Get A Better Broadcast, Podcast and Voice-Over Voice
1,002 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★ - 4 ratingsYear THREE of short daily episodes to improve the quality of your speaking voice.
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 2024.
Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart
Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022, 2023 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, 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.
The 'Peter Stewart' show is perhaps of great interest to those in broadcast voice overs, the broadcast voice, how to start a voice podcast, broadcasting voice training, your speaking voice, breathing technique, and conversational speaking. You may also find it useful if you are searching for information on voice coaching, voice training, voice overs, podcasting, broadcasting, presenting, being a voice over actor and newsreading, audio branding, public speaking, the recorded voice, vocal tips, performance, vocal health education, vocal technique and voice over training.
Music credits: all Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://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.
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Episodes
1000 - The End
September 26, 2023 23:01 - 5 minutes - 26.3 MB2023.09.27 - 1000 - The End Thanks for the loan of your ears, for one-thousand consecutive daily episodes. All of my contacts are here: https://linktr.ee/Peter_Stewart Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
0999 – The Diction-ary of Voice – V and W
September 25, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 41.1 MB2023.09.26 – 0999 – The Diction-ary of Voice – V and W **V Verbal tic – the repeated use of words or phrases such as “like” or “y’know what I mean?” Velum – the soft palate at the back of the roof of the mouth. The back of your tongue touches the velum when pronouncing letters such as ‘k’. Vocal elements – the various ways (such as inflection, pause, pace and phrasing) that one can make the spoken word more engaging he techniques for making a voice interesting and effective Vocal fold –...
0998 – The Diction-ary of Voice – T
September 24, 2023 23:01 - 6 minutes - 34.1 MB2023.09.25 – 0998 – The Diction-ary of Voice – T **T Tag (or ‘slogan’) – the branding phrase at the end of a commercial Take (as in ‘go for a take’) – a recording. Also see ‘pickup’ Take a level (or ‘take a bit for level’) – the instruction given by an audio engineer to a presenter to ask them to say some words so the volume on a mic channel can be checked Talk back – the push-to-talk microphone in a gallery/production area, via which a director / producer will talk to you while in the...
0997 – The Diction-ary of Voice – S
September 23, 2023 23:01 - 4 minutes - 24 MB2023.09.24 – 0997 – The Diction-ary of Voice – S **S Scratch Track - a temporary recording that is a ‘place-holder’ for the final voice-over. Not ‘broadcast quality’ it is used to help producers feel the pacing and style of a project before a final voice over is added Self op (‘self op studio’) – when the presenter controls their own technical equipment, they are ‘self operating’ Session – the single block of time (say, an hour or a day) spent recording with the voice actor, who is often...
0996 – The Diction-ary of Voice – R – Part 2
September 22, 2023 23:01 - 9 minutes - 47.2 MB2023.09.23 – 0996 – The Diction-ary of Voice – R – Part 2 Riding the gain (or ‘riding the mic’ or ‘riding the levels’) – the constant adjustment of the input levels as the sound unexpectedly (and often unprofessionally) varies in volume dramatically Room Tone - the ‘indoor ambience’ or background noise in a room, which should be as close to silent as possible ROT (‘rot’ or ‘R.O.T’) – a recording of what went out on air: Recording Of/Off Transmission Royalty Free Music – music that can b...
0995 – The Diction-ary of Voice – R – Part 1
September 21, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 19.7 MB2023.09.22 – 0995 – The Diction-ary of Voice – R – Part 1 **R Rate – the speed of someone speaking or reading Rate – the amount paid to a voice-over for a day, hour or script Raw audio - unprocessed recorded audio Read (or ‘take’) – a recording of a script (or the ‘copy’) Reaper – a DAW Red-line the meters – to push the audio volume level to the maximum Render – saving and/or converting your audio so others can access it Residuals – payment over and above the initial payment, based...
