Get A Better Broadcast, Podcast and Voice-Over Voice
1,002 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 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
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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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Episodes
0301 – More Intonation Confusion
October 27, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.1 MB2021.10.28 – 0301 – More Intonation Confusion In a news item about the Kashmir earthquake, one presenter said that she was going to speak to “someone who was in the country [Pakistan] at the time of the earthquake”. But she highlighted “country”, which made it seem that this person had gone off to a quiet rural retreat. The new and newsworthy information is that that person being spoken to was an eye-witness, experienced what happened, and so the phrase that needed to be highlighted was th...
0300 – 8 – Beware of Potential Intonation Confusion
October 26, 2021 23:01 - 7 minutes - 4.4 MB2021.10.27 – 0300 – 8 – Beware of Potential Intonation Confusion We have already seen how colouring different words in a sentence leads to a change in meaning of that sentence. Therefore, if you colour the wrong word, the meaning of the sentence becomes wrong too. In 2021 there was a lack of lorry drivers in the UK which hit distribution companies and threatened to lead to higher prices for products and stock shortages. It was suggested this was because of the Coronavirus pandem...
0299 – 7 – Take Notice Of What Is Implied
October 25, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.24 MB2021.10.26 – 0299 – 7 – Take Notice Of What Is Implied When no contrast is implied There are some phrases in which to colour one part over another, suggests a contrast that does not or cannot exist. On occasion you are able to rewrite the sentence so the anomaly disappears: “Police have found a dead body on wasteland in the city centre”. A ‘body’ in this context is by sheer definition, dead (otherwise the discovery would be referenced as “an injured man” for example). It wou...
0298 – Purposeful Mis-Intonation
October 24, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.65 MB2021.10.25 – 0298 – Purposeful Mis-Intonation It’s similar in this e-learning script: “Human beings inhales mainly oxygen and exhales mainly carbon dioxide…” – we might normally say ex-HALE, but because of its contrast with an earlier word we say EX-hale. And on this government website: “… whether it’s national or international trade…” – instead of the more usual pronunciation of inter-NATIONAL, we say INTER-national so it contrasts with the NATIONAL mentioned previously. Or this tr...
0297 – 6 – Shades of Colour
October 23, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 3.95 MB2021.10.24 – 0297 – 6 – Shades of Colour In your ‘vocal palette’ you: · slightly colour new information… · give slightly more colour to the first part of contrasting information… · and slightly more again to the second part of contrasting information. That’s because you have to give credit to your audience: they understand that there is a pattern in the ‘emerging explanation’ of what you are saying, that you are going to mention everyone by name and the locations...
0296 – Guiding The Listener
October 22, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.01 MB2021.10.23 – 0296 – Guiding The Listener It’s a complicated explanation, and your intonation will help the listener through who is doing what with who and when. And that of course is the point of intonation – to signpost the sense of a story. Here’s another example. Read it aloud naturally and then look at the construction and with what you know so far, work out the contrasts and therefore the ‘colour words’ that are there. “The climate action group said humans were felling too many...
0295 – Contrasts Within Contrasts
October 21, 2021 23:01 - 9 minutes - 5.97 MB2021.10.22 – 0295 – Contrasts Within Contrasts Let’s make it a bit more fun, because sometimes there’s more than one contrast, or contrasts within contrasts! “Some dealerships give you a free vehicle wash with every service, we give an internal valet too … with every service and every winter tyre change.” Note the contrasts between “some dealerships” and “we” … “free vehicle wash” and “internal valet” … and “every service” and “every service and every winter tyre change”. “The unio...
0294 – 5 – Look For The Balance
October 20, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 4.12 MB2021.10.21 – 0294 – 5 – Look For The Balance Look for the fulcrum in the story – what balances one side of it with another. A story is often a story because the arc is based around an axis-point: ‘while this is happening over here, that’s happening over there . . .’, or ‘he says this, but she says that’. In your head you probably just read that sentence, slightly lifting the words “this”, “here”, “that”, and “there”. That’s because those words are giving ‘context through contrast or com...
