0131 – The Voice Over Wannabe Who Faked His Audition Tape “I’ve been chewing a lot of gum, and I’ve only found one with an all-day flavour … pop it in your mouth in the morning and it’ll be pepperminty right through til nightime. The name? ‘Five Gum’ – find it in a cool black pack. Five Gum – for all day flavour.” == Through these under-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scrip...
May 10, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 131
0130 – Overcoming Articulation Issues Some articulation issues may be because of a physical problem with the tongue or palate. Winston Churchill, actors James Stewart, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, and James Earl Jones, and singer Carly Simon all had similar problems which they overcame. [1] Whether it’s rhotacism (unusual pronunciation of the letter r, or too much emphasis on this sound), a lisp (the sound produced when s and z are pronounced like a soft ‘th’ sound), stutter (repeating sounds fr...
May 09, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 130
0129 – More Of The Most Common Articulation Alterations Distortions – either in vowels or consonants, sometimes down to a regional accent Omissions (or deletions) – when certain sounds are not included Syllable errors - weak syllables are left out of the pronunciation == Through these under-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 voi...
May 08, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 129
0128 – Some Of The Most Common Articulation Alterations Here then, are some of the most common ‘sound-alterations’ to ‘standard English’ articulation. Substitutions - Swapping sounds (or, when reading, ‘letters’) for other sounds Additions - Including extra sounds, where they don’t exist Affectations – ‘putting on’ a pronunciation because of a misplaced sense of ‘coolness’ or ‘authority’, and sometimes those pronunciations becoming recognised new words or spellings. == Through these under-5-minu...
May 07, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 128
0127 – The US Waitress Who Didn’t Understand My UK Accent VOICE BOX It is well acknowledged that we often adapt our diction or pronunciation to fit in with those around us. If you’ve ever spent time in another country or another area of your own you may have started to speak in a similar way to those who were born and raised there. A friend of mine who moved to the north of England speaks with a southern accent until she talks about the bathroom, when ‘barth’ is replaced with ‘bath’ with a much ...
May 06, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 127
0126 – Don’t Be A Dick With Your Diction DICTION If ‘articulation’ is the process of moving the jaw, tongue, lips and palate to produce different sounds, ‘diction’ is the use of those different ‘packets of sound’ to create understandable words. Don’t be a dick with your diction Again, as I have said several times, I’m not saying you must or should change the way you speak, I’m just putting these ideas out there to be of some help if you want to change. And remember it doesn’t really matter how y...
May 05, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 126
0125 – Ten More Great Accent Tips Some other accent tips · Vocal fillers of other languages may also be important · You have to have a good ear… and a good mouth · Listen to authentic, native speakers, speaking in an English accent · That a character’s voice is more than just their accent · Just focus on one accent at a time · Practice and get confidence by using your newly-learnt accent on people who don’t know your real one Some more resources: · “ How To Do Accents ” by Jan Haydn Rowles and E...
May 04, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 125
0124 – Accents Are Not Just How A Word Sounds Accents are not just how the words sound All accents have a character. Think of a soft projection of highland Scottish, a harsher New-Yorker, the slow drawl of someone from a southern U.S state, the almost operatic excitability of an Italian speaker. Of course, everyone is different but there are ‘cultural averages’ and is partly to do with the melody or song of the accent. Italian has one kind of melody and ‘bounce’, German has another, so you can’t...
May 03, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 124
0123 – How A Rat Can Help You Learn A New Accent Unsurprisingly, you can learn other accents via mimicry: simply listening and accurately repeating how a native speaker speaks, including the subtle nuances. And there are some resources to help you do that. There are several short texts (including “ Arthur The Rat ”, “ Comma Gets A Cure ” and “ The Rainbow Passage” ) which are contain all of the phonetic constructs in the English language – every consonant and vowel structure, and when one sound ...
May 02, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 123
0122 – How Different Languages Have Different Pitches VOICE BOX Language experts [1] say that our speech is made up of a huge number of frequencies – base tones and overtones. It’s claimed that every language has a different range, for example British English moves between 2,000 and 12,000 Hz and French much less so between 125 and to 2,000 Hz and Russian between a wide 125 to 12,000 Hz. It’s thought that a new-born baby can recognise the entire range of human speech sounds, but by around eight ...