0994 – The Diction-ary of Voice – P
September 20, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 42.4 MB2023.09.21 – 0994 – The Diction-ary of Voice – P Polyp - usually unilateral (one vocal fold) mass that grows off the surface. Can be hemorrhagic (filled with blood) or not, and’s usually due to voice misuse or overuse. Pop – when a plosive sound is too close to the mic and causes distortion Pop guard (or ‘pop screen’, ‘pop shield’, ‘pop stopper’) - a fabric, foam or metal shield between the mic and the mouth to help disperse ‘breath blasts’ from plosives and so reduce the likelihood ...
0993 – The Diction-ary of Voice – P - Part 2
September 19, 2023 23:01 - 7 minutes - 37.1 MB2023.09.20 – 0993 – The Diction-ary of Voice – P - Part 2 Pharynx – the area between the larynx and the nasal cavities Phonation – the process of making sounds into words, which articulation turns into recognisable speech Phonemes – the different smaller sounds which when combined form a word Phrasing – delivering groups of words within a sentence to enhance meaning Pickup – when you go back to re-record a small section of content, such as a sentence, because of a slip, trip or mispr...
0992 – The Diction-ary of Voice – N and P
September 18, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 41.1 MB2023.09.19 – 0992 – The Diction-ary of Voice – N and P **N Name check – saying your name on air Narrative non-fiction – a true-story podcast Narrative voice - the voice you use for the storyteller/author part of the story, rather a character voice Nasal sounds – speech sounds heard in words with m, n and ng letters: ‘many nice singers’, when the back of the tongue is raised against the roof of the mouth (the soft palate) thereby closing off to sound the resonance chamber of the sinus...
0991 – The Diction-ary of Voice – M
September 17, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 18.4 MB2023.09.18 – 0991 – The Diction-ary of Voice – M Marking copy – different markings on a script (underlinings, arrows, circles) to show which words require different voice presentations such as inflection, characterisation or changes to volume or speed, difficult passages, odd pronunciations and character thumbnails Mask – using sound to cover a bad edits or to smooth a transitions Mastering - the process of preparing and transferring an edited and mixed audio file from which all copies...
0990 – The Diction-ary of Voice – L
September 16, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 41.5 MB2023.09.17 – 0990 – The Diction-ary of Voice – L **L Labiodental – very few sounds use the sound created when the upper teeth rest on the lower lip, but say ‘very’ and ‘few’ and you will hear two Lapel (or ‘lavaliere’ or ‘lav’) microphone - small microphone attached to clothing of a presenter or guest Laryngology – the study of the professional voice. An ENT is not a laryngologist, who can give sophisticated diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders Laryngoscopy - the process of usi...
0989 – The Diction-ary of Voice – I
September 15, 2023 23:01 - 9 minutes - 47.7 MB2023.09.16 – 0989 – The Diction-ary of Voice – I **I Impromptu (or ‘ad libbed’) – a comment made ‘off the cuff’ without a script or prior rehearsal Inflection – the lifting or lowering of the pitch of an individual word or different parts of a word to indicate significance (see: ‘cadence’) Insurance takes - when the director wants one more take, ‘just in case’ Integrated loudness - the average loudness across an entire recording Interdental (or ‘linguadental’) – the speech sound whe...
0988 – The Diction-ary of Voice – H
September 14, 2023 23:01 - 6 minutes - 33.4 MB2023.09.15 – 0988 – The Diction-ary of Voice – H **H Haemorrhage (‘vocal cord bruise’, ‘hematoma’) - a collection of blood in the vocal fold that develops after considerable voice use and leads to severe hoarseness Hand signals – gestured directions given to a presenter to, for example, start or stop Handling noise - undesired sounds picked up on a recording caused by touching or moving the microphone Hard copy – a script that is printed out Hard sell commercial – a script that is pre...
