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2021.10.03 – 0276 – The ‘Grand Old Duke Of York’ Readers These are the presenters who rise in pitch as the sentence goes on, then pause three words from the end of it before completing it on… [1] a [2] downward [3] inflection.   They are in effect, marching their words to the top of the hill… and then down again.   (Say those two previous sentences with a rising intonation on each word u...

2021.10.02 – 0275 – ‘ Intonation Stew’ Readers Sometimes I hear a script that sounds like an ‘intonation stew’, with intonations rising and falling for no apparent reason, and emphasis either in all the wrong places. It’s always hard to listen to that kind of read, because it’s completely un-natural. That is, it doesn’t mimic the way we speak in conversation, which is one of the skills you ne...

2021.10.01 – 0274 – Action Intonators I have also read advice to “ stress every verb, because they’re action-words ”.   That is simply wrong!   There may be some sense in colouring (not ‘stress’ please!) some action words (as long as they are keys to the sense of the script (see below) such as run, fight, punch, jump and so on. They are certainly ‘action verbs’.   But what about oth...

2021.09.30 – 0273 – Plonking “Just a little tip, you don’t underline every third word for emphasis because it sounds really unnatural” that’s what Ira Glass the host and producer of the radio and television series ‘This American Life’ is quoted as saying. [1]   Similarly, NPR says: “ You should give certain words a little punch, but in a way that doesn’t just mean you scream every fourth...

2021.09.29 – 0272 – Intonation Constipation This is when there is barely any intonation at all – your presentation style is as flat as Ian McDonald on diazepam. [1]   With such a delivery, all the ‘story signposts’ are at the same level. Low. And even though the delivery may be unemotional – good on occasion – it may also be considered uninvolving or uncaring, or rude and does little to help...

2021.09.28 – 0271 – The Stale Story Read Another close relation, The Stale Story read is also the style of the 24-hour news channel presenter, who is reading the same script for the umpteenth hour and forgets to inject an element of understanding into it.   It’s the style of the autocue automaton who forgets that someone is hearing this information for the very first time and to them it shoul...

2021.09.27 – 0270 – The News Channel Read This is the style of intonation in which every story is read in a similar style. It takes its name from the ’24-hour news’ style, where presenters don’t have time to read new stories off air before they do so on air. They get into a ‘reading rut’, a muscle-memory delivery that has the same pattern and intonation, rise and fall. Such a delivery is usually n...

2021.09.26 – 0269 – Sing-Song Reads Here then is my ‘Reading Rogue’s Gallery’ – ‘criminal intonations’ committed by newbies who haven’t been trained properly, and old hands who’re stuck in a rut.   Sing-song reads These are scripts read with a repetitive rhythm, with a similar rise and fall in one sentence as another. This kind of delivery shows that rather than intoning the correct words, yo...

2021.09.25 – 0268 – When Wrong Words Are Intoned   If the wrong words are ‘intoned’, you are not achieving the main part of your job: effective communication. ·        the listener may not be able to follow ·        you may lose their attention entirely ·        they may bec...

2021.09.24 – 0267 – When Intonation Goes Wrong When Intonation Goes Wrong Later we will look at intonation, the lift or suppression of individual words and phrases to indicate significance.   Mis-emphasis destroys the authority and believability of your delivery.   Intonation is greatly misunderstood and badly taught – if at all. While researching content for this book to add to my exten...

2021.09.23 – 0266 – Un-Colouring Words   And the counterbalance to colouring or lifting a word or phrase, is ‘un-colouring’ or dropping a word or phrase. It’s part of ‘throwing away’ unimportant information, and is just as important as highlighting the ‘best bits’. Without one, there would not be the other.   People do not process every word you utter in their heads - they listen only fo...

2021.09.22 – 0265 – The Intonation Colour Chart   Intonational ‘colour chart’; There are four basic levels:   Level 4 - Special Stress – more energy emphasis   Level 3 - Primary Lift - slightly raised in range Level 2 - Home Base – your natural resting ‘mono-tone’ Level 1 - Finality - low pitch   This is how that framework can be used: [1] ·      &...

