0161 – Cut The Number Of Numbers “ The current estimate of £200m is around £50m lower than this time last year ”“ The current estimate of 200-million pounds is around 50-million lower than this time last year ”. England opener Dom Sibley says he should have scored five Test centuries and is "greedy" for "more big runs" in the final two Tests against Pakistan. The 24-year-old former Surrey man averages 39.50 with the bat for his country and has scored two hundreds in 10 Tests since making his deb...
Jun 09, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 161
0160 – Put The Best Word On The Beat “The mood between the Prime Minister and the President as gone from bad to worse today, because of the new trade war.” “Police say the body of a man has been found in the remains of city hall that caught fire at the weekend”. “ With radio … people tend to listen with half an ear. So… the first few words of a news item may easily slip by unnoticed. Avoid putting key words right at the beginning .” “ Broadcast Journalism ” Routledge https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bro...
Jun 08, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 160
0159 – Where To Put The Word You Want To Emphasise As Mervin Block and Joe Durso say [1] , such a construction creates tension and interest. In the English language it’s what we do in conversation: “I’m going into town to buy some new red shoes” “because I want to buy some new red shoes, I am going into town” “I’m going in to town because some new red shoes is what I want to buy”. “The proper place in the sentence for the word or group of words that the author desires to make most prominent is u...
Jun 07, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 159
0158 - Cut Clichés And Keep Familiar Words Shakespeare often made fun of pompous speech. “ An honest tale speeds best being plainly told .” (Richard III) And when the first English dictionary was published in 1604 (“ A Table Alphabeticall of Hard Usual English Wordes ”) its compiler Robert Cawdrey appealed for plain language: “ Some men seek so far for outlandish English, that they forget altogether their mother’s language, so that if some of their mothers were alive, they were not able to tell,...
Jun 06, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 158
0157 - Say Who Says Something, Before Saying What They Said “It’s the best new podcast mic that has been released in 10 years… that’s what newpodcastmics.com said in a recent review…”. “ Newpodcastmics.com said in a recent review that it’s the best new podcast mic that’s been released in 10 years…” “My YouTube videos are showing growth signs” “My YouTube videos are showing signs of growth”. == Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on bre...
Jun 05, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 157
0156 – Don’t Use An Introductory Phrase Or Clause “So I can rise up the Apple podcast charts, I’m going to ask you to leave a review” “I’m going to ask you to leave a review so I can rise up the Apple podcast charts” . “In this video you will discover how to make at home – and with only three ingredients and a few minutes in a microwave, and it’ll taste unbelievably great – a chocolate cake in a mug”. “In this video you will discover how to make at home a chocolate cake in a mug. It only has thr...
Jun 04, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 156
0155 – Keep W ords Short And Relatable As well as keeping sentences short, keep words short. Most people use short words when they talk in ‘real life’, so if you’re trying to emulate this style then think of doing the same. Clarity is the key, without resorting to baby talk. If you’re used to saying, and people are used to hearing words such as phone, TV, fridge and plane , then why start using telephone, television, refrigerator and aeroplane ? == Through these around-5-minute episodes, you can...
Jun 03, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 155
0154 – The Easy-Listening Formula American broadcaster Irving E. Fang researched what makes broadcast copy easy or difficult to understand. He devised the Easy Listening Formula , which is based on the length of words in a sentence. The idea is to add up all the syllables in a sentence, then subtract from that the number of words. If the final score is higher than 20, the sentence contains too many long and abstract words that would make it hard to understand, and it should be cut down. == Throu...
Jun 02, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 154
0153 – Multi-Syllable Sentences The Schools Minister Nick Gibb says allowing students in England to use their mock exam results is an extra safety net for a small group of pupils. This follows a decision by the Scottish government to reinstate grades estimated by teachers because of the complaints that a calibration method had unfairly impacted on disadvantaged students. Nick Gibb said the changes to the system in England would help address this. == Through these around-5-minute episodes, you ca...
Jun 01, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 153
0152 – Keep Sentences Short “I have invited her onto the podcast this week in order for you to be able to literally hear for yourself the changes she’s in the process of making” becomes “I’ve invited her so you can you to hear the changes she’s making”. “Scientific advisers to the government have calculated that a short so-called ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown over the October half-term break could save thousands of lives” becomes “Scientific advisers to the government say a short lockdown over Octo...
