What techniques do you use to keep your voice healthy and prevent strain?

How I Keep My Voice Fresh: My Go-To Tips

Maintaining a clear and pleasant voice is essential for effective communication, and here’s how I do it:

First, posture matters—a lot. I always sit up straight when recording or presenting because it helps me avoid sounding nasally. A proper posture opens up the airways and improves vocal resonance.

Next, I make it a point to smile as I speak. Even if no one can see me, a smile naturally translates into a brighter, more positive tone in the audio, making it more engaging for the listener.

Environment is crucial too. I ensure my recording space is completely silent—no ticking clocks, no background noises—so my voice is the sole focus.

Now, here’s a pro tip for when my throat starts feeling dry. Instead of sipping water, which works but can sometimes be a bit slow, I eat a chip or two. Sounds odd, right? But the light oil coating from the chips does wonders for lubricating the vocal cords, keeping my voice smooth and ready to perform.

These small adjustments make a big difference in delivering a polished and professional sound every time.

• FOOD & DRINK – WHAT TO AVOID
  • Avoid dairy products before recording. They'll congest your throat, interfering with precision & clarity.
  • Avoid spicy foods before recording. They'll irritate and inflame your vocal cords.
  • Avoid acidic, alcoholic, and/or caffeinated drinks before recording. They'll dry out your throat.
     
• FOOD & DRINK – WHAT TO CONSUME
  • Eat fruits, veggies, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, nuts, whole grains). 
  • Drink room-temp water before recording, and throughout the day to stay hydrated. For longer or more strenuous recording sessions, drink it warm with honey & lemon.
  • Supplement your diet with Vit D, Vit C, Zinc and Magnesium. These support healthy vocal cords, and strengthen your immune system to prevent colds & flus.
     
• GOOD POSTURE & BREATHING
  • Stand up while recording, and prop up your printed script (or iPad) at eye level, so your head's not tilted down. Speak & breathe from your diaphragm, while keeping your shoulders & chest relatively relaxed. This will help you project, and prevent vocal fatigue during longer sessions. I know it seems easier to use a desk mic & read from your computer chair, but trust me, this will do wonders for your productivity!
     
• YOUR VOICE IS A MUSCLE
  • Any voice actor will rightly emphasize the importance of resting your voice when it's tired, to prevent hoarseness. But it's also important to exercise your voice on your days off. Be social! On days you don't have to work, talking on the phone or visiting people in person will keep your voice sharp and engaged. And get in the habit of warming up your voice before you start a new session.

These are all the steps you can follow to always have an healthy voice and prevent strains.

• Always stay hydrated:

Drink at least 2 liters of water and have an healty diet (see also vegetables that contain water and so on).

You will see results in 2 days, so start drinking regularly at least 2 days before your recording sessione - aka - always stay hydrated.

If you have a particular hard session (screaming, yelling, hard&strong voices) remember to keep drinking water (room temperature or hot - non super hot) and this will help you not to get injured.

• Practice and do vocal exercises everyday:

Just using your voice in the perfect way and following the good practice steps when you have to work won't be enough. You have to train and learn how to breath properly, how to push out the air, how to unstrain your vocal chords (there are special breathing techniques for this - short story long: avoid throat clearing and coughing and try to push the air out using the diaphragm with an S sound for example) and do this everyday! If you get sore when screaming, you should learn the proper technique (you'd need some coaching - there is no shame about it! We all need to keep learning new stuff!)

• Go to a speech therapist

You should go to see an expert that will be able to tell you if you are breathing properly, if you have some pronunciation flaws/issues, if you are hurting your vocal chords (even a small "mistake" could lead to losing the voice or have other kind of problems over the years, this happened also to the best professionals.

We all know it would be better also to have an healthy diet, sleep enough, try not to get a cold or fever, cover up, avoid smoking (unless you want a deeper and "scratched" voice), avoid alcohol (at least in the last 24 hours before recording), throat clearing and coughing, shouting (without a proper technique). In case of need, there are also specific pharmacy's products that can help you out with recovering faster.