0987 – The Diction-ary of Voice – G
September 13, 2023 23:01 - 5 minutes - 29.8 MB2023.09.14 – 0987 – The Diction-ary of Voice – G Glottal – a softer ‘coughing’ sound when used in speech, often when used instead of proper pronunciation in words such as ‘hot’ or ‘water’ when the tongue has not been used to pronounce the ‘t’ sound at the end or middle of words. Interestingly (?!), those who use glottal stops in everyday conversation, may put the ‘t’ sound back in when they become a passionate speaker and want to be sure they have been understood. Think of a someone who at ...
0986 – The Diction-ary of Voice – F
September 12, 2023 23:01 - 4 minutes - 24.4 MB2023.09.13 – 0986 – The Diction-ary of Voice – F **F Fade (in, out, up, down, under) - to gradually adjust the volume of sound from low to high or high to low Fader – an audio channel’s level controller Fade to black/fade away – to decrease the volume of a sound until it cannot be heard Falsetto - the vocal register just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave Feedback – the loud howl-round, looped sound when a ‘live’ mic is too close to a ...
0985 – The Diction-ary of Voice – E
September 11, 2023 23:01 - 6 minutes - 32.9 MB2023.09.12 – 0985 – The Diction-ary of Voice – E Ellipsis – the marking on a script (‘…’) usually indicating that a pause is required Emphasis list - if an author wants to stress a point, they an emphasis list such as “the country was utterly, totally and demonstrably broken” Encoding - converting your uncompressed audio files into a format more suitable for certain applications, say from a WAV file to an MP3 Enunciation (or ‘diction’) – the clear pronunciation of a word Equalization (...
0984 – The Diction-ary of Voice – D Part 2
September 10, 2023 23:01 - 7 minutes - 39.6 MB2023.09.11 – 0984 – The Diction-ary of Voice – D Part 2 Dry audio – a voice recording without any music underneath (which would be a ‘mixed’ recording) Dry mouth – literally having little saliva in one’s mouth, making talking difficult Dub – to make a copy of an audio or video recording Dub - to re-record audio and sync it to a video which shows someone talking and whose sound is muted. Dubbing is used to re-record a translated soundtrack in another language for different markets and al...
0983 – The Diction-ary of Voice - D Part 1
September 09, 2023 23:01 - 9 minutes - 47.8 MB2023.09.10 – 0983 – The Diction-ary of Voice - D Part 1 DAW - Short for ‘Digital Audio Workstation’ (or ‘Workspace’), said variously D.A.W and DAW (as in ‘door’). The software you use to record, edit, mix and play back your audio. Either a computer which is dedicated to audio only, or a complete multitrack recording system (software) such as Protools, Cubase or Logic. Other examples include Audacity, Hindenburg and Adobe dB - abbreviation for ‘decibel’, pronounced “dee-bee” Dead air – ...
0982 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 4
September 08, 2023 23:01 - 7 minutes - 36.2 MB2023.09.09 – 0982 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 4 Cue – the instruction to a presenter to start talking or performing. This could be verbal or by a light or a audio ‘cue tone’ Cue – the short script read by a radio presenter or newsreader to introduce a guest or other live or pre-recorded item Cut – an edit of a piece of audio to remove a portion Cut - as a direction during a recording, to stop immediately Cyst - usually unilateral (one vocal cord) mass that grows within a voca...
0981 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 3
September 07, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 43.2 MB2023.09.08 – 0981 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 3 Conversational read (sometimes ‘transparent read’) – when a script doesn’t sound as though it is being read, so, using an authentic, friendly or realistic style that gives the impression the voice-over is talking with the listener one-to-one, telling a story or convincing them from what appears to be their own experience. A tone that personifies everyday speech. It is ‘non-announcery’. Think: everyday conversation Conversational show ...
0980 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 2
September 06, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 45.3 MB2023.09.07 – 0980 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 2 Clipped – when a recorded signal has gone past the 0db threshold (or any other maximum recording level set by the engineer) and the computer software has no more ‘headroom’ to record. This is often heard when a voice actor shouts, or when the microphone is too close to a speaker, or in a field recording, when a large vehicle passes by. To the ear the sound is heard as distorted. On a DAW, the waveform has its top ‘cut off’ and appea...
