Get A Better Broadcast, Podcast and Voice-Over Voice

0151 – Length Is Not Important One problem is often that people write the same way they used to write essays at school or university, or are too used to writing in a business setting – reports, and presentations and so on. Another is that they write to be read with the eye, not read with the mouth. Put those two factors together and you have scripts, whether for news or voiceovers, which are often...

0150 – When We Write For The Eye And Not The Ear Here are some of the scripts I refer to in today's episode: The new three-tier system for coronavirus restrictions has come into force in England. We are used to hearing information in conversations in a certain pattern – a rhythm and a structure. Therefore, scripts should mimic that style if we are to read them aloud with ‘conversational conviction...

0149 – If A Script Is Easily Understood By The Reader, It’s More Easily Understood By The Listener Big-buck, big-brand broadcasting businesses have brilliant creatives and productions. But there’s also elearning, internal videos, podcasts. And with calls for more voices, the scripts come from more sources, and that’s where problems creep in. A bit like everyone thinks they are a photographer becau...

0148 – Why A Good Script Can Help Your Presentation So, why is a good script important in helping you get a better voice?: It will be clearly laid out Sentence structure will be clear The sentences will be short-to-medium There will be an understanding of rhythm in the sentences For voice-over scripts, they will have clear ‘production direction’ Any awkward words will be clearly signposted and exp...

0147 – How Better Writing Leads To Better Reading How a script is written can make a huge difference to how you read it. So first we’ll look at preparing your own script, and then we’ll look at how to mark-up someone else’s and how to identify what you need to inflect and why, where you need to pause and so on. Not every presentation needs to have a specific word-for-word script. Obviously a signe...

0146 – How To Say Acronyms, Dates, Numbers and Scores Acronyms Acronyms are sometimes spelt out and sometimes read as words. There is AEE union, the Association of Engineering Employee (“ A-double-E ”), but then again there is the teaching group “ BECTU ” (“BECK-too”) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is more commonly known as ‘AIDS’, the office of president is ‘POTUS’.   Dates In m...

0145 – Word Blindness We all have words with which we have ‘blocks’ when it comes how to say them. This may be because of a fear of pronouncing them incorrectly and looking daft or because you simply find them awkward to say.   In the first category, there’s where you put the stress in the word ‘laboratory’ (it’s not the same as in ‘lavatory’ – which I’m always fearful of doing). There’s an o...

0144 – How To Make A Word Easier To Say Writing a pronunciation phonetically One of the easiest ways to write a word phonetically is to break it down into syllables, clearly indicating any inflection and run-on sounds, for example aluminium is written as al-you-MINNY’m’ – with the run-on indicated at the end of the word with the ‘m.   Be careful if you write that a word “ rhymes with …”, as i...

0143 – Saying An Awkward Name Is Not A Game   People’s names Like places, these can often be awkward to pronounce: are Smith and Smyth said the same way, or is that second one ‘smithe’? What about Cholmondeley (actually pronounced ‘chum-ly’), or the surname Death (which is often said as Dee-ATH).   “Eyewitness John Montmorency (pron: MONT-mor- ENSY) says at least a dozen police vehicles...

0142 – The BBC’s Official Pronunciation Test   See how accurately you would have read this script, I’ve borrowed from one of the BBC’s online training courses:   “Police in Fife say they’ve seized heroin worth £30 million in a raid on a house in the Kirkcaldy [1] area. Other officers are searching a barn near Kingussie [2] where a 27-year-old man was arrested earlier today. More arr...

0141 – The BBC’s Official Pronunciation Test   See how accurately you would have read this script, I’ve borrowed from one of the BBC’s online training courses:   “Police in Fife say they’ve seized heroin worth £30 million in a raid on a house in the Kirkcaldy area. Other officers are searching a barn near Kingussie where a 27-year-old man was arrested earlier today. More arrests hav...

0140 – Quirky Ways Of Saying A Word   Local and regional pronunciations As far as local pronunciations go, any regional TV or radio station should have a written guide (and perhaps an audio one as well) to unusual names and places in their area, thereby reducing the possibility of newbies falling headlong into pronunciation bear-traps and taking the station’s credibility with them. Listeners...