0293 – 4 – How Long Before An Old Idea Is New Again
October 19, 2021 23:01 - 7 minutes - 4.63 MB2021.10.20 – 0293 – 4 – How Long Before An Old Idea Is New Again Yeah, good point. I mean, if you’re reading a longer script, a word, term or idea may keep reappearing. You can’t subdue every subsequent reference to it just because you said it two paragraphs or pages before. Indeed not. It becomes a new idea when other information has been introduced subsequently and taken the listener’s attention away from that ‘new thing’. It may be a ‘recycled’ new idea quite quickly – someti...
0292 – 3 – Synonyms: simple and advanced
October 18, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.31 MB2021.10.19 – 0292 – 3 – Synonyms: simple and advanced We looked at the basic synonyms earlier. This is when “the Prime Minister” is then referred to as “she”, or “The Green Fingered Gardening Group” is called “the business”. And we discussed how, just because it’s a different word, the idea is still old: that person, organisation or idea has already been introduced and so a further reference to them using either the same word or a substitute term, should not be lifted. There are excepti...
0291 – ‘Reading In’
October 17, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 3.02 MB2021.10.18 – 0291 – ‘Reading In’ In broadcast newsrooms, the person who writes the introduction to a story (the cue) may not be the person who goes on and actually records the script of the story itself. That’s because larger newsrooms might have specialist writer and those who are on-air. In smaller newsrooms it’s because the newsreader (who will read the cue on air) is usually the person who finds and writes the whole story and asks a colleague to ‘voice up’ the main report (a ‘voicer’...
0290 – Grades Of Lifting And Subduing
October 16, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.47 MB2021.10.17 – 0290 – Grades Of Lifting And Subduing You will remember the musical stave earlier, and realise that it’s not a matter of rising up from and down to your ‘home tone’ of intonation, in many cases you need to go below that tone to ‘un-colour’ or ‘subdue’ a word or phrase, such is its insignificance. I have used the word ‘subtle’ and ‘nuanced’ before, and that is deliberate, because I want to show the shades of colour you can bring to words within a sentence when you intonate....
0289 – Subduing Old Information: Examples
October 15, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.68 MB2021.10.16 – 0289 – Subduing Old Information: Examples Let’s look at the idea of subduing old information with a few more examples: · “The England football captain and other members of the team” – you would not highlight “team” as you have suggested that is what you’re referring to (with the use of the words “captain” and “other members”), and so would simply lift the word “other” and subdue “members of the team” · “Prince Charles, Prince William and many of the Queen’s othe...
0288 – When Information Is Implied
October 14, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.93 MB2021.10.15 – 0288 – When Information Is Implied VOICE BOX This subduing of old information also, as I mentioned before, goes for information which – although never explicitly said – is implied: A large fire has broken out at a coffin makers in Strabane, County Tyrone. The Northern Ireland Fire Service is at the blaze at O'Doherty's on Railway Street. Julie Journo reports. Let’s look at that very last line “Julie Journo reports”. We all understand the ‘grammar of news r...
0287 – The Synonym Intonation Substitution.
October 13, 2021 23:02 - 5 minutes - 3.43 MB2021.10.14 – 0287 – The Synonym Intonation Substitution. Here’s a quick way to work out whether you should be ‘colouring a synonym’: simply put into effect The Synonym Intonation Substitution. This is: take a word or phrase that you think may be a synonym for something you have already said, and replace it with that first mention. Then read those same sentences again – with the repeated word in both. If you naturally drop the second reference (as you likely will), then: · You...
0286 – What To Do About Synonyms
October 12, 2021 23:01 - 7 minutes - 4.63 MB2021.10.13 – 0286 – What To Do About Synonyms The same goes when synonyms (other words which have the same meaning) are used: · “A man’s been stabbed on Epsom Common. He was attacked as he walked on wasteland near the Wells estate.” o Colour “stabbed” as this is new information, but un-colour “attacked” as it is a synonym. The same principle goes for “Common” which is highlighted, and “wasteland”, which is another word for the same thing. · “The court heard how Mr Smith h...
