Podcasting Tips

 

What Makes A Great Boo?

The Golden Rules

  • On first hearing your own voice recorded, everyone cringes. You get over it.
  • Hesitation doesn’t sound good. It comes from lack of preparedness. Be a good boy/girl scout.
  • Briefer is better. The best boos tend to be 30 seconds to 2 mins max.
  • Don’t forget to take a picture and attach it to your boo along with the location. This adds two whole other layers to your boo without having to voice all that stuff.

Atmosphere and Actuality.

  • Have a listen to the atmosphere.
  • Is it so loud you have to shout to be heard? Is there background music playing down a speaker directly next to you? Is there a toddler having a tantrum?
  • None of the above are good conditions for recording yourself.
  • Actuality (industry term for the sound going on around you as you record speech) is great, so long as it doesn’t dominate the foreground.
  • Good example of Actuality: if you are recording at a festival, pick up sound of festival goers singing in the background for about 2-4 seconds before you begin to talk.

Recording Speech

  • As Audioboo is unedited it helps to know what you are going to say before you click “Record”.
  • Script your boos (more on scripting below). This prevents Um’s, errs, hesitation and going round in circles.
  • Wear headphones so you can hear exactly how your recording sounds.
  • Drink some water. Blow your nose. Dry lip smacking and sniffing don’t make for good listening.
  • Stretch out. Take a deep breath. Good posture makes good speech.
  • Do a Ron Burgandy run through. Use a tongue twister to warm up your mouth. Yes. Go on. It helps.
  • Read your script aloud first.
  • Run through your boo a few times. Delete those boos after you have listened back to them.
  • Breathe and take enough time.
  • Over enunciate a bit. Underline the important words in your script and follow that. DON’T SHOUT!  Vary your tone as if you are telling a friend something they will find fascinating.
  • Speak as if you are speaking to one other person.
  • Be prepared for the end of your boo and stop recording when you have finished speaking. Long run backs are annoying for a listener who thinks there is more but just hears fumbling.