May 31, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 152
0151 – Length Is Not Important One problem is often that people write the same way they used to write essays at school or university, or are too used to writing in a business setting – reports, and presentations and so on. Another is that they write to be read with the eye, not read with the mouth. Put those two factors together and you have scripts, whether for news or voiceovers, which are often unwieldly and overwritten, too formal and too formulaic. So don’t write to be read, talk to write… ...
May 30, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 151
0150 – When We Write For The Eye And Not The Ear Here are some of the scripts I refer to in today's episode: The new three-tier system for coronavirus restrictions has come into force in England. We are used to hearing information in conversations in a certain pattern – a rhythm and a structure. Therefore, scripts should mimic that style if we are to read them aloud with ‘conversational conviction’. In short: write the way you talk. So, let’s help you, with my copy about ‘copy’, that you can cop...
May 29, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 150
0149 – If A Script Is Easily Understood By The Reader, It’s More Easily Understood By The Listener Big-buck, big-brand broadcasting businesses have brilliant creatives and productions. But there’s also elearning, internal videos, podcasts. And with calls for more voices, the scripts come from more sources, and that’s where problems creep in. A bit like everyone thinks they are a photographer because they’ve got a camera on their phone, or can be a voice-over because they’ve been talking since th...
May 28, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 149
0148 – Why A Good Script Can Help Your Presentation So, why is a good script important in helping you get a better voice?: It will be clearly laid out Sentence structure will be clear The sentences will be short-to-medium There will be an understanding of rhythm in the sentences For voice-over scripts, they will have clear ‘production direction’ Any awkward words will be clearly signposted and explained And many more! And yet, a lot of scripts are simply ‘not great’! == Through these around-5-mi...
May 27, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 148
0147 – How Better Writing Leads To Better Reading How a script is written can make a huge difference to how you read it. So first we’ll look at preparing your own script, and then we’ll look at how to mark-up someone else’s and how to identify what you need to inflect and why, where you need to pause and so on. Not every presentation needs to have a specific word-for-word script. Obviously a signed-off commercial campaign needs to have one, so too a news bulletin or documentary voice over: partl...
May 26, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 147
0146 – How To Say Acronyms, Dates, Numbers and Scores Acronyms Acronyms are sometimes spelt out and sometimes read as words. There is AEE union, the Association of Engineering Employee (“ A-double-E ”), but then again there is the teaching group “ BECTU ” (“BECK-too”) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is more commonly known as ‘AIDS’, the office of president is ‘POTUS’. Dates In most parts of the world, the format is day > month > year, but in the US it’s month > day > year, so ...
May 25, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 146
0145 – Word Blindness We all have words with which we have ‘blocks’ when it comes how to say them. This may be because of a fear of pronouncing them incorrectly and looking daft or because you simply find them awkward to say. In the first category, there’s where you put the stress in the word ‘laboratory’ (it’s not the same as in ‘lavatory’ – which I’m always fearful of doing). There’s an obvious fear of mixing up the initial syllable of ‘country’ when you mean to say ‘county’, and there can be ...
May 24, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 145
0144 – How To Make A Word Easier To Say Writing a pronunciation phonetically One of the easiest ways to write a word phonetically is to break it down into syllables, clearly indicating any inflection and run-on sounds, for example aluminium is written as al-you-MINNY’m’ – with the run-on indicated at the end of the word with the ‘m. Be careful if you write that a word “ rhymes with …”, as in doing so you may be presuming to know how their accent pronounces that other word! Let’s take the name of...
May 23, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 144
0143 – Saying An Awkward Name Is Not A Game People’s names Like places, these can often be awkward to pronounce: are Smith and Smyth said the same way, or is that second one ‘smithe’? What about Cholmondeley (actually pronounced ‘chum-ly’), or the surname Death (which is often said as Dee-ATH). “Eyewitness John Montmorency (pron: MONT-mor- ENSY) says at least a dozen police vehicles are at the scene…” The acclaimed British actress Julie Hesmondhalgh has such an unusual name, her IMDB page tells ...
May 22, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 143
0142 – The BBC’s Official Pronunciation Test See how accurately you would have read this script, I’ve borrowed from one of the BBC’s online training courses: “Police in Fife say they’ve seized heroin worth £30 million in a raid on a house in the Kirkcaldy [1] area. Other officers are searching a barn near Kingussie [2] where a 27-year-old man was arrested earlier today. More arrests have been made at Machynlleth [3] and Pwllheli [4] in Wales, Puncknowle [5] in Dorset, Ansty [6] in West Sussex an...
