LookafterYourVoiceOftenspeakersatameetin_考试试题_职称英语

Look after Your Voice

Often speakers at a meeting experience drymouths and ask for a glass of water. You can solve the problem by activatingthe saliva in your mouth. First gently bite the edges of your tongue with yourteeth. Or, press your entire tongue to the bottom of your mouth and hold itthere until the saliva flow. Or you can imagine that you are slicing a bigjuicy lemon and sucking the juice.

Before you begin your talk, be kind to yourvoice. Avoid milk or creamy drinks which coat your throat. Keep your throat wetby drinking a little sweetened warm tea or diluted fruit juice.

If you sense that you are losing your voice,stop talking completely. Save your voice for your speech. You may feel foolishusing paper to write notes, but the best thing you can do is to rest yourvoice. If you need to see a doctor, perhaps you can get some advice from aprofessional singer. In the meantime, do not even talk in a low voice.

What about drinking alcohol to wet your throat?I advice you not to touch alcohol before speaking. The problem with alcohol isthat one drink gives you a little confidence. The second drink gives you evenmore confidence. Finally you will feel all-powerful and you will feel you cando everything, but in fact your brain and your mouth do not work togetherproperly. Save the alcohol until after you finish speaking.

Perhaps you want to accept the advice, but youmay wonder if you can ever change the habits of a lifetime. Of course you can.Goethe, who lived before indoor skating sinks or swimming pools, said, "Welearn to skate in the summer and swim in the winter." Take this message toheart and give yourself time to develop your new habits. If you are willing tochange, you will soon be able to say that you will never forget thesetechniques because they became a part of your body.

16 To solve the problemof dry mouths, one is advised to take cool milk.