Unfiltered Thoughts

2022.09.27 – 0635 – Killing Your Presentation With BulletsKilling It With BulletsUsually what appears to be a spontaneous adlib has actually been prepared to a certain extent, either a moment before we speak or after several hours of research. But the usual and best way to prepare is with a few notes (what some call ‘an invisible script’) – that may be a key word or two of something you just thought of, or a series of thought-out back-up bullet points. Benefits of using bullets:

• It gives structure to your podcast or broadcast
• Have bullets and sub bullets if necessary
• Include things like the welcome, the topic introduction (why they should listen, what will be the benefit, the sponsor credit, the guest intro, the ‘show close’ (thanks, review request, where to find you, call to action)
• It makes sure you have covered everything you want to
• … and everything flows in the right order. – don’t force the listener to rewind or remember.
• It shows you are cool and confident.
• It cuts down on editing!

 Notes may be trigger words, or a list of phrases (‘topic-starters’ and key points), or as I often do, a tree-diagram of conversational branches. I find these diagrams useful as they are easier for me to hold in my mind: I can picture what topics and sub-topics feed off each other, and at a glance can move from one area to another rather than look down a list of notes to see a new question-area to probe. Making such lists clear, maybe with key words in bold, will help you keep engagement with your co-host or guest, and to react more flexibly and naturally as you’ll take a glance at your notes rather than read them word-for-word. And that’ll mean you listen more, and react more rather than simply ask them ‘the next question on the list’… and so make for a more authentic listen. And a more confident presentation, and remember what confidence does to your voice? Yeah it makes you sound better, shows people your personality rather than your ability to read words off a page and reinforces that you are speaking from the heart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.26 – 0634 – When To Ditch The Studio ScriptThe role of the scriptA script is great when you need to fit in the accepted role as a broadcaster, maybe on the news bulletins or news programmes. It is expected that you will be confident and assured, fluent and natural. As we have seen, to read a script conversationally is an artificial construct and I’ve shown you how to do it. (What would you prefer to hear – a newsreader stumbling through an unrehearsed bulletin bursting with up-to-the-minute stories and failing to make sense of it, or a smoothly polished delivery of material that may be as much as 10 minutes old but makes complete sense?) When to ditch the script!So why can’t broadcasters/podcasters usually work from a script? Well, news people tend to of course as what they say has to be fluent, accurate legally and informationally, explanatory and fit to a set time. But for everyone else, a script:·        Is really time-consuming to prepare·        Not everyone can pass off a script as sounding off-the-cuff. Writing to be read and writing to be heard are different things. So, what’s on your blog and what’s on your pod really need to be different.·        That means that although you may feel ‘safer’ with a script, you are putting a distance between you and the listener. You reading words prepared in advance rather than feeling them in the moment. But when you are presenting livestreams or YouTube videos or recording a podcast, you can sound more natural by not reading. In these situations, you’ll be more likely to be talking to one person at a time, (whereas live broadcasters are literally broad-casting, speaking to an entire nation at once). Presenters recording for social media video and audio will have their content consumed separately by individuals, and not from across the room, but from a foot or two away on a smartphone, or directly into their ears via headphones. So going ‘scriptless’, and not reading word for word, you will benefit from having a much more personal and authentic, even less-polished delivery, and therefore a better connection with your listener or viewer.·        If you present with a co-host both of you may end up, heads down and reading words on a page rather than interacting with each other naturally, and so losing the authenticity that comes from looking into one another’s eyes. And you’ll always be waiting to read your next line, rather than having a genuine conversation.·        The ‘better connection’ will also come from your knowledge of the material. It stands to reason doesn’t it, that if you’re doing a social video or audio post you are probably super-interested about your topic (in a way that you won’t know everything about the news story you are reading for a radio station). What you are doing is a ‘passion project’ and you may even be working from a book or blog post you’ve written. Turning that blog post into a bullet point list (or creating bullets on a topic from scratch) will give you a structure from which you can extemporise. You know this stuff inside out already, so all you need is a route map to get you from here to there so it’s clear for your listeners to follow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.25 – 0633 – Other Voice Skills: Adlibs, Cold Reading and Talking To Time OTHER SPEAKING SKILLSAn alphabetical list of other conversational considerations, from ad-libs to coping with verbal slips, filler words and fluffs… and a few hot takes on cold-reading. Ad-libbingThis is what you say off the top of your head without a script, and is another good skill for any broadcaster or podcaster to have – although voice-over actors will of course have little use for it as they are mainly working from a script. Ad-libbing doesn’t mean that you record ‘naked’, just riffing and adlibbing until a coherent thought happens to leave your lips (as I once described as “talking until you’ve something interesting to say”!), you prepare first so you know you have something to say and know the best way to say it. Obviously, you can only ad-lib around a topic if you know a bit about it in the first place. Not the detail necessarily but the context, for example why are you covering it in the show or podcast to start with? What is its relevance? Who will it effect and why and how? If you understand its significance, you’ll be able to communicate the story more easily and be able to ad lib around it should you need to.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.24 - 0632 – Giving Yourself Voice DirectionSelf-directingIf you are a voice actor working from home, an ‘amateur’ podcaster[1], or broadcaster without an active producer or manager, then you will need to direct yourself and be able to notice what you need to do to improve.
