2022.03.06 – 0430 – ‘Using Your Hands To Help Your Voice’ Hold on, this is supposed to be all about talking, with your mouth, isn’t it? Well yes and no. Talking also involves the rest of your body. Certainly, in breathing you use your diaphragm and throat … but talking also involves your hands, your head – in fact a lot of the rest of the body too: posture and gesture go hand in hand (!) to affect your vocal delivery. Earlier we looked at how to imagine another person in the room with you, as a ...
Mar 06, 2022•1 min•Season 2Ep. 430
2022.03.05 – 0429 – What is A ‘Natural’ and ‘Conversational’ Sound? Now let’s enter a new section in the [1] ‘voyage of the voice’, with more communication skills. So far we’ve looked at how the voice is produced – with a series on breathing - and how words are formed when we spent some time on articulation. Then we examined the various aspects of speaking from intonation to projection, pace, pause and pitch. So, now we know what goes on in the ‘chest and the head’ – what does it take to go one ...
Mar 05, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 429
2022.03.04 – 0428 – The Speed Of The Read – A Summary And that’s the challenge: to maintain clarity and inflection throughout the script. “Sometimes the most powerful sound in stories is a lack of sound, or a pause, or a silence, or a cadence of the way we speak in person that you can't really get when you're reading print. You hear that in your mind, but you don't really know how it's intended to sound. So, I think there's a musicality to audio storytelling that gives it also a little bit of an...
Mar 04, 2022•9 min•Season 2Ep. 428
2022.03.03 – 0427 – Peter’s PT For Talking To Time Take some copy which has a required duration indicated on it, and read it aloud like you might in a demo, and with a stopwatch to hand. How many words did you read in 30 seconds? Or how many seconds were you over? Keep practicing until you can sensibly get the copy in the seconds required, several times in a row. Then take another script and repeat the exercise before return to the first script and seeing if the rate and the rhythm are still the...
Mar 03, 2022•1 min•Season 2Ep. 427
2022.03.02 – 0426 – Peter’s PT For The Fast Talker VOCAL YOGA – PETER’S PT for the fast-talker Here’s one of those infamous ‘Terms and Conditions’ statements you often hear at the end of ads. Can you clearly communicate this script at speed and at ease? “Representative example cash price 13-4,2,0. Deposit 4,8-9,9-41 Credit amount 8,5,2,0-59 36 months optional final payment 6,2,3,7-67 Total payable 14-7,3,6-72 Based on 8-thousand miles per annum Representative APR 5.9% Fixed interest 3.05%” The a...
Mar 02, 2022•54 sec•Season 2Ep. 426
2022.03.01 – 0425 – Pod-Fasting POD-FASTING This is when listeners play back your podcast really fast, perhaps 1.5 or even twice the originally recorded speed (often referred to as “2-ex” speed). They may be short of time, or they may find your delivery either not compelling enough – just too drawn out, or not enough wheat for the chaff, or simply your presentation just. Too. Slow. The podcast player removes the micro-pauses in and between words, without affecting your pitch. So you seem to spee...
Mar 01, 2022•3 min•Season 2Ep. 425
2022.02.28 – 0424 – The Pregnant Pause Pregnant pause This is a pause that is full of meaning (‘pregnant’ means ‘full’) – it builds suspension and signifies significance. “And Prime Mionsiter, did you ever take drugs?” [Pause] “Yes. Yes I did.” “And now we come to who will inherit the vast percentage of grandad’s estate…” [Pause] or perhaps could happen when no-one knows quite what to say: “You know Nigel? He’s been arrested for murder…” [Pause] Pregnant pauses can be natural as in those example...
Feb 28, 2022•3 min•Season 2Ep. 424
2022.02.27 – 0423 – The Difference Between A Pause And ‘Dead Air’ A Pause and Dead Air – the difference A pause is purposeful production. It’s been included for a reason, for effect, for punctuation and a dozen other reasons (see below). Dead air is a gap caused by a gaffe – a miscalculation, a technical mistake, a brain freeze. A pause is intentional, dead air is accidental. “A pause is a silence filled with meaning; an empty lapse of time is a wait.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for ...
Feb 27, 2022•52 sec•Season 2Ep. 423
2022.02.26 – 0422 – Pausing Practicalities Pausing practicalities If recording a voice over often it doesn’t matter if you pause for several seconds in the middle of a script. A producer or director will understand that if you have an intense, heavy technical read, or maybe one with subclauses or no punctuation (for example a ‘terms and conditions’ section), then you may have to record several versions starting at different points and leave it to them to edit together. Obviously only do this aft...
Feb 26, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 422
2022.02.25 – 0421 – Too Many Pauses Too many pauses Even though it’s important that each word be properly pronounced, overly precise diction with a micro-pause after each word, can sound very unnatural. Another potential problem is, a we saw before, the speakers who chunk words together by how many there are rather than their sense, and then repeat the pattern. So you get, say three words, then a pause, then three more, and another pause ….. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...