0285 – 2 - Un-colour Old Information
October 11, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 3.77 MB2021.10.12 – 0285 – 2 - Un-colour Old Information Unimportant or old information (that is, detail which is already known or presumed to be known), can be ‘thrown away’ in your delivery and does not need to be highlighted. It can stay on your level tone or subdued. “The crash was between two cars. The blue car hit the red car.” We just saw how you would naturally slightly highlight “crash” and “two cars” in the first sentence but would you colour the word “car” in the second? Go ahead a...
0284 – What Are Meaningful Words?
October 10, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.06 MB2021.10.11 – 0284 – What Are Meaningful Words? VOICE BOX Meaning-ful words These are the words which help make the story, the story. They are the ‘magic key’ words to help the listener understand what is being said, rather than the (usually) shorter, more common words which are the ‘glue’ that holds the sentences together. When talking conversationally, we instinctively lift these key words, even without the benefit of a script or rehearsal time! It just naturally happens as the wo...
0283 – 1 - Colour Important New Information
October 09, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 4.07 MB2021.10.10 – 0283 – 1 - Colour Important New Information Here are then, some keys to a good read. 1 – Colour Important New Information In ad-libbed speaking we naturally highlight the detail that ‘makes the story, the story’ – the information that is new and important, the facts that we want to draw attention to, and which propel the message… the ‘meaning-ful’ words and phrases. So ask yourself what the script is about and what makes it unusual. What is different, new or unexp...
0282 – Intentional Intonation
October 08, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.14 MB2021.10.09 – 0282 – Intentional Intonation THE GUIDE to INTENTIONAL INTONATION Your intonation education and behaviour modification, starts here! Accurate intonation is the most important of all elements in spoken delivery. It allows your message to be communicated with precision. There is no point in reading if your listeners don’t understand the meaning. If you have any doubt in ‘how to read out loud’ think, “how would I say this?” rather than “how would I read this?” – that’s a tri...
0281 – Emma’s Story
October 07, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.89 MB2021.10.08 – 0281 – Emma’s Story If you understand the sense of the story, why it is relevant and interesting, then you stand a better chance of making it compelling when you read it. Put yourself in the place where the story happened, see it as you read it to add to your conviction… – like Emma, the travel reporter… I was called in by the manager of a radio station to train his travel news presenter, let’s call her Emma Leven. He was at a loss to know what to do. She had a great v...
0280 – - How to Sound Like You Know What You’re Talking About.
October 06, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.34 MB2021.10.07 – 0280 – - How to Sound Like You Know What You’re Talking About. - How to sound like you know what you’re talking about. You can do this by actually knowing what you’re talking about. (You can’t fake sincerity.) If you don’t know the meaning of what you’re reading, then how will you will be able to convey the meaning to your audience? Good comprehension leads to good intonation. If you are not interested, your viewer and listener won’t be. You don’t want one (or more) of the...
0279 – The Bus Driver Analogy
October 05, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 968 KB2021.10.06 – 0279 – The Bus Driver Analogy If you have ‘randomisation of intonation’ then it’s like travelling on a bus with a driver who keeps clipping the curb. You get so caught up with hanging on to the seat that you’re not ‘hanging onto their every word’. Your listeners have to be reassured where you are going with a script, so they can ‘enjoy the view’ of the message. That way they forget about the driver, and just enjoy the journey. Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021 Pe...
0278 – Intonation Is Easier If…
October 04, 2021 23:01 - 55 seconds - 585 KB2021.10.05 – 0278 – Intonation Is Easier If… ‘Read intonation’ becomes easier if you: · Understand the message of the script or story · Realise its significance – if you are interested you will sound interesting · Know who the intended listener is · And their ‘desired response’ 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 rea...
0277 – Nervous Newbies
October 03, 2021 23:01 - 6 minutes - 4.2 MB2021.10.04 – 0277 – Nervous Newbies This person is a beginner in reading, perhaps live on air. Their problem is that they start their read not on their ‘home pitch’ but one or two octaves higher, which means that when they need to intonate a word using a slightly higher pitch there’s little head room to move in to. It can sound painful for humans to hear – although dogs may be able to! As well as internal and external stress contributing to a higher register, the style and content of s...