The problem you may have to overcome is that, if you don’t have a director, part of you is critically listening to yourself and your performance all of the time, and so you’re not fully immersing yourself in your role: you are always partly ‘the voice-actor’.
Therefore, it may be down to you alone to decide elements of what the recording needs: the style and tone, what the message really is, the pace and projection, the purpose, the key message, the intonation… and all the other factors that we have looked at in depth already. At the very least, ask yourself those questions, look at the product’s website and see the style and personality of the brand and then get back to the producer of the item and clarify what they want. Try not to second-guess too much.
It will be additional time if you have mis-interpreted a line and the agency asks for a ‘pick-up’, a line or two recorded in isolation that they will edit in. A day or more later it will be difficult for you to have exactly the same room and voice sound, or to have that single line or paragraph read with the same personality as you used before.
So even if you are recording at home, it’s often easier, as I have done, to have a director listening in live to your session. This is easily done via Zoom-type calls or professional down-the-line services such as Riverside https://riverside.fm/ or Source Connect (https://www.source-elements.com/products/source-connect/) – or even just down the phone. Then they can clarify and confirm that what you’re doing is what they had in mind. And ear.
Having said that, some clients will want no part of the process, possibly because they don’t really understand it. They have sent you a script, they want you to record it and send it back “how difficult can that be?!”
Well, as we know, it can be very difficult!
[1] ‘Amateur’ podcaster: I am not using this word offensively. It is a fact that most podcasters are experts and enthusiasts producing brilliantly professional content from home in their own time. Therefore, they are unlikely to have the advantage of ‘another pair of ears’ or direction from a producer, to give them anything from coaching or a gentle reminder in some techniques in, as far as this podcast/book is concerned, voice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.23 - 0631 – Your Role As A Voice Script ‘Meaning Miner’
Your Role As A ‘Meaning Miner’Sometimes when direction or a Brief is unclear, you need to do the hard work yourself. Well, you should always do much of this, but occasionally you need to get your hands dirty and unearth the hidden meaning in a script.
Mine the text to find the seam of the story arc, pick away to discover the hidden message of what the advertiser wants the listener to do. Find the golden words that will help you to convince them to do just that… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.22 - 0630 – Voice-Over Studio Direction
Taking directionPay attention, listen, ask questions, take advice and understand the process. Some directors don’t know how to explain things very well and it can be a challenge to interpret what they mean. Some directions may be straightforward. “A bit brighter” will suggest a lightness in tone and a slightly quicker read. But try and remember, or make notes, of what you did on different takes of the recording, so you can better interpret directions like “we want some of the energy of Take 5, but with the sensitivity from Take 9”  You may be told to sound “taller” for example (!) and it will be down to you to work out what is meant by that. Perhaps it means to read with more authority or more power in the voice for example. Or maybe “sound more ‘purple’”, which may mean speak with more warmth, compassion, softer or deeper. But go with it: “oh yeah, ok that might work!” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.21 - 0629 – Getting Feedback On Your Voice
VOICE BOXGiving and Receiving Notes Directors:·        Only have you give the feedback not everyone in the control room. ·        Realise that everyone has different expectations about feedback or Notes:o  For some it’s “tell me what to do”o  “Share with me what you think I should do”o  “This is what I’m doing, is it OK or not?”·        Don’t give too much information back to them in the first couple of reads. ·        Then, don’t give feedback all in one go, but ‘layer up’ your notes. ·        And be specific·        At first, gently remind the reader who they are talking to and their role·        Subsequent suggestions might be around the speed and pauses·        Then, say, tweaks to tone and intonation·        And make the notes clear and specific so they are easily understood, so your actor knows why they are doing the read again·        Keep everything upbeat and low-pressure. There’s no point keep referring to the time left on the studio session or getting exasperated that the actor “doesn’t get it”. ·        If it’s still not going right, then ‘re-wire’ your approach. Consider de-pressuring the situation:o  Move on and coming back to that part latero  Take a break – for a ‘tea and wee’ and a chat about something completely unrelated to the script o  Make a joke out of the situation o  Re-calibrate the read - read the part in an over-the-top giant style, then as a mouse, before returning to the actual read. Play around to break inhibitions and maybe find gold by happy accident.·        Be careful about your use of language, especially around someone’s accent or dialect which are particularly personal.  