0979 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 1
September 05, 2023 23:01 - 7 minutes - 39.4 MB2023.09.06 – 0979 – The Diction-ary of Voice - C Part 1 **C Cadence - rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or word (see: ‘inflection’) Camera panic – anxiety about being in a video affecting someone’s ability to talk or act effectively (also see ‘mic fright’) Cans - headphones Cardioid – the pickup pattern of a microphone which is heart-shaped, with a larger area of sound detected from the front of mic and a little from each side and barely any sound from the back Character bleed - ...
0978 – The Diction-ary of Voice - B Part 2
September 04, 2023 23:01 - 8 minutes - 44.4 MB2023.09.05 – 0978 – The Diction-ary of Voice - B Part 2 Binaural – a type of recording and/or processing that allows a 3D sound space to be conveyed over headphones Bit depth – refers to the quality of the recording, where higher ‘bit rates’ have a wider difference between the quietest sound they can record, and the loudest sound, and therefore allow you to record at lower levels. 16-bit is CD quality, 24-bit is preferred for recording, 32-bit uses lots of disk space. See ‘Headroom’. B...
0977 – The Diction-ary of Voice - B Part 1
September 03, 2023 23:01 - 9 minutes - 49.4 MB2023.09.04 – 0977 – The Diction-ary of Voice - B Part 1 **B B2B / B2C – different marketing or advertising models. ‘B2B’ stands for 'business to business', that is, an advert for a product or service services that targets other businesses, while ‘B2C’ is 'business to consumer', where the (in our case) audio advert is slanted towards a personal consumers, and so might use different selling points, words and style Back-time – adding together the durations of remaining programme elements, an...
0976 – The Diction-ary of Voice - A Part 2
September 02, 2023 23:01 - 5 minutes - 29.9 MB2023.09.03 – 0976 – The Diction-ary of Voice - A Part 2 Alveolus – the area just behind your upper teeth and where your tongue darts to in the final sound of the word ‘sin’ Ambience (‘ambient noise’, ‘ambi’, ‘nat sound’, ‘sfx’ – ‘sound effects’) - The general sound at a location, such as traffic noise, a protest march, birds and wind in the trees, or the sound of a studio (such as the air conditioning, slight bizz of computers and so on. The sound can be used by itself or mixed under vo...
0975 – The Diction-ary of Voice - A Part 1
September 01, 2023 23:01 - 10 minutes - 53.6 MB2023.09.02 – 0975 – The Diction-ary of Voice - A Part 1 The Diction-ary of Voice ON GOOD SPEAKING TERMS **A Abdomen – your stomach area that moves out as you breath in, as the diaphragm lowers to allow the lungs to expand Actuality (‘act’) – sound, such as an interview, recorded on location or in a studio and which are not the reporter or narrator. Ad lib - a spontaneous addition or change to a script, or a usually witty off-the-cuff comment during a live or recorded conversation ...
0974 – Whispering Voice
August 31, 2023 23:01 - 5 minutes - 28 MB2023.09.01 – 0974 – A Whispering Voice Whispering voice Symptom: Speaking very softly Prescription: Don’t. A whisper needs vocal fold tension, with the sound produced in a small gap between them. Instead talk in a breathy voice as outlined in episode 770. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
0973 – The Whining Voice
August 30, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 17.2 MB2023.08.31 – 0973 – The Whining Voice Whining voice Symptom: As you might expect, this sound is related to the ‘unnatural pitch’ described above. It too is a higher-pitched voice, with the added issue of elongated words, especially vowels, and often additional nasality. Those vowels may ‘whine’ on a steady pitch, or rise and fall similar to a police siren. Put all that together and the speaker may be perceived as speaking like a petulant child: “I doooooon’t waaaaan’t tooooooo-er”. Pre...
