0336 – The Feedback Loop – Part 2

2021.12.02 – 0336 – The Feedback Loop – Part 2

When we are in a studio, we don’t have this verbal and non-verbal feedback loop because the audience is unseen: we can’t see their nods of agreement, or hear their “uh-huhs” of understanding, and so it’s tricky for us to adjust our mode of delivery, and therefore to sound natural.

We need to create a construct of conversationality while reading a written text aloud. You know what it’s like when you’re talking to someone at a barbecue or business gathering, and they are looking over your shoulder distracted by someone else they’d rather be talking to? What you are saying just peters out. Perhaps you’ve been in the situation with your kids or partner – you are talking and feel as though they’re not actively listening. If the feedback loop exists at all its maybe just “uh-huh”, “yeah”, “I see” … You may even have said something totally outrageous to check that the loop isn’t entirely broken “… and then I thought I’d run stark naked through the church ladies reading circle” to jolt them into attention and authentic reaction.

In summary: When you are talking to someone in front of you, you see their reaction: they lean in to show their interest, they look away and are distracted by something else, they nod in agreement … the relationship is two-sided and reciprocal, and leads you as the message-deliverer change your style to further engage them.

But you do not experience this in a studio environment. And that’s why it’s tricky.

And we’ll look at the tricks to overcome this trickiness over the next short while.

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 2022.

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, 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. 

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 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

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