0276 – The ‘Grand Old Duke Of York’ Readers
October 02, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.21 MB2021.10.03 – 0276 – The ‘Grand Old Duke Of York’ Readers These are the presenters who rise in pitch as the sentence goes on, then pause three words from the end of it before completing it on… [1] a [2] downward [3] inflection. They are in effect, marching their words to the top of the hill… and then down again. (Say those two previous sentences with a rising intonation on each word up to the ellipses, and then drop it … word by word.) You may have heard people like this: they’r...
0275 – ‘Intonation Stew’ Readers
October 01, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.76 MB2021.10.02 – 0275 – ‘Intonation Stew’ Readers Sometimes I hear a script that sounds like an ‘intonation stew’, with intonations rising and falling for no apparent reason, and emphasis either in all the wrong places. It’s always hard to listen to that kind of read, because it’s completely un-natural. That is, it doesn’t mimic the way we speak in conversation, which is one of the skills you need for successful voice acting. It sounds like a really poor ‘robotic’ voice you hear on kids’ games...
0274 – Action Intonators
September 30, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.54 MB2021.10.01 – 0274 – Action Intonators I have also read advice to “stress every verb, because they’re action-words”. That is simply wrong! There may be some sense in colouring (not ‘stress’ please!) some action words (as long as they are keys to the sense of the script (see below) such as run, fight, punch, jump and so on. They are certainly ‘action verbs’. But what about other verbs? Sleep, cry, collapse…? Verbs simply do not always express action. So such advice is ‘intonat...
0273 – Plonking
September 29, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.4 MB2021.09.30 – 0273 – Plonking “Just a little tip, you don’t underline every third word for emphasis because it sounds really unnatural” that’s what Ira Glass the host and producer of the radio and television series ‘This American Life’ is quoted as saying.[1] Similarly, NPR says: “You should give certain words a little punch, but in a way that doesn’t just mean you scream every fourth word and whisper all the others.”[2] Plonking in intonation on every ‘however-many-words’, shows you...
0272 – Intonation Constipation
September 28, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.04 MB2021.09.29 – 0272 – Intonation Constipation This is when there is barely any intonation at all – your presentation style is as flat as Ian McDonald on diazepam.[1] With such a delivery, all the ‘story signposts’ are at the same level. Low. And even though the delivery may be unemotional – good on occasion – it may also be considered uninvolving or uncaring, or rude and does little to help lead a listener through the lanes of learning. Rather than get a full understanding, they’re mo...
0271 – The Stale Story Read
September 27, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.96 MB2021.09.28 – 0271 – The Stale Story Read Another close relation, The Stale Story read is also the style of the 24-hour news channel presenter, who is reading the same script for the umpteenth hour and forgets to inject an element of understanding into it. It’s the style of the autocue automaton who forgets that someone is hearing this information for the very first time and to them it should be presented as ‘fresh facts’ and ‘new news’ and an intonation that will help signpost its signi...
0270 – The News Channel Read
September 26, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.1 MB2021.09.27 – 0270 – The News Channel Read This is the style of intonation in which every story is read in a similar style. It takes its name from the ’24-hour news’ style, where presenters don’t have time to read new stories off air before they do so on air. They get into a ‘reading rut’, a muscle-memory delivery that has the same pattern and intonation, rise and fall. Such a delivery is usually not very wrong, but not completely right either. It’s a basic non-committal, neutral safe style ...
0269 – Sing-Song Reads
September 25, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.37 MB2021.09.26 – 0269 – Sing-Song Reads Here then is my ‘Reading Rogue’s Gallery’ – ‘criminal intonations’ committed by newbies who haven’t been trained properly, and old hands who’re stuck in a rut. Sing-song reads These are scripts read with a repetitive rhythm, with a similar rise and fall in one sentence as another. This kind of delivery shows that rather than intoning the correct words, you’re merely intoning the ones that appear in the same place in each sentence. Each sentence sho...
