation. So, let's talk about good vocal health practices, as well as some "old wives tales" that people swear by, and together, let's see if we can keep your voice strong through allergy seasons, and wear & tear.

Now...a quick, but important disclaimer - i'm not a doctor, this is not to be considered as medical advice. seek medical attention from professionals

So, what are some home "remedies" for when your voice isn't cooperating? When you "have a sore throat?"

Coming from the theater world, I feel like I have seen it all. Actors are notorious for their high-maintenance routines.

Now, I don't mean to throw actors under the bus. I AM one. And, when i was in college, I had a semester of doctor-mandated vocal rest. Imagine! I was a vocal performance major, who wasn't allowed to sing for an entire semester?! I wasn't even supposed to talk very much. So, I LITERALLY wore a sign that explained my predicament and asked folks to help me respect the doctor's directives.

I never said said I was COOL. I just...I HAD to get my voice back and i HAD to protect the healing process at all cost, financial, emotional, and social.

Now, I had been diagnosed with nodules. Those are basically callouses that build up on your vocal cords due to prolonged mis-use or overuse. Hey...if vocal damage can happen to folks like me, and Adele, and Julie Andrews...people whose existence and profession revolves around keeping a healthy voice...then non-professional folks are at risk too.

People that have to speak for long periods of time, on little sleep, with high cortisol/stress levels, fueled by RedBulls and Monster drinks...any of this sounding like someone you know? Those folks...okay, I'll stop beating around the bush...YOU...you need to have some strategies in place to proactively combat the things that will increase your vocal fatigue and wear out your voice.

Like I said, I've heard them ALL. So, let's break them down a bit.

First off, when you have a sore throat, what are you really after? You want something soothing, but you really need something that will address the tissue inflammation and get to the cause of it.

A sore throat can be caused by underlying nasal issues, like post-nasal drip. Any allergy sufferers out there? So, your first tac should be to stop the drippage. Consistent use of a non-medicated saline spray will flush out and rehydrate nasal tissues. I like to use a NeilMed nasal flush. It's like a neti-pot, but doesn't throw my neck into misalignment. While keeping my head upright, water goes in one nostril and out the other. It's weird. It's a little gross. But...people have been doing it for centuries and I've experienced relief from congestion and from drippage.

How about some less gross options? A Saltwater Gargle (1/2 teaspoon of salt in warm water) cuts right to it. It reduces swelling, loosens mucus, and helps kill bacteria. It just doesn't taste very good. ha! I've heard of people gargling pickle juice too — that vinegar and salt option to cut through mucus and reduce swelling. But again...ew!

Speaking of salt & vinegar...I recently heard of someone who, as soon as they start getting a sore throat, they eat a bag of Lay's Salt & Vinegar potato chips. And I mean, I guess that makes sense. The oil would give some coating to soothe, the salt would reduce inflammation, and the vinegar would address thickening mucus.

I'm not recommending that option, just for other health reasons. But, I can see how all these wives' tales and home remedies could make sense and maybe give some relief.

Drinking special teas, then, are always a popular option. Remember, the goal here is to soothe and address inflammation. So...herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, or licorice root are anti-inflammatory, soothing, and sometimes are mildly antiseptic. Adding honey to your tea, or even just to warm water sweetens things up a bit and soothes, but honey is also anti-microbial, so bacteria can't keep growing.

Personally, I'm a big fan of diluting apple cider vinegar into warm water and adding honey. Simple, straight forward. Works for me — to cut through mucus and help prevent bacterial growth when I'm sick.

There's a real temptation to try to just numb the pain. Adding things like cayenne pepper to a tea, or using throat sprays or lozenges that have menthol and antiseptic qualities, even things like "throat coat" tea that have high mucilage content will...well, coat, or mask the damage. The danger here is that when you mask the pain, it's really easy to forget that you're injured, right? Pain is natures way of saying "hey...time to rest." But when you use menthol sprays or lozenges, or coat the throat (even with natural elements like mucilage — which is a plant derivative that is "nature's slime") you might end up continuing to mis-use or overuse your voice.

Now, all of these options — the good, the gross, and the unsavory — are systemic remedies. They rely on your body's systems for overall hydration and assimilation.

None of them actually touch your vocal cords though. They can't. Your vocal cords are in your larynx which is protected from food and beverages by the epiglottis. Food and drink go down the other tube — the esophagus. We've all had something "go down the wrong pipe," right? What happens? You choke.

So, all of the gargling and special teas are only going to ever touch the surrounding area. They can still provide some relief, but they're not actually coming in contact with the damaged vocal cords.

The only thing that will have meaningful impact on the vocal cords themselves is REST, and inhaling steam like from a humidifier or nebulizer. That's what a lot of actors are using — portable, handheld nebulizers to do steam treatments just prior to showtime.

Recently, I was watching a big cycling race called the Giro d'italia, the Tour of Italy, which, if you've been following along, should come as no shock to you. I'm into cycling.

Anyway, one of the commentators had a particularly scruffy, hoarse voice that day. The other program hosts speculated that it was caused by altitude, and really long days, and even blamed it on his generous social energy ("We all know, Jens loves a chat."). After suggesting that someone give him some Fisherman's Friends (a popular menthol-infused lozenge), they then suggested that perhaps he just needed some additional vocal training.

Now, it was all said in fun and wasn't intended as a slight. But, I was shouting at the TV (using good supported vocal tone), "YES! Let's give him some voice lessons!"

There's just no substitute for putting in the work before you even need the benefits of it. Learning to use your breath to support your voice, and being able to access your full-spectrum voice through all the 5 building blocks...this is what promotes a healthy instrument that can withstand the demands of your high-stakes communication.

When you practice the techniques, condition your nervous system, and develop the muscle memory, you're able to troubleshoot when that niggling tickle unexpectedly shows up.

THIS is why it's important to keep fostering your voice. And hey, if you want these tips in a handy cheat sheet? Use the link in the show notes to join my mailing list — I’ll drop them right into your inbox.

I'll see you next week.