0603 – Pre-Prep To Keep In Step

2022.08.26– 0603 – Pre-Prep To Keep In Step

For radio and podcast presenters specifically, your preparation may include:

·        Planned spontaneity - Have a rough idea of what to say, maybe not every single word, but blocks of topics and bullet points within them of the points you want to make and how to transition from one block to another. A road map if you will, and one that you can veer off if you want to improvise and extemporise in the moment.

Pre-read and rewrite if allowed, to suit your reading style. As a commercial voice actor, you should read what you are given. OK you may suggest a slight change if there’s a mouthful of a phrase that’s not been spotted before, and then only alter it with full signed-off permission. But you are not employed to be a scriptwriter, proof reader, editor or advisor.

Don’t ‘over-read’, that is don’t interrogate the script for intonational nuances, marking up the script with a slew of symbols, or you run the possibility of getting into a ‘reading rut’ reducing the possibility of some in-studio creativity, or just being able to easily respond to the director’s requests.

·        How to recover if you’re thrown - For live radio presenters especially, think what you will say if something goes wrong, an item doesn’t play or if there’s breaking news. What will do if you need to fill for thirty seconds? Do you have material to hand? How will you deal with a mistake made by you? (On the day of writing this, my computer screen froze, midway through a news bulletin, and so I had to hand back to the main presentation studio unexpectedly…)

·        A consideration of your listener’s time - Less is more. As well as talking in a clear voice, your content has to be compelling too: the world is awash in information so be memorably brief, with fewer, more powerful words. Eliminate the unnecessary and focus on substance.

If you are clear in what you want to say, then your mind will be less muddled and you will appear less nervous. As I’ve said before, confidence has a domino-effect, reducing tension in your skeleton and your sound, making you sound more authentic and trustworthy.

For voice-over presenters there is some specific advice on their voice prep work because of how they work with others, and to a tight, pre-approved script.

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