Voice-artists:·        Politely check early on who of several people in the control room, is directing you: “so just so’s I know who I’m taking direction from, is that you, Maggie?”. This saves studio duration, contradictory information and general confusion.·        Actively listen to what the director says. That is, don’t just ‘hear’ their suggestions but concentrate and understand them·        Consider repeating what they have said back to them, so you both know that you have understood (or not): “so a little bit slower on that tag line, and to slightly lift the brand name, yeah? No problem…”·        Write down the direction, marking your script up as required to help you remember and act on what you have been asked to do Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.20 - 0628 – Voice-Over Guide Tracks
Guide Track  In some circumstances, a ‘dummy track’ of someone else reading the voice-over script may already have been recorded before you go into a studio. This is usually done on fast and tightly-edited video productions (think movie trails or promo videos) but may also be on audio creatives, again where there are lots of elements. It’s done so the editors can help shape the item in pre-production, sequencing the different clips together, with a clear idea of the overall pace, flow and timings after the final voice-over has been added.  It’s also an audio guide for you alongside the visuals, so you can understand the intention behind the edit, and better know what you say and when:·        Where you start reading…·        and where you stop·        The time you have for each phrase…[1]·        before you need to hit a ‘post’[2]·        What is happening on the screen at that moment so you can match the energy·        What your voice is reacting to or leading to·        The overall pace and tone of the production…  all of which will inform your read.  As with talking over music, which we looked at before, your presentation style will be affected by the script, the visuals and the music or other audio elements.
[1] Often with such productions, the script is simply a single sentence, or a collection of phrases, that’s broken up with the audio: “Alone / in the middle of the ocean / where even the sharks are afraid / a row boat, with a man / a tiger / and trouble on the horizon”. If you have, say, 4 seconds in which to deliver 2 seconds of script, the director will advise whether they want you a) slow down and fill that entire duration b) speak in the middle 2 seconds c) start immediately and leave 2 seconds’ gap at the end d) start after 2 seconds and talk to the start of the audio clip.[2] Post: a stab of music, a change in musical tone, possibly even a drum beat or the start of vocals; any other audio punctuation such as a cry, gunshot, statement, exclamation.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.19 - 0627 – How Voice Directors Can Help You Feel Part Of The Production Team
VOICE BOXDirectors – make your talent feel part of the team:·        Introduce them to those in the gallery·        Include them in conversations from inside their booth·        Explain what’s happening·        Try not to turn your back on them when discussing the recording with the client Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.09.18 - 0626 – The Limits Of Line-ReadingSecond, in asking you to “sound like this” it’s likely they will be putting other elements into their read that they may not realise. And you as a professional will be copying not just their tone, but their speed, pauses, intonation, phrasing and so on. Which they may not have intended.
And, think about it: you’ll end up doing an impression of them, doing an impression of you reading the script! That way no-one knows what’s going on and what’s actually you, and what’s them, and what’s them trying to be you or you trying to copy them being you, being them…
At best line-reads are a quick fix. Instead of having the director say what you are doing ‘wrong’ and what they want you to do ‘right’, it may be better to have them explain the concept of what they want to achieve, have them build the voice characterisation from the ground up, with proper structure.
Penny was a well-known national newspaper journalist who’d been following a long-running story over several years. One of the BBC’s flagship TV news programmes commissioned Penny to help them make a documentary on the same subject.She was great at the interviews as you might expect, and in helping the editors piece together the filmed clips for the final show. But inevitably, the schedule slipped and the day before transmission I got a panicked phone call from the producers: they were in the studio where Penny was recording the voiceover links and she was simply not up to the job. It just wasn’t her forte. So, could I go down and help them meet their fast-approaching deadline?I would have loved to have spent time with Penny training and explaining coaching and coaxing, guiding and advising on the nuances of intonation, but there simply wasn’t time. Instead there was a crash course, and then a series of ‘line reads’: I read a line and she repeated it back parrot-fashion. For hours. We finished at about 2am on the day of the transmission… Penny sounded great but parroting a script is not the same as having an understanding of it. And it won’t help you the next time you are in a studio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.