Hello again, ‘chronic voice users’! I have a couple of questions for you. Do you think you are making use of the full potential of your voice? And do you think you are using your voice in the healthiest way possible when behind your mic? Well, whether you feel you are or aren’t, this article is for you! Because today, I’m sharing the 10 vocal tips for podcasting you didn’t know you needed!
I can guarantee there is at least one vocal tip in this article that you didn’t know you needed as a podcaster.
But before we get into all that…why do you need to vocal tips for podcasting?
Your job as a podcaster centers entirely around your ability to speak. And often, we take for granted what it takes to produce this sound in a healthy way. As a vocal coach and singer, I have made it my mission to help all ‘chronic voice users’ keep their voices healthy so that they can last for the entirety of their careers.
And beyond!
As a podcaster, your voice is one of your greatest and most important tools. And it needs to be reliable and strong. We all know why it’s important to keep our bodies healthy with regular exercise and a healthy diet. The voice is a muscle like any other and it needs to be exercised and maintained to avoid damage and be at its strongest.
So, without any further adieu, here are 10 vocal tips you didn’t know you needed as a podcaster.
10 Vocal Tips For Podcasting You Didn’t Know You Needed!
1. Food for Thought Your Voice!
Did you know that everything you put into your body either has a direct or indirect impact on the vocal folds? For example, certain foods produce more stomach acid than others. And some foods are more nutrient-dense therefore supporting all muscles, including the vocal folds. Prioritizing healthy eating habits is important for the overall health of your entire body. But as a podcaster, it is especially important to be mindful of what you consume as it can have a huge impact on your vocal health.
Before you even start recording, it’s important to make sure that you are eating the right kinds of foods. Foods that cause acid reflux are a no-go so be sure to stay away from them leading up to a recording session! Stick with high-fiber foods that will increase the regularity of bowel movements, thus reducing reflux! Remember, your vocal folds are part of your body and need the same TLC and mindfulness as every other muscle!
Want to read further on how diet affects your vocal health? Check out this article!
2. Don’t Hit ‘Snooze’!
Have you ever woken up with no voice? Or maybe you’ve tried to talk to someone just after waking up? That ‘morning voice’ is a little weaker and croakier than your usual sound, right? Kind of like there’s a frog in your throat (hehe). So if you want to keep your podcast recording a ‘frog-free’ zone, this is a tip I am sure you didn’t know about! You should be awake for at least 3 hours before recording in the mornings.
Why?
Because your voice needs time to warm itself up naturally. You need to give your voice (and yourself) adequate time to wake up which will contribute to the process of warming up. Let’s not bring the frog to the recording session this time (wink wink).
3. Preparation is Key!
Next up in my list of vocal tips is preparation. You wouldn’t run a marathon without a good stretch first, would you? Well, when it comes to podcasting, you shouldn’t speak for extended periods of time without warming your voice up first! A good vocal warmup before you record your podcast will help you get that rich and buttery-smooth sound in all your episodes. And it will help you avoid fatigue while recording!
This can be a tedious process… trust me, I know! My students get very frustrated because I never let them skip out on a proper vocal warmup. But they always thank me later as they hear their voices strengthening and find that those high notes are a lot easier to reach!
Bottom line? A vocal warm-up doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be done! Sliding and gliding exercises are a great way to warm up. Keeping within a comfortable range, slide through multiple pitches on any vowel sound with a consonant such as an ‘s’ in the beginning. Do this before every single recording session to be the best podcaster you can possibly be!
4. Posture, Posture, Posture…
If your posture is incorrect and you are all scrunched up like a croissant (don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about), your abdominals will get squished. And your lungs will end up deflating like a balloon and melting like a very sad little ice cream on a hot summers day!
When you are not supporting correctly, you are not able to breathe correctly and produce sound clearly. When you are a deflated balloon, you cannot get enough air in. And the sound will, in turn, come out paper thin and it will feel (and sound) croaky and as if you are grinding it out.
So whenever you’re recording podcast episodes, it is important to be mindful of your posture, especially if you’re sitting down. Make sure you are sitting upright with your shoulders rolled back and down towards the base of your spine. And then, make sure your neck isn’t thrusting forward or backward.
This will help you to be able to breathe in nice and low which is essential to maintain optimum vocal health and create a full and rich sound! Trust me, not only will you feel a massive difference, your listeners will hear one, too!
