Laryngitis
by Steve Stewart

Twice I have gotten laryngitis and "spoken" anyway. Laryngitis is a serious danger to a speaker, but it’s only hit me twice like this in more than 2,000 paid talks.

Flying from LA to Baltimore, I boarded the plane healthy, got laryngitis on the flight (they recycle the cabin air to save fuel), and got off the plane in Baltimore unable to speak — although I was there to speak at a state convention. From the hotel, I took a cab to the University of Maryland hospital Emergency Room, but the doctor on duty said the only thing you can do about laryngitis is to drink fluids and not speak for at least a week (which could take the edge off my keynote the next day since I’m a lousy mime). So I found the client at the hotel, explained the problem promising that one way or another I would do my presentation. Then by not speaking a syllable before the next morning, I managed to squeak (not a bad term) through… which was nothing more than a hoarse, croaking whisper. What else are you going to do?

The following winter, the night before speaking at a large conference here in Los Angeles, I went to bed healthy but woke up at 2:30am unable to make a sound. Laryngitis, from God knows where, took my vocal cords and left me with almost no voice (except the one in my head asking, "what are going to do now?") If there had been anyone in Southern California who I could have called to replace me, I’d have done so at 2:30 in the morning, and still showed up in the morning to explain the problem and solution to the client. But there were special requirements that I could not transfer to anyone else.

It was clear when I met the client at 7:00 for breakfast that she appreciated my carrying through. I offered to speak as planned (albeit without much voice), or to bow out completely and return her deposit. I had already done the next best thing of trying to find another speaker. She decided to keep me on the schedule.

The presentation — three hours long — outlasted my vocal cords and the last 20 minutes were nothing more than a faint whisper into the microphone. But I’ll say this for the audience: They were quiet as church mice, no one left the room (3 hours!) until we were done, and product sales were unusually high (maybe buying the tapes was the only way they could ‘hear’ what I was talking about).

Lesson: It pays to personally know other speakers and to have great familiarity with what they do. First, so you can recommend them to your clients for future programs (that’s good for you, too). And second, so you know who you can call on in a pinch.