What to Do When You're Sick on the Day of a Presentation

This morning I woke up and was not feeling well (as a matter of fact, still not feeling well). As I was popping vitamin C, zinc, Airborne and any other pill that could help me feel better, I thought about the time when, on the day of a presentation, I was sick. As a professional speaker there was no way I was going to miss the speech. I'm sure anyone in business would try to feel better so they could make their important presentation. On this particular day, not only was I not feeling well, I had no voice! It was a good thing that I had previous vocal training and knew what to do in this situation. Here are a few Do's and Don't's for giving a presentation when you're sick.

1. Don't drink coffee! This is one of the worst things you could do on the day of a presentation. The caffeine in the coffee will dry out your throat. Our voices need a certain amount of lubrication for it to be healthy. Coffee, along with any other caffeine drinks, are a bad idea.
2. Do vocal exercises. If you have been trained in voice usage, it is a great idea to do your vocal exercises in the morning to warm up your voice. Remember, stay relaxed and don't push the voice past where it is able.
3. Don't eat or drink anything sweet. Having anything with sugar will be a problem. Sugar can cause extra mucus build up, which means it is harder for the voice to function at it's best.
4. Do drink hot tea (the best is green tea) with a little bit of honey in it. OR hot water with a little of lemon. The hot tea or water will soothe the throat. The honey, even though it has sugar content, has antibacterial traits and helps out the throat.
5. Don't apologize to your audience for being sick. If it's obvious your sick, they'll pick up on it. But if your just not feeling well and they can't tell, the show must go on! When have you seen a performance where the actors come out before the curtain rises and apologizes to the audience that this might not be their best performance because the two leads aren't feeling well? Never happens!
6. Do drink plenty of water. It is what your body needs.