Unfiltered Thoughts

2021.06.25-0176 - Writing A Script To Be TranslatedWriting a script that’s to be translatedForeign languages may be, literally, all Greek to you, in which case don’t rely on auto-translators. They’re increasingly accurate but they miss the nuance of a language, and you could end up being an ‘idiom idiot’.
Instead hire a professional translator who’s not only studied that second language but also has ‘lived it’ and knows how it’s spoken in real life in that country – a native speaker perhaps. That way you will avoid literalisations – there are dozens of examples on the internet.
Translation is different from localisation
Translation is the basic conversion of a script from one language to another. Localisation involves customisation not only for everyday speech, but also for the specific target audience. Not all languages are structured grammatically like English, so customisation would consider linguistic nuances such as cultural conventions, how the ‘official’ language is spoken in that geographical region (or country – ‘Spanish Spanish’ is different from ‘Mexican Spanish’ for example, and that would also affect pronunciation), conversational turns of phrase and so on, but also the demographic of the audience. For example, is the commercial extoling the virtues of the new car to a family audience, a business person or a fleet buyer. The structure of a sentences may need to be changed depending on the social conventions of the target audience.  The nuances used in your original, own-language script will be targeted correctly, but a literal translation may lead to rejection and possible reputational damage, so the more you’re able to literally and figuratively, “speak their language”, the more likely it is that you will succeed.
==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.24-0175 – Your Written DirectionThe written directionThe script should match the content, and the audience, and the reader and their tone.
Let’s go through that!:·        The script should match the content – it would sound odd to have a script about a modern music festival with formal, business-like language – unless that was part of a deliberate creative·        … because the target audience is likely to be young people who will better connect with the script if it’s written and presented in ‘their’ language and style.·        … and the reader is also likely to be young … ·        and their tone, pace and projection will also fit with the content.
And the punctuation of the script should also match those criteria. So if the direction for the presentation is calm and serious, but the punctuation is made up of several exclamation marks – then the reader will be trying to cope with confusing and conflicting commands.
On any voiceover script there should be a comment by the writer how they see (or hear!) their copy being delivered: the kind of voice, the pace and ‘attitude’.
==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.23-0174 – Proof ReadingProof readingDone your script? Now proof read – read it out to test it out.
Yes, if you or someone is going to read it out loud then that’s the process you have got to go through first – to hear it in your ears and not just your head.
Check for the things we’ve been talking about: grammar, spelling and flow (so, the pace and the rhythm of the piece).
LayoutOne of the skills you will need to develop is knowing how to work with scripts that are unhelpfully structured, too formal, badly or confusingly written or simply badly placed on the page?
Really..?!
Being greeted with a chunk of text is like being shouted at.
It’s easier to mark up a script, and to read, if you can easily spot where sentences start and finish. It helps with basic things like breath control and intonation.
White space is your friend, my friend!
So consider basics like paragraphs rather than run-on sentences. Also, new sentences on new lines and double-spacing of lines and plenty of margins so the voice-over or presenter to make additional notes or changes. That will help them read more fluently, and so lead to better communication.
All this will allow the reader to mark up the sentences into the different thoughts and ideas within it.
==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.22-0173 – Unintended Scripted JokesUnintended jokesAmbiguity offers the audience a rich source of humour at the newsreader’s expense.
Orchestra musicians at the Royal Opera House are threatening to strike next week, if the management turn down a 10 per cent no-strings pay rise. Teams of traditional dancers from various parts of Kenya exposed themselves to world scouts’ delegates in a grand performance. About 50 students broke into the college, smashing glass and chanting, ‘No cuts, no cuts’. A porter had his hand injured.
A good pre-read and rehearsal should help you spot these and other problem areas. With experience you will be able to sight-read by spotting these several words ahead of actually reading them, and to employ diversionary tactics!
But it’s better if you check and rehearse … and mark-up your copy well before you read it on air.
==Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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