May 21, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 142
0141 – The BBC’s Official Pronunciation Test See how accurately you would have read this script, I’ve borrowed from one of the BBC’s online training courses: “Police in Fife say they’ve seized heroin worth £30 million in a raid on a house in the Kirkcaldy area. Other officers are searching a barn near Kingussie where a 27-year-old man was arrested earlier today. More arrests have been made at Machynlleth and Pwllheli in Wales, Puncknowle in Dorset, Ansty in West Sussex and at Maghaberry in North...
May 20, 2021•1 min•Season 1Ep. 141
0140 – Quirky Ways Of Saying A Word Local and regional pronunciations As far as local pronunciations go, any regional TV or radio station should have a written guide (and perhaps an audio one as well) to unusual names and places in their area, thereby reducing the possibility of newbies falling headlong into pronunciation bear-traps and taking the station’s credibility with them. Listeners may not care (or know) if you mispronounce the name of the city of Vienna in Georgia, USA (it’s ‘vye-enna’)...
May 20, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 140
0139 – Pronouncing Foreign Words Foreign names Foreign names can be quite awkward to come across, but with the increasingly global village, they are much more likely to appear. A produced commercial script should have been past so many people to sign it off, that a pronunciation is supplied. If it’s not, perhaps in the case of a news story, a call to native speaker of that language (or maybe the country’s embassy or consulate) might be helpful. Alternatively, there may be some occasions where yo...
May 18, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 139
0138 – Pronunciation Guides Pronunciation guides Pronunciation guides are available online: use a reliable one such as ‘ The Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation’ [1] . For BBC staff, the Corporation has its own Pronunciation Unit whose staff are on hand to answer questions especially on newly-emerging names. For that of a foreign politician who is suddenly in the news, the experts are able to quickly carry out brief research of person, their country of origin and language to see what the ‘root’ of...
May 17, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 138
0137 – Misheard Words Communication confusion A particular problem in clear communication may occur for your listener if they mishear one word for another which could make sense – but have a very different meaning. Depending on your accent: “Can” may sound like “can’t” – “The president said he can/can’t support the bombing” “Facial” is very similar to “fatal” – “The driver received facial/fatal injuries” “Million” can sound similar to “billion” – “… will cost seven million/billion pounds” == Thr...
May 16, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 137
0136 – Why English Is Such A Tough Language To Learn VOICE BOX Our Strange Lingo [1] The Chaos I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not you, On hiccough, thorough, lough and through? Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird, And dead: it's said like bed, not bead— For goodness sake don't call it deed! Watch out for meat and great and thre...
May 15, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 136
0135 – Pismronunciation Errors Some speaking errors may be because of a lack of understanding of the language (maybe if English is a second language), not having seen it written down, or having seen it but not heard it. [1] [1] A colleague once pronounced the English city Middlesbrough as ‘ middles-BRUF ’ as they’d never heard it said before (it’s ‘ MIDDLES-brer ’). == Through these under-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflec...
May 14, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 135
0134 – “Where’s My Demmyster?” PRONUNCIATION You may have superb articulation, with every twist of the tongue and every placement of the palate and location of the lips perfect in every way, but how you say an individual, specific word is incorrect. [1] Pronunciation is linked with articulation, but also includes the subtleties of the light and shade of stress and intonation within a word (which we’ll help you with in a later chapter). And as we will see, better pronunciation is also affected by...
May 13, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 134
0133 – Verbal Fluidity Verbal fluidity A little fluidity in your speech sounds more melodic than the almost-stuttering caused by giving stress to very single letter, down to, literally, the last ‘t’. The Prime Minister said she wanted to go ahead, but we don’t know the President’s response. You would be unlikely to sound the ‘ m ’ in “ Prime ” as doing so would cause a stop between that sound and the following sound, also an ‘ m ’. So, run them on to say “ priminister ”, but not “ pry minister ”...
May 12, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 133
0132 – Diction For Communication Diction for communication Times and expectations change, so exacting and over-clear clarity of every single syllable is usually unnecessary. It can make you sound at best old-fashioned and at worst pedantically petulant. Heck, even the Queen has changed how she speaks! [1] , [2] So even though there are few calls nowadays for a cut-glass pronunciation such as Celia Johnson in the 1945 film “ Brief Encounter ” [3] , appropriate diction is still important for succe...
May 11, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 132
