Get A Better Broadcast, Podcast and Voice-Over Voice

2022.03.01 – 0425 – Pod-Fasting POD-FASTING This is when listeners play back your podcast really fast, perhaps 1.5 or even twice the originally recorded speed (often referred to as “2-ex” speed). They may be short of time, or they may find your delivery either not compelling enough – just too drawn out, or not enough wheat for the chaff, or simply your presentation just. Too. Slow. The podcast pla...

2022.02.28 – 0424 – The Pregnant Pause   Pregnant pause This is a pause that is full of meaning (‘pregnant’ means ‘full’) – it builds suspension and signifies significance. “And Prime Mionsiter, did you ever take drugs?” [Pause] “Yes. Yes I did.” “And now we come to who will inherit the vast percentage of grandad’s estate…”   [Pause]   or perhaps could happen when no-one knows quite...

2022.02.27 – 0423 – The Difference Between A Pause And ‘Dead Air’ A Pause and Dead Air – the difference A pause is purposeful production. It’s been included for a reason, for effect, for punctuation and a dozen other reasons (see below).   Dead air is a gap caused by a gaffe – a miscalculation, a technical mistake, a brain freeze.   A pause is intentional, dead air is accidental. “A paus...

2022.02.26 – 0422 – Pausing Practicalities   Pausing practicalities If recording a voice over often it doesn’t matter if you pause for several seconds in the middle of a script. A producer or director will understand that if you have an intense, heavy technical read, or maybe one with subclauses or no punctuation (for example a ‘terms and conditions’ section), then you may have to record seve...

2022.02.25 – 0421 – Too Many Pauses   Too many pauses Even though it’s important that each word be properly pronounced, overly precise diction with a micro-pause after each word, can sound very unnatural.   Another potential problem is, a we saw before, the speakers who chunk words together by how many there are rather than their sense, and then repeat the pattern. So you get, say three...

2022.02.24 – 0420 – Silence In An On-Air Studio VOICE BOX Silence in an on-air studio   If an audio signal is not sent to a radio station transmitter for a set period of time, an emergency ‘tape’ kicks in. That’s if equipment senses that a silence is too long, and maybe ‘something’ has happened in the broadcast studio … say the studio desk has broken, there’s a power cut, fire or evacuation....

2022.02.23 – 0419 – The Problem With Pauses   PROBLEMS WITH PAUSES In commercial voiceovers, the pauses are often edited out to leave a ‘word-wall of sound’. I was once asked to record a daily podcast for an (in)famous media company. They loved my voice and presentation style, but had one request: could I please go back and edit out all of my breaths from the recording as “ people don’t want...

2022.02.22 – 0418 – Pausing In Podcast Presenter Teams   VOICE BOX Pausing in teamwork A brief look at the pause when you have several presenters on your radio show or podcast.   When you have one or more co-presenters, it’s important to know when one of them has paused, for effect, or stopped. Knowing each other, trust and on-air communication will avoid the problem of one of the rest o...

2022.02.21 – 0417 – The Janice Pause   The ‘Janice pause’ The exaggerated pause indicating stunned surprise, or comedic drama: a trend from ‘ Friends ’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSmp1ZSvelY   Having said that, don’t fall into the pattern of pausing so much between words, so often, that your delivery becomes ‘bitty’, with you saying. Each. Individual. Word. Such a delivery is uncon...

2022.02.20 – 0416 – Silence In Different Cultures Silence for different cultures   In general, eastern cultures value silence more than word-rich western ones.   In their book ‘Communication between cultures’ Samovar and Porter, elaborate using an example: “In response to the question: ‘Will you marry me?’ Silence in English would be interpreted as uncertainty, in Japanese it would be in...

2022.02.19 – 0415 – Silence Shows You’re Listening   Silence shows you’re listening In an interview, your guest has just made a significant or poignant remark, and to show respect and empathy – pause.   The strategic pause adds tension and anticipation and indicates comprehension and reflection. It shows you are actively listening and value their comment. It helps build trust.   …....

 2022.02.18 – 0414 – Silence Skills In Interviewing   Silence in interviewing Maybe you have a guest on your radio show or podcast, consider using pausing the way it’s used by counsellors, coppers and court-room legal teams. Silence creates a vacuum that cries out to be filled.   Experienced interviewers let the silence fill the air, to create an awkward or a hostile pressure. &nbsp...