Feb 25, 2022•1 min•Season 2Ep. 421
2022.02.24 – 0420 – Silence In An On-Air Studio VOICE BOX Silence in an on-air studio If an audio signal is not sent to a radio station transmitter for a set period of time, an emergency ‘tape’ kicks in. That’s if equipment senses that a silence is too long, and maybe ‘something’ has happened in the broadcast studio … say the studio desk has broken, there’s a power cut, fire or evacuation. So if you’re being melodramatic with a super-long pause, you may just get more than you bargained for. That...
Feb 24, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 420
2022.02.23 – 0419 – The Problem With Pauses PROBLEMS WITH PAUSES In commercial voiceovers, the pauses are often edited out to leave a ‘word-wall of sound’. I was once asked to record a daily podcast for an (in)famous media company. They loved my voice and presentation style, but had one request: could I please go back and edit out all of my breaths from the recording as “ people don’t want to hear them ”. Errr! Removing breaths disrupts this natural rhythm and therefore interferes with our under...
Feb 23, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 419
2022.02.22 – 0418 – Pausing In Podcast Presenter Teams VOICE BOX Pausing in teamwork A brief look at the pause when you have several presenters on your radio show or podcast. When you have one or more co-presenters, it’s important to know when one of them has paused, for effect, or stopped. Knowing each other, trust and on-air communication will avoid the problem of one of the rest of the team trampling all over a carefully timed link or bit. These might be hand signals – a raised hand might ind...
Feb 22, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 418
2022.02.21 – 0417 – The Janice Pause The ‘Janice pause’ The exaggerated pause indicating stunned surprise, or comedic drama: a trend from ‘ Friends ’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSmp1ZSvelY Having said that, don’t fall into the pattern of pausing so much between words, so often, that your delivery becomes ‘bitty’, with you saying. Each. Individual. Word. Such a delivery is unconventional, un-conversational and un-emotional – sucking energy out of what may actually be exciting content. “ Oh ...
Feb 21, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 417
2022.02.20 – 0416 – Silence In Different Cultures Silence for different cultures In general, eastern cultures value silence more than word-rich western ones. In their book ‘Communication between cultures’ Samovar and Porter, elaborate using an example: “In response to the question: ‘Will you marry me?’ Silence in English would be interpreted as uncertainty, in Japanese it would be interpreted as acceptance, in Igbo (Southeastern Nigeria) it would be considered as a denial if the woman was to con...
Feb 20, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 416
2022.02.19 – 0415 – Silence Shows You’re Listening Silence shows you’re listening In an interview, your guest has just made a significant or poignant remark, and to show respect and empathy – pause. The strategic pause adds tension and anticipation and indicates comprehension and reflection. It shows you are actively listening and value their comment. It helps build trust. …. but only if it is not followed by an “ errrm ” or “ ummm ”. Those kinds of words will merely show you are ill prepared. I...
Feb 19, 2022•1 min•Season 2Ep. 415
2022.02.18 – 0414 – Silence Skills In Interviewing Silence in interviewing Maybe you have a guest on your radio show or podcast, consider using pausing the way it’s used by counsellors, coppers and court-room legal teams. Silence creates a vacuum that cries out to be filled. Experienced interviewers let the silence fill the air, to create an awkward or a hostile pressure. And the other person feels obliged to break that pressure by saying something – possibly, under anger or embarrassment, somet...
Feb 18, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 414
2022.02.17 – 0413 – Scanning Scripts And Audiences To rescan the script A pause gives a moment for the reader to look ahead in their script or notes to refamiliarize themselves with what comes next: the upcoming point they will make, maybe spotting the awkward word or name they need to concentrate on getting right, the ‘pitch and tone’ reset as they start a new topic. That is: Stop. Breath. Look ahead. Or indeed, if working without notes, to think of what to say next. Stop… and look If you are w...
Feb 17, 2022•1 min•Season 2Ep. 413
2022.02.16 – 0412 – A Beat For A Breath A beat for a breath For the reader, pauses create a ‘breath-space’ for you to take in some air at an appropriate place , and not somewhere that’d interrupt the flow and confuse the listener. We looked at breathing and where to do it to keep the sense of the sentence, earlier on in these podcasts. Remember the audio I mentioned of the famous British newsreader who creates new sentences in [pause] her script she merges sets of phrases [pause] together and th...