0972 – ‘Vocal Fry’ Voice
August 29, 2023 23:01 - 4 minutes - 25 MB2023.08.30 – 0972 – ‘Vocal Fry’ Voice ‘Vocal fry’ voice[1],[2] Symptom: We have covered this in some depth previously, especially in episode 38: the low, glottal, creaky, choppy, breathy delivery often described as a millennial speech pattern used most often perhaps by women and most famously by the Kardashian clan and Katy Perry. It happens when vocal folds stay relaxed when you speak, with minimal air passing through them. It can give the impression to some that you are bored, lack intel...
0971 – Valley Speak
August 28, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 16.8 MB2023.08.29 – 0971 – Valley Speak Valley speak (short for ‘Valley Girl-speak’)[1]’[2] Symptom: This is a combination of several vocal features (nasality, uptalk, fast-paced run-on sentences, breathiness and vocal fry) and vocabulary (“like”, “I know, right?”, “whatever”, “totally”) Episode 638 discusses the use of the word “like” and 640 is on other ‘filler words’. Prescription: Such a style may be appropriate (although a little dated) for an audience of millennials, but if that’s not you ...
0970 - Uptalk
August 27, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 18.9 MB2023.08.28 – 0970 - Uptalk Uptalk[1] Symptom: Most sentences end on a lower inflection than how they start, to give a signal that the end of the thought has been reached. Apart from sentences which end with a rising inflection. (“Do you agree?”). Uptalkers use a rising inflection no matter the sense of the sentence. It can give the impression that you are doubtful of what you are saying, or that you lack confidence or intelligence. Prescription: Again, if you are talking to an audience t...
0969 - The Unnaturally Pitched Voice
August 26, 2023 23:01 - 4 minutes - 24 MB2023.08.27 – 0969 - Unnaturally pitched voice Unnaturally pitched voice Symptom: This is similar to the ‘mono-tone’ (but where that is usually a lower pitch, this problem is usually one of being too high), and ‘forced pitch’ (but this is not done deliberately). It's when nerves or excitement (sometimes combined with an undue haste), cause you to speak with too high a tone, away from your natural ‘home tone’. This makes you sound forced and shrill and some may perceive it to be child-like....
0968 – The ‘Tired’ Voice
August 25, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.11 MB2023.08.26 – 0968 – The ‘Tired’ Voice Tired voice Symptom: You sound dull, flat and a little ‘slurry’ as your tongue has trouble forming words. Prescription: · A voice will become tired with the amount, volume or the tone of the sound it is being asked to perform (see: ‘vocal loading’ and episode 756). Regulate your speaking so you don’t speak for too long, too loudly. Consider that 10 x 1-minute breaks allow your voice-tissues to recover more effectively than 1 x 10-minute br...
0967 - The ‘Throwaway’ Delivery
August 24, 2023 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.67 MB2023.08.25 – 0967 - The ‘Throwaway’ Delivery ‘Throwaway’ delivery Symptom: When your voice trails off on the last word or two of a sentence. This makes them sound unimportant and sometime unintelligible and can be another pattern of talking that you don’t realise you have adopted. Prescription: In news and commercial scripts, the last words may be vital to the item. A pay-off, a punchline or a kicker, as discussed in episode 309, complete with a joke! · Review the sense of the ...
0966 - Throat Clearing
August 23, 2023 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.87 MB2023.08.24 – 0966 - Throat Clearing Throat clearing Symptom: Throat clearing can become a habit. The slightest tickle and you may cough, but this irritates the vocal folds even more and makes them more raw and sensitive which then exacerbates the problem. Prescription: · Swap a cough for a hard swallow, preferably with a sip of water and you have a double-whammy: you have eased the irritation without causing more trauma, and hydrates yourself at the same time. Episode 761 cover...
