http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-child-stardom-20120217,0,7133094.story

During allergy and cold season, I’m sure there are many days when you feel that your throat is scratchy and your post nasal drip is getting the better of you. And yet, you still have to go out there and use your voice. We’d like to share some home remedies that others have shared with us. See if they work for you.

1. Warm water with lemon and honey; the lemon helps to remove phlegm while the honey soothes and coats your throat

2. If you don’t have any water around, mint candies are a great way to keep your throat wet.

Yummy Tip: Try adding fresh mint to your warm water for a delicious mint tea that not only keeps your vocal cords happy, but your taste buds as well .

3. Chicken soup is reputed to heal all ailments, well it does help with colds and is great for your throat.

4. Ginger; fresh ginger can help soothe inflamed mucous membranes of the larynx. Try sucking on candied ginger if available or drink a cup of ginger tea; To prepare the tea, cut a fresh 1- to 2-inch gingerroot into thin slices and place in 1 quart boiling water. Cover the pot and simmer on the lowest heat for 30 minutes. Let cool for 30 more minutes, strain, and drink 1/2 to 1 cup three to five times a day. Sweeten with honey if needed.

5. Garlic is also very good for your throat. If you have a strong stomach and no social events to attend suck on a slice of garlic. Garlic, when sliced or crushed, releases the antimicrobial substance allicin. Allicin kills bacteria, including strep and some viruses.

6. Steam; Bring half a pot of water to boil, remove from stove, and place on a protected surface. Drape a towel over your head, lean forward over the pot, and breathe gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to stick your face too close. Repeat in the evening before bedtime

There are two kinds of lisps. The frontal lisp is the most common. This is when the tongue comes forward between the front teeth and sounds like your child is saying /th/. This type of lisp can often correct itself up until the age of 7 1/2.

The second type of lisp is the lateral lisp. With this lisp the air comes out from the sides of the mouth and often sounds slushy. Think of the cartoon characters Sylvester the cat or Daffy Duck. The lateral lisp rarely corrects on it’s own. When a child has a lateral lisp it often affects other sounds like /sh, ch, j, and z/.

The staff at Elocution Solution has had over 30 years experience successfully correcting articulation problems in both children and adults. We’ve had many adults come to us who haven’t had their /s/ corrected when they were children and it’s never too late.

If you’ve been feeling any of the above for a prolonged period – then it’s time to visit your doctor. These symtoms may be telling you that your vocal cords are not healthy. We’ve had several clients come to us with these symtoms after being diagnosed by their doctors with vocal nodules. Nodules are calluses on the vocal cords. This happens with vocal misuse such as: speaking in the wrong pitch, not enough breath support and/or too much tension. Vocal nodules usually respond very well to speech therapy. Therapy includes teaching vocal hygiene, proper breathing techniques, voice placement, relaxtion and good posture. You should be able to speak all day without feeling any of these symtoms if you’re caring for and using your voice properly.

We are currently working on “The Elocution Handbook – The Voice” which will cover how to develop your best speaking voice.

Just discovered a great book – “The Mother Tongue” by Bill Bryson. It’s witty and informative – about where our words, spelling and pronunciation came from. With all our bodies have to do to produce speech it’s amazing that we speak fluently and are understood. Here’s a great quote from the book.

 “In normal conversation we speak at a rate of about 300 syllables a minute. To do this we force air up through the larynx…and by variously pursing our lips and flapping our tongue around in our mouth, rather in the manner of a freshly landed fish, we shape each passing puff of air into a series of loosely differentiated plosives, fricatives, gutturals, and other minor atmospheric disturbances. They emerge as a more or less continuous blur of sounds. Syllables, words and sentences run together like a watercolor left out in the rain.”

How you speak says a lot about you. Next to your appearance, it’s the first impression people have of you.  When you sound confident, energetic, and strong, you will feel confident, energetic, and strong and people will see you that way.  Most people get nervous when they have to speak in front of an audience.

Speech improvement classes will give you the tools you need to overcome your fears. To see what we cover in our speech improvement class, go the services page.

“Time and money spent in improving the voice pay a larger interest than any other investment.” William Gladstone