2021.09.21 – 0264 – Graduations of Intonations   Intonation Gradations Intonation requires you to give the correct degree of colour to ‘key’ words or phrases in a sentence, to show which of several possible meanings is intended.   ‘Colour’ is a nuanced combination of: ·        Pitch – when we change the inflection or tone of the word by lifting it...

2021.09.20 – 0263 – The Intonation Code So you will see by now that your intonation can greatly influence the meaning of the message and you have to select the weight of your intonation carefully to ensure that the correct information is communicated to your audience. Intonation is the code we have to unlock the meaning of what people ‘really’ mean – without them having to explain it all for us. A...

2021.09.19 – 0262 – An Intonation Exercise You want another example? Try this: “He lost the point”. But depending how it is ‘intoned’ it could mean: ·         “ He lost the point” – everyone else tried really hard, but that point loss? It was down to him. ·         “He lost the point” – we had all hoped that the point...

2021.09.18 – 0261 – The Red Hat Mystery Those examples were with a single word, so now let’s try a similar exercise with the basic sentence “I didn’t say Roger took the red hat”. How we say each of those words, in relation to the others, helps explain more of meaning behind the statement than the actual words themselves.   I didn’t say Roger took the red hat I didn’t say that – but Maddy did....

2021.09.17 – 0260 – “Hello…” Intonation is what we all use naturally every day in our conversational speech. As native speakers of whatever language, we have the rhythms and flows, the up and downlifts, the speed, projections and pauses, all in-built. That’s because we have heard the lilt of the language from inside the womb and every day since. And it’s the same when we hear people too: if y...

 2021.09.16 – 0259 – Intonation Illustrations   Intonation illustrations Intonation is the ‘punctuation of the spoken word’ used to signpost meaning when we’re talking. Of course, in the written word there are various devices that can be used instead: “When did you get here?” Susan snapped, sarcastically. “SHUT UP!” he replied. To help the reader, the author and printer have worked toget...

2021.09.15 – 0258 – The Goldilocks Rules Of Intonation Nuanced and natural The first thing to stress (!) is that intonation is usually a subtle blend of various vocal elements, nuanced and natural. It is usually not ‘stressing’, ‘emphasising’, ‘barking’ or ‘shouting’, all of which are the vocal equivalent of a thump on the table. And although we use CAPITALISATIONS to or underlining to mark our sc...

2021.09.14 – 0257 – My Guide To Reading Out Loud, Naturally Here is my guide on ‘how to read out loud naturally’ [1] which I developed as a BBC news presenter and then went on to use while train colleagues in national and local stations across the UK. It’s a framework on how to vocalise various constructions of grammar, punctuation and logic which make up most news stories and scripts. Note I did...

2021.09.13 – 0256 - Weight And Pitch in Intonation An Introduction to Intonation Intonation is, then, the weight and pitch one puts on individual words or phrases that draw attention to their significance and thereby communicate the overall message.   Correct intonation leads a listener through a story, with the reader an interpreter or trusted guide of the facts about what ‘makes the story,...

2021.09.12-0255 – Intonation Definitions Intonation – is the subtle combination of tone, pitch and volume that you give to individual words or phrases as part of your overall musicality of inflection – and that’s the point of this chapter. Therefore, I will refer to intonation rather than inflection as the way to read conversationally and with meaning. I shall be careful not to use ‘ stress ’ as t...

0254 – Inflection Definitions INFLECTION AND INTONATION DEFINITIONS Definitions for words surrounding different parts of speaking are many, varied and often interchangeable. For clarity I shall use: Inflection – the overall sound of a language. Listen to someone speaking in a language that you do not understand and the overall rise and fall of their sound, its musicality, is the inflection. ‘Caden...

0253 – An Introduction To Intonation In this Intonation Section ·        How to recognize the principles of intonation used naturally in everyday speech ·        How to apply these principles in ‘unnatural’ scripted words, written by someone else ·        How to communicate the m...

0252 – Non-Word Sounds It’s not just words that are requested in voice overs and voice acting. As we just saw, there are sighs gasps and screams too. Here are a few more sounds which are often requested at sessions, and which might be worth you practicing: ·        burping ·        cheering ·    &nb...