0268 – When Wrong Words Are Intoned
September 24, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 961 KB2021.09.25 – 0268 – When Wrong Words Are Intoned If the wrong words are ‘intoned’, you are not achieving the main part of your job: effective communication. · the listener may not be able to follow · you may lose their attention entirely · they may become annoyed as they struggle to understand the sense of the story · you may give the impression that you are biased for or against the story you are reading · or imply that you have little confidence ...
0267 – When Intonation Goes Wrong
September 23, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.29 MB2021.09.24 – 0267 – When Intonation Goes Wrong When Intonation Goes Wrong Later we will look at intonation, the lift or suppression of individual words and phrases to indicate significance. Mis-emphasis destroys the authority and believability of your delivery. Intonation is greatly misunderstood and badly taught – if at all. While researching content for this book to add to my extensive notes and experiences, I came across a company offering training in ‘how to speak like a bro...
0266 – Un-Colouring Words
September 22, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.21 MB2021.09.23 – 0266 – Un-Colouring Words And the counterbalance to colouring or lifting a word or phrase, is ‘un-colouring’ or dropping a word or phrase. It’s part of ‘throwing away’ unimportant information, and is just as important as highlighting the ‘best bits’. Without one, there would not be the other. People do not process every word you utter in their heads - they listen only for key words that unlock the meaning of the sentence, and they interpret words that you leave alone (o...
0265 – The Intonation Colour Chart
September 21, 2021 23:01 - 9 minutes - 5.68 MB2021.09.22 – 0265 – The Intonation Colour Chart Intonational ‘colour chart’; There are four basic levels: Level 4 - Special Stress – more energy emphasis Level 3 - Primary Lift - slightly raised in range Level 2 - Home Base – your natural resting ‘mono-tone’ Level 1 - Finality - low pitch This is how that framework can be used: [1] · Statements of fact/command: “Now tell him” 2-3-1 · Interrogative sentence: “Is he ready?” 2-2-3 · Questions with...
0264 – Graduations of Intonations
September 20, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.55 MB2021.09.21 – 0264 – Graduations of Intonations Intonation Gradations Intonation requires you to give the correct degree of colour to ‘key’ words or phrases in a sentence, to show which of several possible meanings is intended. ‘Colour’ is a nuanced combination of: · Pitch – when we change the inflection or tone of the word by lifting it (this happens most frequently in intonation) · Projection – pushing the word more forcibly · Volume – making the word loud...
0263 – The Intonation Code
September 19, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 919 KB2021.09.20 – 0263 – The Intonation Code So you will see by now that your intonation can greatly influence the meaning of the message and you have to select the weight of your intonation carefully to ensure that the correct information is communicated to your audience. Intonation is the code we have to unlock the meaning of what people ‘really’ mean – without them having to explain it all for us. And that is all great when we are adlibbing, discoursing and generally being gabby conversatio...
0262 – An Intonation Exercise
September 18, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.64 MB2021.09.19 – 0262 – An Intonation Exercise You want another example? Try this: “He lost the point”. But depending how it is ‘intoned’ it could mean: · “He lost the point” – everyone else tried really hard, but that point loss? It was down to him. · “He lost the point” – we had all hoped that the point was going to be won, it was down to the wire, on a knife edge, and against the clock, but in the end, yep, he lost it. · “He lost the point” – Yep he lost the point, ...
0261 – The Red Hat Mystery
September 17, 2021 23:01 - 7 minutes - 4.54 MB2021.09.18 – 0261 – The Red Hat Mystery Those examples were with a single word, so now let’s try a similar exercise with the basic sentence “I didn’t say Roger took the red hat”. How we say each of those words, in relation to the others, helps explain more of meaning behind the statement than the actual words themselves. I didn’t say Roger took the red hat I didn’t say that – but Maddy did. I didn’t say Roger took the red hat I said nothing of the sort. Everything you say is fal...
0260 – “Hello…”
September 16, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.22 MB2021.09.17 – 0260 – “Hello…” Intonation is what we all use naturally every day in our conversational speech. As native speakers of whatever language, we have the rhythms and flows, the up and downlifts, the speed, projections and pauses, all in-built. That’s because we have heard the lilt of the language from inside the womb and every day since. And it’s the same when we hear people too: if your partner calls you on the phone you can tell immediately what kind of day they’re having – not so...
