“Clergyman’s sore throat” is the result of improper use or overstraining of the voice.  Sometimes the earnestness of the preacher causes him to “clutch” each word with the vocal muscles, instead of using the throat as an open channel through which the voice may flow with ease and freedom.  Many speakers, in an endeavor to be heard at a great distance, employ too loud a tone, forgetting that the essential thing is a clear and distinct articulation.  To speak continuously in high pitch, or through half-closed teeth, almost invariably causes distress of throat.  Most throat troubles may be set down to a lack of proper elocutionary training.  To keep the voice and throat in order there should be regular daily practise, if only for ten minutes.  The example might profitably be followed of certain actors who make a practise of humming occasionally during the day while engaged in other duties, as a means of keeping the voice musical and resonant.

When the throat becomes husky or weak it is a timely warning from nature that it needs rest and relaxation.  To continue to engage in public speaking under these circumstances is often attended with great danger, resulting sometimes in total loss of voice.  It is economy in the end to discontinue the use of the voice when there is a serious cold or the throat is otherwise affected.  Nervousness, anxiety, or unusual mental exertion may cause a vocal breakdown.  For this condition rest is recommended, together with gentle massaging of the throat with cold water mixed with a little vinegar or eau de Cologne.

A public speaker should not engage in protracted conversation immediately after a speech.  The sudden transition from an auditorium to the outer air should remind the speaker to keep his mouth securely closed.  The general physical condition of the speaker has much to do with the vigor and clearness of his voice.  A daily plunge into cold water, or at least a sponging of the entire surface of the body, besides being a tonic luxury, greatly invigorates the throat and abdominal muscles.  After the “tub” a vigorous rubbing with towel and hands should produce a glow.

To the frequent question whether smoking is injurious to the throat, it is safe to say that the weight of authority and experience favors abstinence.  Any one who has spoken for half an hour or more in a smoke-clouded room, knows the distressing effect it has had upon the sensitive lining of the throat.  It must be obvious, therefore, that the constant inhaling of smoke must even more directly irritate the mucous membrane.

The diet of the public speaker should be reasonably moderate, and the extremes of hot and cold avoided.  The use of ice-water is to be discouraged.  Many drugs and lozenges are positively injurious to the throat.  For habitual dryness of throat a glycerine or honey tablet will usually obviate the trouble.  Dr. Morell Mackenzie, the eminent English throat specialist, condemns the use of alcohol as pernicious, and affirms that “even in a comparatively mild form it keeps the delicate tissues in a state of congestion which makes them particularly liable to inflammation from cold or other causes.”