May 01, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 122
0121 – Learning Accents Learning accents We looked at vowels and consonants earlier and how they are formed, and it’s true to say that accents are usually down to how you sound the vowels. Yes, consonants are sometimes pronounced differently from your native tongue, but they are much more likely to be the same. There are vowel sounds in some languages that do not exist in standard English. So it’s not a matter of making the same sound but in different situations, you have to first perfect a whol...
Apr 30, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 121
0120 – Speaking’s Most Important Body Part What is the most important part of the human body when it comes to speaking? Arguably the ears: we need to be able to hear sounds and process them before we can reproduce them. And similarly, we all adapt to be able to process different people’s voices. So, scientists say, it is amazing that even though my vocal anatomy is different from yours, if we met we would both be able to hear and understand each other. We are able to calibrate our brains to proc...
Apr 29, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 120
0119 – The ‘Global Accent’ A global accent With around 2 billion speakers (either as a first or second language), English is the most understood language in the world. Spread by traders, invaders and slave owners, explorers, teachers and preachers through the printed word and, literally, the word of mouth, it’s now mostly learnt via American TV and films (rather than, unfortunately, through the culture of its motherland). It is though the language of entertainment, information and business. It i...
Apr 28, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 119
0118 – How Advertisers Use Accents To Sell Us Stuff VOICE BOX Marketers know exactly how to manipulate our feeling towards different accents. Call-centre switchboards are so sophisticated that they often route calls from different geographical locations or from customers with specific enquiries, to operatives with certain accents. So a bank customer from Alabama might get an adviser with a similar Southern accent, even though the call centre may be at the other end of the country. That’s if they...
Apr 27, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 118
0117 – Voice Morphing Voice morphing There’s is nothing wrong in having two or more speaking styles: a ‘personal voice’ and a ‘professional voice’. Linguists refer to ‘style shifting’: a kind of chameleon camouflage in which we unconsciously or deliberately alter our speaking style depending on who we are talking with and factors such as our perception of the relative social class of us and them, and what we want from the interaction. We all do it all of the time: one to use with friends [1] , o...
Apr 26, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 117
0116 – The Story Of Bailey And The Beach Bailey was brought up in New Zealand and so spoke English with that fantastic accent. She was a great newsreader and applied for a job at a radio station in the south-east of England. The news editor didn’t mind the slightly different inflection, Bailey was perfectly understandable and her slight accent added a certain point of difference to the sound of the station. Just because her vowels in ‘short e’ words like ‘dress’ or ‘bed’ sounded more like an ‘i’...
Apr 25, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 116
0115 – How An Accent May Make Or Break Your Career If you are working for a regional radio or tv station then having a pronounced accent from outside that area may cause you problems, particularly if it’s from the ‘wrong side of the river’ in a neighbouring state or an area with whom there’s some historical, sporting or religious antipathy. [1] Presenters with an accent from a foreign country may have an added problem, certainly for broadcast stations who will want to reflect their listeners. Wo...
Apr 24, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 115
0114 – The Accent That Killed When the Tribe of Gilead defeated the Ephraimites in The Bible, they used accent as a means of identifying surviving Ephraimites trying to escape. People were asked to say the Hebrew word " Shibboleth ", which means ‘stream’. People from Gilead pronounced it with a ‘sh’ sound, whereas Ephraimites did not, so anyone who said " Sibboleth " was killed on the spot. According to the Old Testament 42,000 people failed the test. [1] [1] Non-native English speakers can have...
Apr 23, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 114
0113 – All About Accents ACCENTS Accents are wonderful things. None of us think we have one, but we all do! They are what helps make us who we are, reflecting our family history, heritage and where we grew up. They are the product of the dominant speech patterns of those around us, picked up almost by osmosis, as to fit in to a group. We emulate or mimic the sounds from the community and culture around us, including from TV and movies. Accents are wonderful [1] … as long as the people you want t...
Apr 22, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 113
0112 – Six Tongue Exercises – Including The One You Won’t Be Able To Resist Trying VOCAL YOGA - Peter’s PT for the tongue These exercises stretch your tongue, releasing tongue root tension to give you a more resonant voice and gain fine control and make the most of the tongue’s ability and agility. · Stick your tongue out (sorry mum!) Curl it back to touch your chin, then up towards your nose, then left and right. Do this action three times. Then combine all four points in a circle your touch wi...
Apr 21, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 112
0111 - Face Yoga VOCAL YOGA - Peter’s PT for the face Pull a face! - Make an exaggerated expression and then release, and express again. The Lion – a scary face, baring your teeth and angry eyes The Clown – full and bright, with your mouth wide open The Lemon Eater – tight and acidic == Through these under-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 te...
