avatarAldric Chen

Summary

The article discusses exercises and practices to prevent jaw spasms and maintain clear speech for consultants who engage in extensive talking throughout the day.

Abstract

The author, a 1-Man consultant, shares his personal strategies for avoiding jaw spasms and maintaining articulate speech during long days of continuous talking. He emphasizes the importance of exercising the jaw muscles, drawing from the experiences of news anchors who engage in prolonged speaking. The article outlines specific exercises such as exaggerated smiling, tongue movements, and side-to-side jaw movements, and recommends a toolkit of items like mouthwash, oral care strips, and mint sweets to facilitate these exercises. The author reports improved speech clarity and confidence in client interactions as a result of implementing these practices.

Opinions

  • The author believes that jaw muscle exercises are crucial for 1-Man consultants who must speak extensively.
  • He suggests that news anchors, who talk for long periods, have valuable insights into preventing jaw strain.
  • The author values the advice of a news anchor friend, James, who performs specific jaw exercises before going on air.
  • He has personal experience with jaw spasms and the negative impact they can have on professional communication.
  • The author has created a "Jaw-Care Toolkit" with items like mouthwash and oral care strips to help with jaw exercises.
  • He is confident in the effectiveness of these exercises, citing improved speech and reduced mispronunciation as evidence.
  • The author stresses the importance of self-care for consultants, as they often work alone and must maintain their ability to communicate effectively with clients.

These Are My Go-To Exercises to Avoid Jaw Spasms When I Must Talk for the Entire Day

Trust me, fellow 1-Man Consultants. It Works.

Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash

There are days when Calendly gets ahead of me.

That is the detriment of scheduling. I often forget the close nature of all the tasks I perform. Many 1-Man consultants can relate.

Take, for instance, the following activities.

These activities share 1 commonality. Talking. We must open our mouths to get our ideas across.

What happens when we have spoken for 4 hours without taking a sip of water, and there is that one more deal pitch to go?

Our words gum together. We fumble. And then we apologize non-stop.

Do You Know We Have Muscles Around Our Jaws?

No kidding. I have (actually) looked it up online.

Your jaw — otherwise known as your “masseter muscle” — represents a small triangular space between your cheeks, mouth, and ear.

It IS a muscle. And that means we can train it for resilience and strength, just like our arms, legs, heart, and lungs.

One sign that your jaw is tight and needs to be stretched is pain or discomfort not just in your jaw area, but in your teeth, ears, head, and neck

- Charles White, DDS, a dentist with 1AND1 Life

This dude in the white coat is right on point. I do suffer from jaw spasms from time to time and subsequent headaches.

Yes, there is a price to pay for talking too much. Fortunately, we can do something about it.

Jaw Muscle Tension Relief (When It Happens)

I seek tutelage from friends working as news anchors.

My rationale is simple. News anchors talk for longer hours than I do. Most importantly, they never bite themselves. Therefore, they must know a tip or two pertaining to jaw spasm tension relief.

A friend of mine covers local politics. James babbles continuously on air during polling, election, and vote counting day. His mouth is more resilient than mine.

I decided to seek his counsel instead of the others.

James told me that 15 minutes before each reporting segment is key (Election Day requires him to cover 5 news segments daily). This is what he does.

  • Exaggerated smiles (Think Joker from Batman)
  • In-mouth tongue movements
  • Side-to-Side jaw movements
  • Dry gargles

I asked how he knew about these exercises and whether they are effective for non-stop talking. James told me his mentor imparted these killer moves to him, so he could go on and on and on and on for the entire day without facial muscle malfunction.

James declared that he had not bitten his tongue for 10 years.

Now, that is an exceptional track record.

And so, I took his teachings and implemented them my way.

The 1-Man Consultant’s Jaw-Care Toolkit

I know me. It is difficult for me to perform plain movements or exercises.

Therefore, I need to design them into my daily work. This is what I did.

I went to Ikea to buy a simple facial kit bag. And then, I proceeded to Carrefour to buy the following items and dumped them in.

  • Listerine mouthwash
  • Oral care strips
  • Mint sweets

The mouthwash takes care of the gargle action. 30 seconds will do.

The oral care strips are mouthwash products designed to be consumed. They melt away in our mouths (slowly). I use it for tongue exercises.

I will slip one strip in and get my tongue to press it to the top of my mouth. Then, I will insert another 2 for my tongue to press against the left and right in-wall.

Mint sweets support side-to-side jaw movements. In fact, it allows my jaws to move all around. Of course, I avoid popping sugary food into my body, which I may every now and then.

Execution and Results

I am proud to mention that I avoided unnecessary embarrassment in front of my consulting clients. This is true when I run into multi-hour talking days.

How do I know that the jaw spasm tension relief activities work? Simple.

I no longer mispronounce words with th sound (Three to Tree, anyone?).

I no longer say peel when I meant to say deal.

I no longer skip words in sentences.

Also, confidence breeds further confidence. I do not rush through the 2nd half of my consulting workshop or deal pitch so I can run home to hide. My speed of delivery remains moderate, and clients understand what I say.

That is key.

Parting Keynotes

Sometimes, we just miss it.

We miss taking care of the little things that affect the quality of our consulting work. 1-Man consultants must take note. We are all we have.

No one can cover our backs when we are down.

Therefore, we must stay in tip-top condition. Our professional mandate as 1-Man consultants requires us to interact with our clients and communicate ideas.

We must train our jaw muscles so they can continue to do that all day.

You don’t want to embarrass yourself at the 3rd, or 4th hour of the consulting workshop, do you?

About the Author:

As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.

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