2021.06.21-0172 – Typo TragediesTyposI was once left a story to read on-air
“A woman has died after falling from her house”
after a slapdash colleague had meant to write “horse”, but the first sentence looked entirely plausible at first glance. It wasn’t until the second line (“the animal had to be put down”) that the mistake became obvious (and I had to find the original source material to double-check that the “animal” was indeed a horse). 
=Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.20-0171 – Sing-Song ScriptsSing-song scriptsSentences of varying length will help you avoid a sing-song rhythm and incorrect intonation (with the emphasis on the repetition of a beat rather than where it’s meant). That means that longer sentences like this one, are often made up of a series of phrases which can be subtly read as a ‘unit’, as long as the correct intonation is kept.
Read this story and see if you can spot a problem.
 A fire has torn through a factory in Manchester. Thirty firefighters were sent to the scene this morning. It broke out on Henderson Driveway at one am. Police say one person has been reported missing. Each sentence has exactly the same number of syllables, 13. That will make it difficult to read in anything but a repetitive sing-song voice, with a push on the final word every time. Better to re-write it to vary the sentence length and structure. In fact as I was writing this book I spotted another great example: At least ten police cars are outside Marks & Spencer in Walton on Thames tonight. The force says it's trying to work out what happened there this afternoon. Police tape is up on Church Street and forensic officers are on the scene. Unconfirmed reports say two air ambulances were called out. Surrey police are promising to issue an update as soon as possible.
==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.19-0170 – Similarly Spelt WordsIt may be that the writer has incorrectly spelled a word, or that you know from your own experience that your eye-to-mouth co-ordination on some words always catches you out.
I am always worried about reading “was arrested by an uninformed police officer” rather than “a uniformed police officer” (or something similar) because I have ‘word-blindness’ when it comes to those two similar spellings.
Here are some more to watch out for, and maybe highlight on your script if you think they could cause a problem:  •“though” and “through”•“trial” and “trail”•“us” and “U.S”• “naturist” and “naturalist”•“county” and “country”
Some of these can be re-written on a script: “tho” and “thru”; “uni-formed” and “unin-formed” and so on. 
==Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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

2021.06.18-0169 – Rhyme TimeRhyme-timeThese are invariably unintended and are only realised when a script comes to be read aloud:
Mr Grimes said at the time he didn’t mind the fine, Defence Counsel Simon Gee said the jury had to set the men free on their not guilty plea.One defendant, a stocky Croatian, yelled no justice was done in this nation. For disturbance in court, the judge said he ought to serve six further months on probation.
==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.17-0168 – Can I Quote You?Quote marks It is rare that you will have a direct quote in a script, news or otherwise, but if you do, it indicates that the words must not be changed. That’s usually for a legal reason:
He said he had “absolutely and categorically” no knowledge of the attack on his colleague.
Or to distance yourself the reader personally from the words you are about to say:
  And called the judge “a complete cow”.
A quote may be in a script to make the line more dramatic or ironic than it would be had you used ‘reported speech’. Compare how you might say these two almost-identical sentences:
He told the court he hadn’t been in the bar at the time, and was at home “watching the season finale of Queer Eye”. And
He told the court he hadn’t been in the bar at the time, and had been at home watching the season finale of Queer Eye. ==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2021.06.16-0167 – Problematic PunctuationsPunctuationA good script should be properly punctuated… to be read aloud! So that may not stick strictly accurately to the grammar and structure were taught at school, but whatever works to help the reader make sense of the sentence, where to place inflection or where to pause.All the dots and dashes are there for a reason: to help the reader read correctly so they can better communicate with their audience.
CommasNot only do commas indicate a slight pause, and a full stop/period a longer one, but they also help marshal groups of words to create order and avoid misunderstanding.
Woman without her man is nothing.
Some scriptwriters even mark their copy with the actual word “(PAUSE)” to show where the reader needs to take a second.
Also make sure that your punctuation matches the tone of the content. So if it’s a calm and collected, smooth and aloof script, then filling it with CAPITALS or exclamations!!! – will create a cacophony of dichotomy in the mind of the reader. The words’ meaning and how they’re being directed in the reading, will be confusing and conflicting. 
==
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 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 2021.

Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart

Peter 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 to Heart FM, 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. Other trainees have been music presenters, breakfast show hosts, travel news presenters and voice-over artists.

He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (“Essential Radio Journalism”, “JournoLists”, two editions of “Essential Radio Skills” and three editions of “Broadcast Journalism”) and has written on voice and presentation skills in the BBC’s in-house newspaper “Ariel”.

Peter has 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 formats as diverse as music-presentation, interview shows, ‘special’ programmes for elections and budgets, live outside broadcasts and commentaries and even the occasional sports, gardening and dedication programmes. He has read several thousand news bulletins, and hosted nearly 2,000 podcast episodes, and is a vocal image consultant advising in all aspects of voice and speech training for presenters on radio and TV, podcasts and YouTube, voiceovers and videocalls.

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:
"Bleeping Demo" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Envision" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4706-envision
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5027-rising-tide
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
 
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.