0139 – Pronouncing Foreign Words   Foreign names Foreign names can be quite awkward to come across, but with the increasingly global village, they are much more likely to appear. A produced commercial script should have been past so many people to sign it off, that a pronunciation is supplied. If it’s not, perhaps in the case of a news story, a call to native speaker of that language (or mayb...

0138 – Pronunciation Guides   Pronunciation guides Pronunciation guides are available online: use a reliable one such as ‘ The Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation’ [1] . For BBC staff, the Corporation has its own Pronunciation Unit whose staff are on hand to answer questions especially on newly-emerging names. For that of a foreign politician who is suddenly in the news, the experts are able to...

0137 – Misheard Words Communication confusion A particular problem in clear communication may occur for your listener if they mishear one word for another which could make sense – but have a very different meaning. Depending on your accent: “Can” may sound like “can’t” – “The president said he can/can’t support the bombing” “Facial” is very similar to “fatal” – “The driver received facial/fat...

0136 – Why English Is Such A Tough Language To Learn   VOICE BOX Our Strange Lingo [1] The Chaos I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not you, On hiccough, thorough, lough and through? Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird, And dead...

0135 – Pismronunciation Errors   Some speaking errors may be because of a lack of understanding of the language (maybe if English is a second language), not having seen it written down, or having seen it but not heard it. [1] [1] A colleague once pronounced the English city Middlesbrough as ‘ middles-BRUF ’ as they’d never heard it said before (it’s ‘ MIDDLES-brer ’).  == Through these u...

0134 – “Where’s My Demmyster?”   PRONUNCIATION You may have superb articulation, with every twist of the tongue and every placement of the palate and location of the lips perfect in every way, but how you say an individual, specific word is incorrect. [1]   Pronunciation is linked with articulation, but also includes the subtleties of the light and shade of stress and intonation within a...

0133 – Verbal Fluidity   Verbal fluidity A little fluidity in your speech sounds more melodic than the almost-stuttering caused by giving stress to very single letter, down to, literally, the last ‘t’.   The Prime Minister said she wanted to go ahead, but we don’t know the President’s response.   You would be unlikely to sound the ‘ m ’ in “ Prime ” as doing so would cause a stop be...

0132 – Diction For Communication   Diction for communication Times and expectations change, so exacting and over-clear clarity of every single syllable is usually unnecessary. It can make you sound at best old-fashioned and at worst pedantically petulant. Heck, even the Queen has changed how she speaks! [1] , [2]   So even though there are few calls nowadays for a cut-glass pronunciation...

0131 – The Voice Over Wannabe Who Faked His Audition Tape “I’ve been chewing a lot of gum, and I’ve only found one with an all-day flavour … pop it in your mouth in the morning and it’ll be pepperminty right through til nightime. The name? ‘Five Gum’ – find it in a cool black pack. Five Gum – for all day flavour.” == Through these under-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competen...

0130 – Overcoming Articulation Issues   Some articulation issues may be because of a physical problem with the tongue or palate. Winston Churchill, actors James Stewart, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, and James Earl Jones, and singer Carly Simon all had similar problems which they overcame. [1] Whether it’s rhotacism (unusual pronunciation of the letter r, or too much emphasis on this sound), a...

0129 – More Of The Most Common Articulation Alterations   Distortions – either in vowels or consonants, sometimes down to a regional accent Omissions (or deletions) – when certain sounds are not included Syllable errors - weak syllables are left out of the pronunciation == Through these under-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading,...

0128 – Some Of The Most Common Articulation Alterations   Here then, are some of the most common ‘sound-alterations’ to ‘standard English’ articulation.   Substitutions - Swapping sounds (or, when reading, ‘letters’) for other sounds Additions - Including extra sounds, where they don’t exist Affectations – ‘putting on’ a pronunciation because of a misplaced sense of ‘coolness’ or ‘author...

0127 – The US Waitress Who Didn’t Understand My UK Accent   VOICE BOX It is well acknowledged that we often adapt our diction or pronunciation to fit in with those around us. If you’ve ever spent time in another country or another area of your own you may have started to speak in a similar way to those who were born and raised there.   A friend of mine who moved to the north of England s...