The human body is made primarily of water. Maintaining that water balance is critically important especially since the body loses water every day through breathing, sweating and urination. The water content in the foods you eat and the beverages you drink combine to hydrate your body. If you lose more water than you replace, you overheat and become dehydrated, which is a common cause of fatigue. Your brain requires proper hydration to function optimally. The kidneys need water to function and remove waste products. Water lubricates your muscles and joints and helps maintain optimal function. When you don’t drink enough water to stay properly hydrated, your heart has to work harder to keep up blood flow, and you experience dizziness, fatigue, mental fogginess, impaired short-term memory. If not remedied, you might faint or become disoriented. Severe dehydration is a serious medical condition. 
Speakers are often offered a glass of water as they are preparing to speak. Although this may help you swallow or temporarily relieve a dry mouth, it is not the most important water you could drink if you want to deliver your talk with ease. It’s the water you drink several hours before you speak. The water has to go through the digestive system to be distributed to the mucosal cells in the throat. This determines if the mucous is thick or runny. You want runny. Do you ever struggle to clear your throat or hear strange sounds and voice irregularities as you speak? To drink plenty of water several hours before you speak and you will enjoy clear and easy voice production. The goal is to drink 64 ounces of water daily. That’s about eight 8-ounce glasses. You can reach that objective and stay hydrated by drinking a glass of water every couple of hours.
