9 Tips for Better Voice-Over and Teleseminar Speaking
- First: don't bore the listener with too much extrapolation and meandering... you can freestyle it somewhat but it is indeed best to work from a script.
- Mentally set the stage. Really picture a specific person to whom you will talk. This will help you not sound numb or artificially passionate in your delivery.
- Now mentally picture the person's face reacting so that you know you got through. Ask yourself what kind of vocal sound - tone, inflection, pace, volume, articulation - you need to use to get that response. Use that!
- Watch your speed of delivery. Don't neglect the natural pauses and moment of silence needed by the listener to digest what you say. Give yourself permission to breathe.
- To keep an open throat and ribcage for good resonance and breath, do not slump or stiffen your spine. Park your head over your tailbone.
- USE YOUR EYES and HANDS when you're speaking, as you would if the object of your message was in your gaze. This can make a HUGE difference. Try an experiment... quote some passage with dead eyes and still hands, then speak it again with active eyes, brows and hands. You'll be a believer.
- Don't fake it. Use tone colors that are authentic to the meaning of the words coming out of your face!
- Use good breath technique... 'Pull' your speaking voice as well as you do your singing voice to balance breath support and control. Power your voice from your pelvic floor.
- If you are responsible for the final recording, edit your file with software such as Audacity to get superfluous er, eh, sputter, false starts out.
- Picture your audience naked. No, actually DON'T, that doesn't help at all (who starts these things? :)
Since writing this post, I've done another... this time an interview with world-renown VO talent Linda Bruno. There is a podcast audio file included. Click on the link to view, or copy/paste this url into your browser:
Labels: audacity software, Judy Rodman, Speaking Voice, teleseminar, voice over