Unfiltered Thoughts

2022.01.11 – S2011 – 0376 - The Script’s Too Long Or The Time’s Too Short
In a commercial voice-over situation, the duration of the piece is of the essence. If the spot has to be a certain length (to fit with the pictures, or because that’s the duration that has been bought, or it’s the duration of all commercials on that network so all breaks are balanced on different transmitters), then that is the length it has to be. This can cause some problems:·        The script writer might have tried to cram too much information into the copy to be able to read it comfortably within the time allowed.·        You may start reading the copy at one speed and then, sensing that you are running out of time, gradually start to speed up. Or vice versa, when a nervous presenter may start fast and then, slow down with relief when they sense the end of the script. Arguably we have more sense of time and durations than at any other time in human evolution: we always have a watch or phone on us, we are used to seeing split-second timings in sports events, the countdown at a basketball match, we see progress bars on short-form videos. But we rarely need to know how long it’ll take to read something out loud!  And, in a studio the ‘sense’ of time can change, and that may lead you to talk too fast (usually) or too slowly (less common). Here’s how you can help train yourself get a better sense of time with a script.
A ‘standard read’ duration is three-words a second. So get yourself some copy (nothing that needs to be read slowly or fast – so not a script for a luxury chocolatier, or a used car sale!), set your stopwatch and read it naturally. Then, afterwards (not during) see how long you took.
Try and get to your calculated 3-words-per-second rate by a subtle speed alteration.
Then, read it again and aim for a shorter overall duration: if the standard rate was say, 30 seconds, aim for 25, then 20. And then see if you can slow it down to 35- and 40-seconds duration.
The idea is to get a better sense of time, and how you can lengthen words and pauses (or slightly shorten them) to alter your read-rate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.10 – S2010 – 0375 - Why You May Talk Fast·        Fast-talking may be from how you were brought up. Perhaps you had several siblings and in a busy home you had to take any gap in a conversation to blurt out your contribution as fast as possible, and then keep talking to keep attention and ‘hold the floor’·        It may be that you have developed a fast-talking speed: perhaps as a sports commentator in a fast-moving play-by-play event such as basketball or ice hockey where you had to be fast to keep up with the game·        Maybe it’s less deliberately practical, but more subconscious: as a radio presenter you may fear ‘dead-air’ silence and feel as though you have to keep that ‘needle waggling’, or that you have so much content to share that it’s difficult to ‘keep it all in’·        Nerves or a lack of confidence may make you speed up. You may simply want to ‘get to the end’ and ‘get it over with’·        Excitability, either ‘natural’ (a by-product of nerves), or ‘forced’, that is acting excited by talking fast, say for a commercial read on a ‘special deal’ or conveying drama in a fast-moving sports commentary·        Trying to get everything in before your slot ends or the show comes to an end (see ‘talking to time’ later), which may be because… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.09 – S2009 – 0374 - Extremes Of Speed: The Faster Read EXTREMES OF SPEED - The Faster ReadUsually, your listeners won’t have a second chance to process what it is that you have said. There’s no easy ‘rewind’ button on live radio or video and certainly not in an auditorium presentation. When speaking face to face, we can change our pace in response to the feedback we get and our feeling of their understanding of the topic – but not with pre-recorded audio, or live audio in a radio studio: because either they are not in front of you, or they simply haven’t heard it yet! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.08 – S2008 – 0373 - Changing speed within a storyChanging speed within a storyOn occasion you may change the speed within a paragraph or a story: starting slowly because of the content which is new, important and serious: ‘Multiple fatalities this morning, as a bus carrying commuters into the city, left the road and mounted a pavement in Stockbridge…’ And then, when giving information later in the story that is less important, throwaway or a ‘filler fact’, speeding up slightly: ‘It’s the second fatal crash in involving city buses this year and now questions are being asked about the depot’s maintenance record.’ Here’s another example:Normal speed: The price of pineapples is set to fall – but only for some people.Slightly faster:  It’s after the ongoing glut of the fruit caused by perfect growing conditions in Latin America over the past year.Slightly slower: Cheaper pineapples will be available for those aged over 53, and only on Wednesdays and Saturdays in August.