5. Blow Me Away With Fantastic Airflow!
This next vocal tip always catches everyone by surprise… you need to be speaking correctly. I bet you didn’t know there was a chance that incorrect and poor speaking habits were limiting your vocal potential? Now you may be thinking, ‘But Kyra, I’ve been speaking all my life! Surely I know how to do it properly?’ While that may be true, a lot of people do not speak in a healthy way, and the most vocal damage vocal coaches see comes from poor speaking habits more so than from poor singing!
You want to make sure you are speaking with enough air passing through the vocal folds. This requires breathing in correctly and allowing the air to flow out. Imagine it coming out of your mouth in a smooth and straight line with speed. Release that air and I guarantee you will not only feel like a vocal expert, but you will sound like one too!
6. Take Five
Resting is incredibly important for any job but especially for one that requires so much vocal exertion. I would argue that podcasting requires more energy and effort than a desk job, at least in the vocal department. So, next up in this list of vocal tips for podcasting is to take breaks! You need to give your voice enough rest to recover from extensive use and optimize its ability while recording.
Make sure you are taking adequate breaks when behind the mic. No matter how long the final, produced version of your podcast is, I know it takes a lot longer to actually record it. So try to take a break every 40 minutes or so. If that isn’t possible, make sure to give your voice some rest after recording. That doesn’t mean you should stop speaking altogether, but just a little less than while recording (wink wink). And don’t forget to get enough sleep at night!
7. Hydration Station
Water is liquid gold for podcasters so you need to make sure your water bottle is close to you while recording! So, when you’re podcasting, keep hydrating! Water lubricates your articulators, larynx, and vocal folds and is fuel for your voice so do not skip out on this tip!
Grating some fresh ginger into boiling water with a little honey and even lemon is also a great way to stay hydrated and this concoction even has the potential to reduce swelling and reflux on the cords. And let’s be honest, the taste of water can get a little boring so this is a welcome change for the tastebuds!
8. Chill Out After A Recording Sesh With a Cool Down
In at Number 8 in my list of top vocal tips is don’t neglect a cool down! Cooling your voice down after using it for a long period of time is just as important as warming up! Your larynx needs to be returned to its normal resting position after being exercised extensively – kind of like stretching after a run. Cooling down will help you do that!
Don’t skip out on a cool down after a recording session. You can use lip trills to cool down with the same principle of sliding and gliding. You don’t need to do it for long and you definitely don’t need to overthink it but you do need to do it. It will help to massage your vocal cords and begin the resting process while keeping your voice in mint condition.
9. Listen to Your Voice!
If you are going to expect people to listen to your voice for hours on end on your podcast, then the least you can do is listen to it when it’s telling you how it feels. So, if there is anything I want you to take away from this article, it is the importance of mindfulness when it comes to the voice. If you are aware of how your voice feels when recording, when it feels great, and when it doesn’t feel so great, you can make the necessary changes to give it what it needs.
Vocal mindfulness is incredibly important and I want you to make it a habit to check in with your voice. Make sure you are aware of how it feels when you speak, when your voice has had enough, and most importantly when you need to reschedule a recording session due to fatigue, illness, or other issues.
10. Prioritize Vocal Health Daily
Finally, your podcast and overall quality of life will improve with daily mindful vocal practice. If you haven’t realized after reading this far, I am absolutely passionate about vocal hygiene and helping ‘chronic voice users’ protect and optimize their beautiful instruments – their voices! In fact, I am so passionate about vocal health that I wrote a whole article about it.
Check out my other blog post, How to Protect Your Voice: A Vocal Health Guide For Podcasters to get some more vocal tips and tricks to develop daily habits that will ensure good vocal hygiene and will ultimately lead to easier and better podcast episodes! So for my final tip, I want you to start adopting healthy vocal habits into your everyday life. Prevention is always better than cure!
Now You Have 10 Vocal Tips For Better Podcasting!
Well, there you have it! 10 vocal tips for podcasting I am sure you didn’t know you needed, but will make a world of difference to your podcast, and help you take your show to new heights. Not only will they make the recording process easier, reduce fatigue, and potentially prevent damage, but they will make your voice sound richer, fuller, and stronger!
Remember, you only get one voice and it is something you should cherish and look after, especially as a podcaster. I want you to take ownership of your instrument, your tool for business, and the way you spread your message through podcasting. And I want to help and I want to see your podcast thrive. Let’s start the journey to vocal health together!