0965 – The ‘Thin’ Voice
August 22, 2023 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.32 MB2023.08.23 – 0965 – The ‘Thin’ Voice Thin voice Symptom: A voice which is weak, with a lack of air, energy and resonance. It may lack authority. Prescription: · It may be trained to become stronger and fuller. Review the advice about relaxation to reduce tension, better breathing skills and breath control, and increasing resonance in your voice. · A thin voice may also be down to starting at too high a register which is leading to poor resonance and running out of breath ...
0964 - Stumbling
August 21, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.58 MB2023.08.22 – 0964 - Stumbling Stumbling Symptom: Verbal mistakes in adlibbed conversations or more likely, when reading as script: restarting words, mispronunciations, mis-intonations, repeated corrections and generally losing your way in a sentence. I outline some more of these in the episodes after 650. Prescription: Give your mouth and mind a chance to get things right! · Relax and warm up to remove any held tension in your vocal apparatus. Have a good rest before a recording (...
0963 - Stammering –
August 20, 2023 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.7 MB2023.08.21 – 0963 - Stammering – Stammering – also called ‘stuttering’ Symptom: Stammering is when someone: · repeats sounds or syllables – for example, saying "mu-mu-mu-mummy" · makes sounds longer – for example, "mmmmmmummy" · a word gets stuck or does not come out at all Prescription: · Little is known of the reasons behind stammering. Those with it have probably experienced it since childhood and are probably already in the health-care system and being...
0962 - 'Sloppy' Speech
August 19, 2023 23:01 - 1 minute - 969 KB2023.08.20 – 0962 - 'Sloppy' Speech Sloppy speech Symptom: Good diction doesn’t (usually) matter (!). As I have said several times in different ways (such as in epsiode 263), what’s important is whether your target listener is getting a muddled message. If they are, then you are not communicating with them and you need to consider whether how your delivery or diction is at fault. Prescription: · Relax and open your mouth effectively to help you form the words. Vocal warm-ups will ...
0961 – The ‘Sing Song’ Delivery
August 18, 2023 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.84 MB2023.08.19 – 0961 – The ‘Sing Song’ Delivery Sing Song Delivery Symptom: This presentation or reading style is characterised by an artificial, repetitive pattern of a gradual rise in pitch for the first part of a sentence …. and then a gradual fall until the end is reached. Or any other regularly-repeated and predictable rhythm in melody which takes the listener away from understanding what is being said, to how it is being said instead, and may bore or annoy them. Rhythms struggle again...
0960 – The ‘Sibilant’ Voice
August 17, 2023 23:01 - 6 minutes - 4.5 MB2023.08.18 – 0960 – The ‘Sibilant’ Voice Sibilant voice Symptom: When a voice is perceived to have excessive ‘s’ sounds it may be because the microphone is picking up and exaggerating that particular frequency. (Consider that sibilance, like many ‘voice sounds’ is subjective. In other words, slightly more ‘s’ sounds may be in the ear of the listener rather than the err, mouth of the reader! And sibilance may be considered a sound of ‘interest’ (rather than the archaic and offensive term ‘...
0959 - The 'Script-reading' Voice
August 16, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.51 MB2023.08.17 – 0959 - The 'Script-reading' Voice Script-reading voice Symptom: When you sound as though you are reading words rather than communicating or telling a story. When you sound wooden, bored, flat – or at the opposite end of the spectrum, overacting and maybe even shouting. When you sound different when you adlib an on-air conversation with a colleague or interview a guest and when you read the cue into the next story, or the weather forecast: the warm personality either falling fl...
0958 – The ‘Quiet’ Voice
August 15, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.35 MB2023.08.16 – 0958 – The ‘Quiet’ Voice Quiet voice Symptom: I once worked with two people in the same office who spoke very quietly. Neither of them seemed concerned or embarrassed when their colleagues continually said “sorry?” or “pardon?”, or when it was easier, simply nodded along unable to hear them. Talking quietly is usually the result of little vocal energy or breath support. In a studio you can electronically boost the levels of the sound being recorded, but as we saw before, this...