2022.02.17 – 0413 – Scanning Scripts And Audiences To rescan the script A pause gives a moment for the reader to look ahead in their script or notes to refamiliarize themselves with what comes next: the upcoming point they will make, maybe spotting the awkward word or name they need to concentrate on getting right, the ‘pitch and tone’ reset as they start a new topic. That is: Stop. Breath. Look a...

2022.02.16 – 0412 – A Beat For A Breath   A beat for a breath For the reader, pauses create a ‘breath-space’ for you to take in some air at an appropriate place , and not somewhere that’d interrupt the flow and confuse the listener. We looked at breathing and where to do it to keep the sense of the sentence, earlier on in these podcasts. Remember the audio I mentioned of the famous British ne...

2022.02.15 – 0411 – Using Silence as a Substitute Using silence as a substitute for filler words If you pause rather than add in a vocal bridge – “ err”, “ahh”, “y’know”, “so” – then it will make you sound more interesting. Try a pause and a mental ‘reset’, rather than a verbal, “ um ”. There is nothing wrong with the occasional hesitation word, as long as it's not used too frequently, but you don...

2022.02.14 – 0410 – A Pause For Thought   A pause for thought In conversation we hesitate, search for the right word or phrase, perhaps weigh what we want to say with the context and the audience. To sound natural, to create the illusion of life, when you need the listener to believe you’ve just had a new thought, a gap is required:   “I don’t get mad, I [pause] get even.” &nbs...

2022.02.13 – 0409 – Comic Timing Comic timing There’s great importance of the pause before a punchline. It’s the ‘gap gap’ between the stress of the set up and the relief of the reward – laughter.   The anticipation within the pause adds punch to the punchline, it creates a beat and is a social signifier of “ this next bit’s the gag, when I’ve said it, you laugh! ”   That silence often g...

2022.02.12 – 0408 – Pauses In A Visual Description   Pauses in a visual description That is, when you’re describing a person, a room or any environment or object, the use of the beat allows the listener to create the visual for themselves. “Are you ready to swap loungewear for swimwear? [pause] Or Zoom calls for stunning waterfalls? [pause] Maybe you’re dreaming of that first blissful moment...

2022.02.11 – 0407 – Pauses as an Indication of Quality Pauses as an indication of quality In commercial reads, less copy, fewer words, slower speed and time taken, is often the algorithm to indicate luxury. “ Imagine waking up to the feel of rich luxury satin silk sheets … [pause] gently caressing your skin … [pause] with the cool breeze and sounds of the ocean through your veranda windows … [paus...

2022.02.10 – 0406 – Using Pauses After Rhetorical Questions Creating silence in which the listener can answer your question Ask the audience a rhetorical question and then pause at the end of it so they can digest it and answer it internally. “Fed up with that dirty stain around the bath? [pause] Tired of the weekly scrub of the tub? [pause] Want a better way to have shiny ceramics? [pause] Introd...

2022.02.09 – 0405 – Pauses As The Fulcrum In A Story’s ‘See-Saw’   The pause as a see-saw fulcrum A pause can help explain the balance of two parts of the story – while this is happening over there, this is happening over here. “ The mayor said that it was the fault of the police [pause] the police are claiming it was a council error.” “ Jones is alleged to have killed the three men [pause] h...

2022.02.08 – 0404 – Pauses As Intonational Devices In Quotes and Sub-Clauses   They are used as intonational devices in quotes, brackets/parenthesis and sub-clauses As we saw previously when we talked about pitch and intonation, we leave a micro-gap either side of a quote from someone else to indicate that they are their words, not ours. The quote itself is often also said in a slightly diffe...

2022.02.07 – 0403 – A Pause Helps You Say What You Can’t Actually Say   A pause helps you say what you can’t actually say A pause might be inviting the audience to ‘read between the lines’ pointing them to a possible irony – the verbal equivalent of a raised eyebrow:   “And Melania Trump, has delivered a farewell address ...saying the last four years have been 'unforgettable' and calling...

2022.02.06 – 0402 – Silence to Let Sound Tell the Story   Silence to let sound tells the story Radio consultant Tracy Johnson tells the story [1] of former Dodgers baseball play-by-play ‘personality announcer’ Vin Scully and quotes his commentary [2] of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, the blast that “ made him baseball’s home-run king ”.   Scully later talked [3] about using silence to capt...

2022.02.05 – 0401 – Pauses To Engage Attention After Significant Content   After significant content A pause after a phrase or story gives listeners time to reflect on what they’ve just heard, to allow it to sink in, giving the audience time to digest information, not drown in it.   “The four people who died in a house fire this morning, were two sets of twin boys aged 4 and 6. In the la...