So, change you pace with the emotional value of the content you’re presenting. Treat each new piece of information or each new section in the script very differently, adding light and shade of meaning and variations in pace where it’s needed. Consciously vary it to aid understanding and add a refreshing attractiveness to your presentation. Vary your pace as you do in normal life: walk, trot, canter, gallop and pause, to give the correct value to the words you deliver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.07 – S2007 – 0372 - When You May Change Your Reading RateFor example, a weather script on a sunny summer’s day may be quite rushed – listeners are expecting it to be blue sky and high temperatures. But tell them about a forthcoming storm and your speed will slow (and your tone will also change) to reflect the severity of the situation. A lighter story can be read more quickly than a serious one, a complex story will be presented more slowly (although not patronisingly so) than a straightforward one, breaking or surprising news may also be read more slowly. David Attenborough changes his pace within wildlife documentaries he narrates: slow and calm over video of seals basking on an ice flow, faster when a whale threatens to leap from the calm, icy sea … to have it for its tea. And with news stories there are similar issues: a breaking story of a multi-vehicle accident in fog will be read at a slightly slower pace than might be normal. It adds to the gravitas of the presentation, and as the speed is a little out of place it will draw people’s attention to what is being said. It also gives people time to gather their thoughts and think through the implication of the information, without missing it “Gosh, Steve goes home on that road. He’d be there about now. I hope that he’s OK…”  Conversely, a lighter story can be read as well as with a lighter tone, at a faster pace: “A retired postman and his wife have won five million pounds on the lottery…” The speed, fast or slow, reflects the sense of the story and gives the listener more information about how to feel about it.
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter Stewart
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. 
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.
The podcast title refers to those who may wish to change their speaking voice in some way. It is not a suggestion that anyone should, or be pressured into needing to. We love accents and dialects, and are well aware that how we speak changes over time. The key is: is your voice successfully communicating your message, so it is being understood (and potentially being acted upon) by your target audience?
This podcast is London-based and examples are spoken in the RP (Received Pronunciation) / standard-English / BBC English pronunciation, although invariably applicable to other languages, accents and dialects.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.06 – S2006 – 0371 - Changing Your Reading RateChanging Your Reading RateIf you speak too slowly an audience may lose interest; if you speak too quickly, they may lose the thread of what you are saying. If you keep up the same pace throughout you may sound like a wall of sound – or a smartspeaker A.I device with a monotonous pace and style of delivery. It’s important therefore to consider variety if you want to move your content from ‘boring’ to ‘absorbing’. Having a subtle change of tempo (without sounding manic) can help re-engage the listener with what you’re trying to communicate. Micro-changes from, say, story to story, from context to context, just as you do when you speak conversationally, helps a story come alive. Remember before when we looked at intonation and suggested that having too little of it may make you sound monotone? Well, having too little change in pace may make you sound like a metronome.
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter Stewart
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. 
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.
The podcast title refers to those who may wish to change their speaking voice in some way. It is not a suggestion that anyone should, or be pressured into needing to. We love accents and dialects, and are well aware that how we speak changes over time. The key is: is your voice successfully communicating your message, so it is being understood (and potentially being acted upon) by your target audience?
This podcast is London-based and examples are spoken in the RP (Received Pronunciation) / standard-English / BBC English pronunciation, although invariably applicable to other languages, accents and dialects.
Music credits: all Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license "Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.05 – S2005 – 0370 - The Average Read RateThe Average Reading RateThis is one which is comfortable for the reader, clear to the listener, and which suits the style of the content. For example, on a radio station that could be anywhere between 140 and 220 words per minute, depending on whether it’s a music station or a news station. The standard calculations are:·        Conversational speed - about 150 words per minute·        A scripted read (spoken with more fluency and less hesitancy) – about 180 wpm (three words per second). With this formula, a 20-second script becomes 60 words, a 30-second story is 90 words, and so on.·        Some fast talkers and readers – nearer 200 wpm. Obviously some single-syllable words are faster to say and longer words take, well, slightly longer, but this is a rule of thumb (hmm, should that be ‘rule of tongue’?), but it all averages out. VOICE BOX A good speed for presenting and reading aloud is often a real, conversational one: when your reading sounds like you’re just talking. And you can get speed and sound from what we have learnt so far: controlling your breath, confidence in the content, knowing the audience, flexing your inflection and so on. The software which scriptwriters use will calculate the accumulated duration, working to the accepted reading rate of three words per second and adding if necessarily in a broadcast situation, adding in the length of all the audio clips too. There are also online versions such as https://edgestudio.com/words-to-time-calculator/  Without using an automatic script timer, you may prefer to use a clock or stopwatch as you read. A point to keep in mind is that we tend to read faster when reading silently, so do your timing while reading the copy aloud.