• REST and SLEEP are what keeps my voice from sounding healthy. I can tell if I stayed up way too long because I can hear it in my voice the next day.
• If you travel a lot, air conditioning and dry hotel rooms can really dry up all the goodness in your eyes, nose and throat. Try covering your eyes at night and apply preservative free moisture eye drops in the middle of the night if you wake up. If I am having trouble with dry eyes, it affects the entire ear, nose and throat system.
• Try to live in a natural environment if you can. No heat, air conditioning and swirling dust from fans. If you have too, just make sure to replace the moisture lost from all the dry air.
• YES @Chris T cardio is key! I hike every single day about 4 miles, even in the heat of the summer and rain of the winter. Frequently, I want to skip the hike because it's just too hot or cold...but pushing through the discomfort can also increase my tenacity levels which is important in voice over!!
• My family jokes about my water bottle. I leave it places and feel "off" if I don't have my water. Water is as important as good fresh food.
• Try not to eat processed fast food and frozen meals. I am not a microwave person. Gardening is a relaxing hobby for me and I love to go pick a perfect cucumber and eat it with some hummus.
• For some reason, any natural water drink with fizz seems to bring my voice back to life.

The best way to take care of your voice is to take care of your body: get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, eat healthy, avoid foods that can cause nasal congestion (dairy), rest your voice for a period of time each day, try not to strain your voice too much when recording, try to avoid cold, dry environments as best as possible (harder during the winter, for sure), exercise, and take a break when you need to. Sometimes, I take a few days or a week off from voice acting if I'm feeling run down. 

Keeping my VOICE healthy is directly affected by how healthy the rest of me is!

I am 60 years old and have been doing this professionally for 40 years. I haven't always taken care of myself and things change as we age and our voice health requires different approaches. Younger me could get away with more "vocal abuse" than older me can.

I define "vocal abuse" as yelling and doing screaming characters, recording 12-16 hours six to seven days a week early on to grow my VO business, drinking more alcohol, unhealthy eating, not taking dental health seriously - all this can take a toll sooner and even more so later.

I find that getting good sleep, eating healthy, keeping a constant supply of fresh room temperature water in my studio to sip on and making sure I get up and move once an hour are the basics that most people do. I am not by any stretch a health nut, just more conscious of what goes in my body than I used to and I remember to move more and get my teeth checked, cleaned and have regular oral exams.

As a result of taking care of myself, cutting my regular work schedule to around 8 hours five days a week, then my immune system is stronger and when I do get sick I bounce back fairly quickly. I have probably missed two weeks over the last 13 years I have been working VO full time due to illness that limited my ability to record. 

I have gone through stages in my life where I was more active and this had a big impact on the quality of my voice, and how long I could record without straining - which I define as when I reach a level that I start to hear a bit of scratch in my headphones and I know it is time to quit for the day or if I have a deadline to take a short break and come back to the project later. It is important to know what your limit is and to allow down time on the weekends and overnight to be ready for the next day.

If you define strain as the rigor of the particular voice style you are producing such as yelling for a video game character or high energy deliveries then those are the kind of projects I will schedule for the end of the day since afterwards I know I am pretty drained and my voice would not be suited for other projects.

1. Stay hydrated
2. Warm up your voice before use
3. Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke
4. Rest your voice regularly
5. Maintain a healthy diet
6. Use a humidifier
7. Avoid throat clearing and coughing
8. Practice good breathing techniques
9. Avoid shouting or straining your voice
10. Get enough sleep
11. Avoid alcohol and caffeine
12. Perform vocal exercises regularly
13. Monitor and manage acid reflux
14. Avoid whispering frequently

CARDIO!  
There is nothing worse than trying to get 17 second of copy to 14.5 and having to stop to breath.  A good cardio regimen will help with your overall breathing and allow you to get takes done easier with less editing. 

WATER! stop with the teas and nonsense. Our bodies are not made of tea or honey, they are made of and require water.  Drink way more than you think you need, and that will be enough to keep your vocal cords saturated and smooth sounding. 

GERD! - see a good ENT and have them scope your throat to check for GERD.  It's called the silent acid reflux.  Even though you may not feel it, acid can come up your throat when you are sleeping and scar your vocal chords and throat.  I've experienced this and once managed, any dryness or irritation in the throat goes away.  

GET A GOOD DOCTOR! - find an ENT that takes a more holistic approach.  Many ENT's will just prescribe meds that dry you out.  While those may be useful, ask if there is a more holistic approach that doesn't dry you out.