0462 - 2 - Be Comfortable

2022.04.07 – 0462 - 2 - Be Comfortable

2 - Be Comfortable

You will sound more natural, conversational and as though talking to a friend, if you are feeling confident and comfortable, warm and relaxed. It’s easy to work your way up to the state of a ‘fairground barker’[1] announcer, but less easy to pull back, step back and sit back, relaxing into a conversational tone. (We have more on how stress affects the voice and how relaxation in your mind and body also relaxes the voice, later in the book/series.)

A lot of ‘sounding good’ is down to confidence. Part of that comes from knowing what you’re reading and being comfortable where you’re sitting. So, take every chance you can to become familiar with the script and the studio. It’ll make you sound so much more relaxed, which will be heard in a more relatable voice.

Good preparation and breath control will calm you and you will hold your body more confidently and a natural smile will break out – where appropriate (you don’t want to appear like a Jack Nicholson character about to sneer “Here’s Johnny!”[2]). Relax and react naturally, and your emotions and expressions will follow suit with a relaxed and natural voice and a more conversational style.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barker_(occupation)

[2] "Here's Johnny", the catchphrase used by the Jack Nicholson character in the 1980 film ‘The Shining’ 

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