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter Stewart
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. 
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.04 – S2004 – 0369 - Your Natural ‘Read Rate’YOUR NATURAL READ-RATEThere is no ‘correct’ speed to read. It is likely to be determined by:·        the amount you have to say·        the time that you have got to say it in·        the content of the script and·        the energy that you are being asked to bring to it. Let’s take a look at each of those. With a commercial voiceover, it may be that you are asked to say “Probably the best lager in the world” and make it last 5 seconds. Or have a 50-word Terms and Conditions statement to read at the end of an advert – and 10 seconds to say it in. So, it is obvious how the number of words and the available duration affects the speed of those words being said (as well as how they will be said). You may also be directed to read a commercial for a luxury watch at a slower pace than one for a family runabout hatchback. A news bulletin for a dance music station may, in general, have more pace than one for an easy listening format.
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter Stewart
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. 
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.
The podcast title refers to those who may wish to change their speaking voice in some way. It is not a suggestion that anyone should, or be pressured into needing to. We love accents and dialects, and are well aware that how we speak changes over time. The key is: is your voice successfully communicating your message, so it is being understood (and potentially being acted upon) by your target audience?
This podcast is London-based and examples are spoken in the RP (Received Pronunciation) / standard-English / BBC English pronunciation, although invariably applicable to other languages, accents and dialects.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.03 – S2003 - 0368 – The Speed of the ReadWith voice skills I often think of one of the last scenes of the classic film “The Wizard of Oz,” when Toto pulls away the curtain to show the Wizard pulling various levers, spinning dials and cranking handles.
Reading aloud or presenting, also involves changing (albeit with more finesse and care) so many different ‘settings’: your pitch, tone, projection, and also your speed (sometimes called ‘the tempo’).
In this chapter we’ll look at the different situations we may want to speak fast or slow, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. Plus, associated topics of speaking to time, backtiming, how you calculate how long a script might be, how to stop being chased by a music bed and how tech can help you sound faster than you actually are.
From fast-talkers to slow talkers, we’ll also take the speedometer down to zero and talk about the ‘power of the pause’ and why it’s so useful in presentations.
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter Stewart
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VOICE-OVER VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. 
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.
The podcast title refers to those who may wish to change their speaking voice in some way. It is not a suggestion that anyone should, or be pressured into needing to. We love accents and dialects, and are well aware that how we speak changes over time. The key is: is your voice successfully communicating your message, so it is being understood (and potentially being acted upon) by your target audience?
This podcast is London-based and examples are spoken in the RP (Received Pronunciation) / standard-English / BBC English pronunciation, although invariably applicable to other languages, accents and dialects.
Music credits: all Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license "Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022.01.02 - S2/002 - The Speed of the Read - IntroductionA new year and a new topic to get your teeth in to.
Today, an overview of the skills in reading fast and slow, and everything in between - including dead slow or stop: the pause!
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter Stewart
Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!
And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE.
Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. 
He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes.
The podcast title refers to those who may wish to change their speaking voice in some way. It is not a suggestion that anyone should, or be pressured into needing to. We love accents and dialects, and are well aware that how we speak changes over time. The key is: is your voice successfully communicating your message, so it is being understood (and potentially being acted upon) by your target audience?
This podcast is London-based and examples are spoken in the RP (Received Pronunciation) / standard-English / BBC English pronunciation, although invariably applicable to other languages, accents and dialects.
Music credits: all Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license "Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.