Don't Misuse Your Voice:	Do:
Don't talk with a low-pitched monotone voice. Don't allow your vocal energy to drop so low that the sound becomes rough and gravelly ("glottal fry").	- Keep your voice powered by breath flow, so the tone carries, varies and rings. - Allow your vocal pitch to vary as you speak.
Don't hold your breath as you're planning what to say. Avoid tense voice onsets ("glottal attacks").	- Keep your throat relaxed when you speak. - Use the breathing muscles and airflow to start speech phrases, as with "Hm!".
Don't speak beyond a natural breath cycle: avoid squeezing out the last few words of a thought with insufficient breath power.	- Speak slowly, pausing at natural phrase boundaries, so your body can replenish air naturally, and without strain.
Don't tighten your upper chest, shoulders, neck and throat to breathe in, or to push sound out.	- Allow your body to stay aligned and relaxed so that breathing is natural: your ribcage and abdomen should move freely.
Don't clench your teeth, tense your jaw or tongue.	- Keep your upper and lower teeth separated. - Let your jaw move freely during speech. - Learn relaxation exercises for speaking.
Avoid prolonged use of unconventional vocal sounds: whispering, growls, squeeks, imitating animal or machine noises.	- If you must use unconventional sounds for vocal performance, learn techniques that minimize muscle tension and vocal misuse.
When you sing, don't force your voice to stay in a register beyond its comfortable pitch range. Especially, don't force your "chest voice" too high, or your "head voice" into your falsetto range.	- Allow vocal registers to change naturally with pitch. - Consult a singing teacher to learn techniques for smooth register transitions.