So, You Want a Conversational Voice Over

Conversational voice over is incredibly useful and much sought-after. But as you may have discovered for yourself, it’s also one of the trickiest to achieve.

Why is a conversational voice over so hard to get right?

You’d think it would be the most natural thing in the world, wouldn’t you? But it’s actually a strangely alien construct. Here’s how it looks from my perspective as a voiceover.

1. There’s a microphone in front of me.
2. Probably a script of some sort, too.
3. Both of which are totally unnatural.
4. The inclination when recording, is polished perfection, but that’s the opposite of what’s wanted here.
5. Vulnerability is vital – a rather strange concept when it’s just me and a mic.
6. I have to be myself (or a version of), even though my brain knows this situation is totally unnatural.

So, how do you get your artist to deliver a conversational voice over?

Obviously, if the script’s written in a conversational style, it really helps. If you’re in control of that, great! Write as you’d talk. Make a mental note of the words you tend to use often, and make sure you include them.

These questions help inform everything. Who’s the audience? How old are they? Where are they listening? Why are they listening? How are they listening? In an auditorium, on headphones, in a car? Perhaps a variety of different places?

What lies at the heart of the script?

What do you want to happen as people listen and after they’ve listened? Chances are, you’ll want them to feel something and maybe take some sort of action. So, share with me how you’d like them to feel and what you’d like them to do.

Oh and by the way, you’ll find more insights in my blog on Tips for Working With Your Voice Over Artist.

Once we’re clear on all that, this is what I do. Picture one member of that audience. Just one. That’s who I’m going to talk to. No-one else. Quite often it’s someone I know, but not always. I also have Winnie the Pooh in my booth. He’s the perfect audience of one when I have a really dense dense medical script and need to keep it relatable. So, if your voiceover artist isn’t getting it, perhaps get them to picture someone.

Slipping Into That Conversational Voice Over.

When working from a script, it can be useful to add a few words as a lead in. As long as you make sure there’s a pause before the start of the script for editing purposes, it’s a breeze! So, and, well – all really useful words in this context. Personally, I like to play with this stuff before the session away from the mic’, then in front of it, noting the differences and weaving in what works. Perhaps this little tip will help with your next session.

Conversational delivery tends to be flatter than a more traditional voiceover, which is slightly (or sometimes very) heightened. Those pauses, breaths, stumbles and erms that are usually edited out are kept in. Perfection has no place in conversation. Pace and pauses often change during conversation. We speed up when we’re excited, slow down and pause more when we’re thoughtful. So, that has to be factored in, too. Another little tip – ‘flatter’ is useful direction if ‘conversational’ isn’t getting you the results you’re after.

Got an Example of a Conversational Voice Over?

Funny you should ask, I have! I recently voiced this lovely animation created and directed by the fabulous creatives at Kilogramme for the University of Hull. It’s designed to stimulate conversation amongst those who’ve experienced the Ofsted inspection process. and is based on research in a school that was judged as requiring improvement. Most importantly for me, it uses teachers’ words and I really wanted to do them justice, capturing the emotion at the heart of them, whilst being true to the conversational element.

You’ll find more conversational stuff on my voiceover demos page.

One thing’s for certain, you stand a better chance of achieving a conversational voice over read with a real human being who has conversations with full fat 3D people, than you will with AI. Why settle for anything less?

Want to have a chat about your next project? Drop me a line and we’ll make it happen!