0461 – 1 - Study Natural Conversations In The Wild

2022.04.06 – 0461 – 1 - Study Natural Conversations In The Wild

1 - Study Natural Conversations In The Wild

To sound conversational, you need to give the impression that you are talking without a script. If the audience has the perception that you are reading pre-written, edited, and rehearsed words then that sheet of paper or computer screen has come between you and the message. You need to give the impression that you are talking to them unimpeded, with adlibbed fluency.

If you want to replicate the sound of naturalness in your reading, then it makes sense to study that ‘nature’ in the wild. Listen to other people’s conversations, and monitor your own. How do they speak (is it in sentences?). What is their pace and use of the pause? What is their level of intonation, the rise and fall in pitch of their voice as they speak?

For example, consider the naturalness of talking to a friend, live, perhaps about a great new ‘potential partner’ you just met:

·        Your pitch rose when you talked about the excitement of seeing them for the first time.

·        It dropped when you mentioned how you got closer for a kiss and a cuddle.

·        You spoke faster over the ‘bits you don’t want to mention’ (“anyway one thing led to another and yadda-yadda-yadda…”)

·        You elongated words just before describing what happened next, to build drama (“… and the next morrrr-niiiiing….!”)

·        And you increased volume and pronunciation to emphasise certain facts (“it was like …. OH. MY. ACTUAL. GOD!”)

If you can hear and understand what natural conversation then you will be better able to replicate it in the studio.

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