Feb 16, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 412
2022.02.15 – 0411 – Using Silence as a Substitute Using silence as a substitute for filler words If you pause rather than add in a vocal bridge – “ err”, “ahh”, “y’know”, “so” – then it will make you sound more interesting. Try a pause and a mental ‘reset’, rather than a verbal, “ um ”. There is nothing wrong with the occasional hesitation word, as long as it's not used too frequently, but you don’t need to fill every second with sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Feb 15, 2022•51 sec•Season 2Ep. 411
2022.02.14 – 0410 – A Pause For Thought A pause for thought In conversation we hesitate, search for the right word or phrase, perhaps weigh what we want to say with the context and the audience. To sound natural, to create the illusion of life, when you need the listener to believe you’ve just had a new thought, a gap is required: “I don’t get mad, I [pause] get even.” That moment (or beat) between the thinking and the speaking translates into a pretty powerful pause. If the pause were placed be...
Feb 14, 2022•3 min•Season 2Ep. 410
2022.02.13 – 0409 – Comic Timing Comic timing There’s great importance of the pause before a punchline. It’s the ‘gap gap’ between the stress of the set up and the relief of the reward – laughter. The anticipation within the pause adds punch to the punchline, it creates a beat and is a social signifier of “ this next bit’s the gag, when I’ve said it, you laugh! ” That silence often gives the audience just long enough to settle into a false sense of security, but short enough so they don’t figure...
Feb 13, 2022•5 min•Season 2Ep. 409
2022.02.12 – 0408 – Pauses In A Visual Description Pauses in a visual description That is, when you’re describing a person, a room or any environment or object, the use of the beat allows the listener to create the visual for themselves. “Are you ready to swap loungewear for swimwear? [pause] Or Zoom calls for stunning waterfalls? [pause] Maybe you’re dreaming of that first blissful moment of sand between your toes, [pause] or the excitement of exploring somewhere completely new. [pause] Our fiv...
Feb 12, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 408
2022.02.11 – 0407 – Pauses as an Indication of Quality Pauses as an indication of quality In commercial reads, less copy, fewer words, slower speed and time taken, is often the algorithm to indicate luxury. “ Imagine waking up to the feel of rich luxury satin silk sheets … [pause] gently caressing your skin … [pause] with the cool breeze and sounds of the ocean through your veranda windows … [pause] eased open to allow just a chink of early morning sunlight to dapple the room…” Hosted on Acast. ...
Feb 11, 2022•1 min•Season 2Ep. 407
2022.02.10 – 0406 – Using Pauses After Rhetorical Questions Creating silence in which the listener can answer your question Ask the audience a rhetorical question and then pause at the end of it so they can digest it and answer it internally. “Fed up with that dirty stain around the bath? [pause] Tired of the weekly scrub of the tub? [pause] Want a better way to have shiny ceramics? [pause] Introducing the all-new Bathroom Wonderclean …” “Want to hear every edition of the podcast a week before e...
Feb 10, 2022•4 min•Season 2Ep. 406
2022.02.09 – 0405 – Pauses As The Fulcrum In A Story’s ‘See-Saw’ The pause as a see-saw fulcrum A pause can help explain the balance of two parts of the story – while this is happening over there, this is happening over here. “ The mayor said that it was the fault of the police [pause] the police are claiming it was a council error.” “ Jones is alleged to have killed the three men [pause] he denies all the charges.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 09, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 405
2022.02.08 – 0404 – Pauses As Intonational Devices In Quotes and Sub-Clauses They are used as intonational devices in quotes, brackets/parenthesis and sub-clauses As we saw previously when we talked about pitch and intonation, we leave a micro-gap either side of a quote from someone else to indicate that they are their words, not ours. The quote itself is often also said in a slightly different pitch and at a slower speed: “ Perkins told us [pause] ‘I’ll sue if those allegations are repeated’ [p...
Feb 08, 2022•3 min•Season 2Ep. 404
2022.02.07 – 0403 – A Pause Helps You Say What You Can’t Actually Say A pause helps you say what you can’t actually say A pause might be inviting the audience to ‘read between the lines’ pointing them to a possible irony – the verbal equivalent of a raised eyebrow: “And Melania Trump, has delivered a farewell address ...saying the last four years have been 'unforgettable' and calling for an end to division”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 07, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 403
2022.02.06 – 0402 – Silence to Let Sound Tell the Story Silence to let sound tells the story Radio consultant Tracy Johnson tells the story [1] of former Dodgers baseball play-by-play ‘personality announcer’ Vin Scully and quotes his commentary [2] of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, the blast that “ made him baseball’s home-run king ”. Scully later talked [3] about using silence to capture the drama when he was asked what he did as soon as he made the home run call. “ (I) shut up. I try as hard as ...
Feb 06, 2022•3 min•Season 2Ep. 402
2022.02.05 – 0401 – Pauses To Engage Attention After Significant Content After significant content A pause after a phrase or story gives listeners time to reflect on what they’ve just heard, to allow it to sink in, giving the audience time to digest information, not drown in it. “The four people who died in a house fire this morning, were two sets of twin boys aged 4 and 6. In the last few minutes a woman from the same address has been arrested [pause]. The fatal fire broke out at around 2 this ...
Feb 05, 2022•2 min•Season 2Ep. 401