0259 – Intonation Illustrations
September 15, 2021 23:01 - 3 minutes - 2.11 MB2021.09.16 – 0259 – Intonation Illustrations Intonation illustrations Intonation is the ‘punctuation of the spoken word’ used to signpost meaning when we’re talking. Of course, in the written word there are various devices that can be used instead: “When did you get here?” Susan snapped, sarcastically. “SHUT UP!” he replied. To help the reader, the author and printer have worked together to tell the reader what’s going on: · Italicisation – draws attention to the key word i...
0258 – The Goldilocks Rules Of Intonations
September 14, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 1.22 MB2021.09.15 – 0258 – The Goldilocks Rules Of Intonation Nuanced and natural The first thing to stress (!) is that intonation is usually a subtle blend of various vocal elements, nuanced and natural. It is usually not ‘stressing’, ‘emphasising’, ‘barking’ or ‘shouting’, all of which are the vocal equivalent of a thump on the table. And although we use CAPITALISATIONS to or underlining to mark our scripts and where to lift, we do so for practicalities’ sake. But in your mind, instead of embol...
0257 – My Guide To Reading Out Loud, Naturally
September 13, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.85 MB2021.09.14 – 0257 – My Guide To Reading Out Loud, Naturally Here is my guide on ‘how to read out loud naturally’[1] which I developed as a BBC news presenter and then went on to use while train colleagues in national and local stations across the UK. It’s a framework on how to vocalise various constructions of grammar, punctuation and logic which make up most news stories and scripts. Note I did not say ‘rules’, because although some sentences can only be read in one way, most can be read ...
0256 - Weight And Pitch in Intonation
September 12, 2021 23:01 - 2 minutes - 1.84 MB2021.09.13 – 0256 - Weight And Pitch in Intonation An Introduction to Intonation Intonation is, then, the weight and pitch one puts on individual words or phrases that draw attention to their significance and thereby communicate the overall message. Correct intonation leads a listener through a story, with the reader an interpreter or trusted guide of the facts about what ‘makes the story, a story’. The reader of a newspaper is led around the printed page by its layout. Television ...
0255 – Intonation Definitions
September 11, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.3 MB2021.09.12-0255 – Intonation Definitions Intonation – is the subtle combination of tone, pitch and volume that you give to individual words or phrases as part of your overall musicality of inflection – and that’s the point of this chapter. Therefore, I will refer to intonation rather than inflection as the way to read conversationally and with meaning. I shall be careful not to use ‘stress’ as the word can also be used to mean ‘physical or mental stress’ (causing tension in the body and ...
0254 – Inflection Definitions
September 10, 2021 23:01 - 5 minutes - 3.41 MB0254 – Inflection Definitions INFLECTION AND INTONATION DEFINITIONS Definitions for words surrounding different parts of speaking are many, varied and often interchangeable. For clarity I shall use: Inflection – the overall sound of a language. Listen to someone speaking in a language that you do not understand and the overall rise and fall of their sound, its musicality, is the inflection. ‘Cadence’ or ‘prosody’ could be considered other words for ‘inflection’. Inflection is the ‘sum ...
0253 – An Introduction To Intonation
September 09, 2021 23:01 - 1 minute - 807 KB0253 – An Introduction To Intonation In this Intonation Section · How to recognize the principles of intonation used naturally in everyday speech · How to apply these principles in ‘unnatural’ scripted words, written by someone else · How to communicate the meaning of the reading – even with complicated content · How to speak naturally · How to make the written word sound unforced and natural In short, how to give meaning to your reading Audio ...
0252 – Non-Word Sounds
September 08, 2021 23:01 - 4 minutes - 2.78 MB0252 – Non-Word Sounds It’s not just words that are requested in voice overs and voice acting. As we just saw, there are sighs gasps and screams too. Here are a few more sounds which are often requested at sessions, and which might be worth you practicing: · burping · cheering · crying · drinking · gasping · laughing · sneezing / blowing nose Also common ones in games: · climbing and lifting oneself up · jumping up, l...