What can you do to keep your voice in tip-top shape? As podcasters, we use our voices a lot. Chances are, that essential instrument of yours has temporarily abandoned you in the past. Whether the symptom stems from getting sick or from overuse, waking up to croaks, rasps, or silence is an awful feeling, especially if deadlines or interviews are looming. In this timely episode, Mary returns to the mic on the heels of her own voice loss to talk swollen vocal folds and slug tongue with Nic Redman, a vocal coach and voiceover artist who has spent almost 20 years helping professional speakers hone their voices. Nic is a font of healthy voice inspiration, sharing everything from the importance of hydration (and the truth about which beverages count) to warmups that will get your tongue trilling, your lips flapping, and your vocal cords folding. Come to terms with what you can and can’t control about your listener’s reaction to your unique voice and be reminded about what a privilege it is, literally and figuratively, to have a voice. This episode is packed with light science and exaggerated facial expressions you can practically see, all in the interest of keeping you talking for years to come. Join Nic and Mary for interactive vocal warmups and other voice health tips: Silly faces and weird noises that can help your voice even when you’re sickWhy you need to get out of your own head and stop self-editing your voiceHow to sound just as energized at the top of your episode as you do at the endThe benefit of vocal warmups beyond just keeping your voice healthy Links worth mentioning from the episode: Podcasting For Business Conference - https://pfbcon.com/Enter to win a ticket to the conference by sending your voice note - http://www.VisibleVoicePodcast.com/Listen to Episode 70, How to Use Research and Reports to Guide Your Podcast with Megan Dougherty - https://www.organizedsound.ca/how-to-use-research-and-reports-to-guide-your-podcast-with-megan-dougherty-episode-70/ Engage with Nic: Learn more about Nic’s work on her website - https://nicolaredman.com/Listen to the Voice Coach podcast - https://nicolaredman.com/voice-coach-podcast/Get your copy of Nic’s book at www.onthemicbook.comConnect with her on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/ Connect with Mary! Leave a voicemail with your feedback at https://www.speakpipe.com/VisibleVoice or email visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.comGet the full transcript of the episode at http://www.visiblevoicepodcast.comRead up on more secrets with the Visible Voice Insights Newsletter https://www.organizedsound.ca/newsletterTo learn more or work with Mary, check out https://www.organizedsound.caLink up on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marychan-organizedsound/Engage on Instagram @OrganizedSoundProductions https://www.instagram.com/organizedsoundproductions Show Credits: Podcast audio design, engineering, and edited by Mary Chan of Organized Sound ProductionsPodcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co.Show notes written by Shannon Kirk of Right Words StudioPost-production support by Kristalee Forre of Forre You VA Transcript with Audio Description: << MUSIC IN - GHOSTHOOD FEATURING SARA AZRIEL “LET’S GO” BEGINS >> MARY: << VOCAL WARM UP NOISES >> That is a good lion roar. That's what I like to do. The trills and the lion roars. Ah, vocal warmups. They are really, really handy. Actually, you know, on my last episode, I did talk about losing my voice and how your voice is truly what makes or breaks your podcast. And, you know, it's been a month since that and I still feel a little dry in the throat. So, you know, these vocal warmups are really, really helping. And luckily enough, if you can see a silver lining to losing my voice, I already had this interview scheduled with Nic Redman when I lost my voice. So kind of good timing because she gives us some really great tips. Nic has recorded and spoken for a living for nearly 20 years and coaches people to vocally free at home on the mic every day. She has been featured multiple times on BBC and Times Radio, as well as the Guardian, Irish Times and the Metro. So she really knows what she's talking about here. And some of these tips about podcasting while you're sick is so great because we're doing it real live in the moment with me, but also that preventative side that so many podcasters don't think about. And you know what, sometimes I skip over it myself. So this episode is really great about learning that preventative side too. So it's all about before you ever even lose your voice from using it too much, you gotta listen to Nic and what she has to say. But aside from the vocal health, we also get into the depths of the problems of self monitoring your own voice. That leads to a lot of concern for how we sound and how we're perceived versus owning our voice. She gives a lot of great examples for this during this episode. So make sure you practice along, when we're doing our ...