If you lost your voice and have a job interview ...

This morning I experienced something new. I woke up today with no voice. I tried to talk, no words or sound came out. I was panicking because I have a job, and a phone interview in 2 hours. I figured I lost my voice because of a cold I got from God only knows who, and now I have to take a day off because I cannot speak, but I need to do this interview. I talked to my mom about it and she encouraged me to go through the interview because I was still able to whisper and may be given bonus points for trying. The reason I am addressing this is because I Googled the question, and there were only a few actual concerned people who needed advice (maybe this isn't as common as I thought). Do I still do the interview? Do I reschedule? It is a phone interview so they cannot see me and I will be judged based off my answers and how I sound. Here is my advice:

1. If you cannot speak, reschedule; If you can speak, try. 

This may sound contradicting however, if you cannot muster a whisper then reschedule your interview. If you want to be genuine then I suggest calling and either have someone talk for you, or prove your voice is actually gone by *trying* to speak. I was able to whisper my answers and even though I was cringing to myself, and it may have been awkward, I still tried. Until then, I am completely cut off from talking or using my voice. 

2. Tell the interviewer you have laryngitis

You lost your voice however, it is much easier to tell the hiring manager you have laryngitis, instead of saying "I lost my voice" Having laryngitis is generally contracted through a cold or flu, and mentioning laryngitis involves less explaining because most people are familiar with laryngitis. If you say you "lost your voice," it could mean you were at a concert the night before, you hurt your vocal cord, or you were screaming ... for some reason. 

3. Have stand-by hot water to hydrate your throat

I never liked or appreciated drinking hot water until now. I always thought the idea of drinking hot water was gross because I had no use for it ... until today. The more hot water you drink, the better your throat will heal and improve. I add lemon so the water has taste. It also helps lemon is an anti-oxidant - +1 for you! 

Now if you decided to do your interview, for the rest of your day; do not speak or whisper. Hydrate yourself on fluids - soup, water, tea, hot water and always try and squeeze in some solid food, too. I wish I could give you a general span of how long my voice will be locked out (fingers crossed it's only today), but only time will tell. Also, if tip number one makes you feel uncomfortable in general, then reschedule completely. You will probably do better if you have your whole voice because you can explain your answers more thoroughly however, it is not impossible to pull through with little voice you have. Good luck!