Apr 20, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 111
0110 – Getting’ Lippy With It! Pucker Up For Some ‘Lip PT’ VOCAL YOGA - Peter’s PT for the lips · Humming – yes something as easy and straightforward as this can help loosen your lips and free up your facial muscles ready for a voice session. · Lips trills – like humming this is an opportunity to wake up your resonators especially after a night’s sleep. Simply make a shiver-type noise that a child would as they push a toy car around (‘ brrrrrrr ’). You may need the power of quite a bit of air be...
Apr 19, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 110
0109 – Morgan Freeman’s Favourite Voice Exercise VOCAL YOGA - Peter’s PT for your throat · Here’s how to reduce tension in the back of your mouth and throat, and create a better resonance in your voice. You will notice that when you say ‘car car car’, the back of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth. Now say ‘ga ga ga’ and the tongue moves down a bit. And when you pronounce ‘ha ha ha’ it clears away completely to allow a breathier sound. Take a breath and repeat the ‘car’ sound until you a...
Apr 18, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 109
0108 – Tension-Busting Jaw Exercises VOCAL YOGA – Peter’s PT for the jaw · Beware of clenched teeth which may be a sign of stress. The most relaxed position for your jaw is with the teeth slightly apart. Open your mouth slightly and carefully move your lower jaw from side to side. Do this slowly and gently and just six times a side. · Be like a cow chewing cud. Pretend to do this, or loosen your jaw by chewing gum or a toffee before you go on air or start a shift. As this will increase saliva pr...
Apr 17, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 108
0107 – The 1941 ‘Radio Announcer’s Test’ To Help With Speaking Skills The Radio Announcers Test [1] This was created by Radio Central New York in 1941 to test new announcers’ speaking skills. It covers a variety of vowel and consonant sounds and you can either say it line-by-line, in just one breath without sounding rushed or out of breath, or read line 1, then 1 and 2, then 1,2 and 3 and so on. Potential staff would be graded for clarity, enunciation, diction, tonality and expressiveness. · One...
Apr 16, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 107
0106 – Our Amazing and Unique Alphabetised Exaggerated Articulation Exercises VOCAL YOGA – Peter’s PT for Articulation Traditional tongue twisters are great to warm up your mouth and to help increase your clarity and overall oral muscularity, because despite their name they also help you develop the better use of your jaw, lips and soft palate too. Our Amazing And Unique Alphabetised Exaggerated Articulation Exercises Start slowly and carefully. Make sure the start and end of each word is crisp,...
Apr 15, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 106
0105 – Mouth Clicks And Audio Processing Mouth clicks and audio processing What is audio processing? After sound is recorded it often goes through a professionally post-production process. This obviously won’t happen if you are going live to say YouTube/Zoom from your phone or laptop, but will happen if you are live or recorded from a professional studio, or if your home studio has a processer as part of the audio chain between the mic and the output (for example, if the sound goes through a goo...
Apr 14, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 105
0104 – Cutting Mouth Clicks By Balancing Proximity, Projection And Levels So the closer you are to the mic when you speak, the softer your voice will be and the input level on that mic channel will be tweaked to achieve appropriate recording level. If you get close and shout then the input level will need to be low to avoid distortion on the playback of the recording. If you move away from the mic and also drop the loudness of your script, then the mic input level will need to be increased. You ...
Apr 13, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 104
0103 – Mouth Clicks And Mic Technique Mouth clicks and mic technique Whatever the cause, being too close to the microphone will certainly accentuate clicks. It stands to reason, if someone whispers in your ear you are far more likely to hear their tongue, cheeks and lips at work making those word-formations. This could be sensuous in some circumstances but, maybe not when you’re trying to understand an ad, notice the news or follow a thought leader. How your voice is picked up by the microphone ...
Apr 12, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 103
0102 – Kissing When Speaking: The ‘Lip Smack’ Sound Subconcious vocalisation Finally (although you may be able to think of some more), distracting and unnecessary non-verbal sounds may be the subconscious ‘kiss-sound’ as someone vocalises an in-breathe a split-second before talking. As this often happens in a news-reading situation just before a new story, and because the sound can also sound like a ‘tut’, it could be mistaken for a comment on the item that’s just finished, so impartial broadcas...
Apr 11, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 102