0957 - Popping on the Mic
August 14, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.17 MB2023.08.15 – 0957 - Popping on the Mic Popping on the mic Symptom: Some letters are pronounced by the lips temporarily stopping and then releasing a flow of air from your mouth. That means that when you say words with ‘p’ and ‘b’ in them, particularly at the start of a word and particularly if that word is at the start of a sentence (when you have more air and energy), air may hit the mic, causing the sound to momentarily distort on-air or on the recording. Prescription: · Be awar...
0956 – The ‘Plonking’ Speech Pattern
August 13, 2023 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.44 MB2023.08.14 – 0956 – The ‘Plonking’ Speech Pattern Plonking speech pattern Symptom: This is when a reader doesn’t know which word to highlight in their intonation, so they do it either randomly or, like a metronome, on every fourth word (or the last word in every SENTENCE). It’s also what politicians do when they want to give the impression of strength and certainty. Rhythms are lazy and show the reader is in a rut. Catch episode 273 and 274 for more on this. Prescription: Listen to peo...
0955 – Noisy Breathing
August 12, 2023 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.1 MB2023.08.13 – 0955 – Noisy Breathing Noisy breathing Symptom: Your in-breath is clearly heard on the recording, sometimes as a suck (occasionally this comes with a lip-smack as well), or a wheeze. This is covered, along with others from episode 0092 – “The Seven Kinds Of Extra Weird Mouth Noises”. Prescription: · Re-angle yourself or the microphone so breaths are less likely to be picked up. Or as a ‘last resort’ reduce the level of every breath in the final recording. (Removing...
0954 – The ‘Nervous’ Voice
August 11, 2023 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.52 MB2023.08.12 – 0954 – The ‘Nervous’ Voice Nervous voice Symptom: These may include a higher-pitched, fluttering voice, quickly-snatched breaths, little variation in intonation and regular mistakes. Prescription: · We looked in some depth previously how nerves are a natural part of a performance, but reinterpreting them can be a good first step to overcoming them. See them not as ‘nerves’ but as an indication of ‘excitement’, a buzz. A feeling that you control, not one that controls...
0953 – The 'Nasal' Voice
August 10, 2023 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.86 MB2023.08.11 – 0953 – The 'Nasal' Voice Nasal voice Symptom: This is when ‘too much’ sounded-air goes through the nasal cavity where the resonance of sound is changed (a ‘bunged up’ voice is one that doesn’t have enough air through the nasal cavity! Episode 64 discusses the difference in a bit more detail.) Although powerful and penetrating, such a voice has a thin and twangy ‘honk’ to it, with very little depth. It sounds false and put on for broadcasting and is sometimes described as “too...
0952 – The ‘Monotonous’ Voice
August 09, 2023 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.86 MB2023.08.10 – 0952 – The ‘Monotonous’ Voice Monotonous voice Symptom: Spoken tonal delivery which has little variation, with a perception of a single (or ‘mono’) tone. Such a delivery gives the impression that the speaker is bored or tired, that the topic is boring, or if reading from a script, that they have not understood the content enough to feel confident giving correctly-placed intonation. Some people deliberately adopt a flatter-sounding voice in the (mistaken) belief that it makes ...
0951 – The ‘Hoarse, Husky or Croaky’ Voice
August 08, 2023 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.08 MB2023.08.09 – 0951 – The ‘Hoarse, Husky or Croaky’ Voice Hoarse, husky or croaky voice Symptom: A raw, scratchy voice (not necessarily low in pitch) which may signify overuse (such as shouting or talking loudly), abuse (such as drinking and smoking) or both (a late-night party for example). Prescription: · If there’s an obvious one-off cause (such as singing at a concert, or shouting at a sports event), rest the voice and avoid such situations in the future (episode 756, might be ...