Introduction
Our objective at Such A Voice is to help
you become a first-rate VOICE-OVER
PRO! That’s why we’ve prepared this workbook.
The workbook offers specific exercises to help
you build a strong technique foundation.
It’s to your advantage to review these exercises
from time to time.
Many of the rules regarding voice-over
technique reflect natural speech patterns,
such as the way we emphasize certain words,
the way we speed or slow our delivery or
the way we raise and lower the pitch of our
voices.
We spontaneously apply these patterns,
which have been ingrained in our subconscious
since we first learned to talk, when talking to family
and friends. But in public, we become self-conscious
and resort to reciting. Our inflection sounds unnatural and artificial, the pitch of our voice rises
and drops in unlikely places, and the listener is
bored and fatigued.
Whether you’re selling or informing in a
voice-over, the goal is to sound totally natural at
the same time that you’re emphasizing certain
words in specific ways.
PART ONE:
Reading Ahead
It’s important never to sound as if you are
reading when doing a voice-over.
In normal conversation, we instinctively
know, even before we speak, what we want to
say and how we want to say it. If, for example
I said: “Working at something you enjoy is the
best thing you can do,” you will hear me place
the heaviest emphasis on the word best…
“Working at something you enjoy is the BEST
thing you can do.”
You will also hear the pitch (as in musical
pitch) of my voice rise as I say best
because that helps me to accent the word,
and thereby strengthen the meaning of my
sentence.
But if I repeated that sentence focusing on one
word at a time, the emphasis on the word best
wouldn’t ring true. The effect would be
stilted and artificial. Voice-over copy
will only sound spontaneous if you, the reader,
know where the sentence is going. Your eyes should be
several words ahead of the word you are saying. If your
mind sees the sentence as a cohesive whole
(the way is does when you speak informally),
you will say the sentence with more natural-sounding
inflection.
Exercise 1A
Pick up a newspaper or book, one that you
would normally read to yourself, and practice
reading the words aloud. If you normally read
aloud slowly, try speeding up the pace as much
as you can. Force your eyes to scan each sentence even while you’re reading it. If you
stumble over a word, don’t stop to correct yourself.
Keep going! The more you focus on where you are
headed instead of where you are, the more spontaneous
each sentence will sound.
Exercise 1B
Pick several individual sentences and write
them down on separate pieces of paper. As you
read each sentence aloud, try to scan far
enough ahead so that you can actually turn the
paper face down before you finish the sentence.
Read the following sentence: Everyone has
left the party, so I think I’ll go upstairs and call it
a night. If my eyes are scanning the end of the
sentence, by the time I reach the words so I
think I will be able to turn the paper over
and say the rest of the sentence by heart 
thereby, more spontaneously.
If this seems difficult to do, I promise it will
get easier the more times you do it. Here are
some practice sentences you can use for this
exercise:
The car was delivered to the man in excellent
condition, but the sticker was attached to the left
side rear window of the vehicle.
Everybody talks about the negative things in
life, but we tend to be so caught up in that
negativity that the positive things often pass us by.
There’s nothing more fulfilling or more
satisfying than walking into a recording studio
and doing a voice-over, which you know will be
heard by millions of people.
We all have pressures, and we all have to
meet deadlines, but keeping an optimistic
outlook on life will reap rewards that can last a
lifetime.
There is no time like the present to do what
you put off doing in the past.
SUMMARY:
When one types at a computer keyboard or
plays the piano, it’s important to look
ahead  in typing, for the sake of speed; in
music, for accuracy and spontaneity.
Reading ahead is the key to a naturalsounding, spontaneous flow of words. Seeing
with your eyes where you are going before you
get there accomplishes this.
PART TWO
Sounding Natural
We’ve all received phone calls from
telemarketers. If they try to sell us something and sound like they’re reading a script,
we’re turned off. A voice-over read that way
has the same effect.
There are several factors that help you
sound more natural, more spontaneous. As we
discussed in Part One, reading ahead is very
important. Equally important is the ability to
sound like you mean what you are saying  as if
you’re not reading at all, but speaking off the
cuff and from the heart.
Putting your heart into copy about laundry
detergent isn’t easy, but the skilled, professional
voice-over actor can make anything sound
convincing. Voice-overs, as we’ve discovered,
have more to do with acting than with merely
reading lines.
Keep in mind, while doing the following
exercises, that we’re dealing with diametrically-opposed
voice-over types: commercials and narrations.
When doing a commercial, you
must use your voice to persuade or to sell
something; in a narration, you’re using your
voice to inform.
In both cases, the objective is to
sound natural: natural in a persuasive way (for a
commercial), and natural in an informative way (for
a narration). This can be achieved! We’ll
begin with a few generic exercises applicable to
both commercials and narrations. Then we’ll
focus on each separately.
Exercise 2A
Have someone ask you a question. Immediately record your reply. Use your home studio
equipment or even a small digital recorder.
Let’s suppose I was asked: “What do you
enjoy most about working with people?” I
might reply: “I like to interact with people who
think positively about their futures.”
At that point, I stop the recorder, and
Play back my reply. I also write it out or type it
word for word on a piece of paper. Turning the
recorder on again, at a point past my first reply,
I read aloud the very words I just said extemporaneously. Again, I stop the recorder
and play it back from the beginning.
Listen to your spontaneous answer. Then
listen to the reply as you read it. Since you
know the subtleties of your own voice, you
will be the best judge of what doesn’t sound
natural in the second, or read, reply. By comparing both replies, you, better than anyone
else, will be able to short-circuit unnatural
inflection.
Exercise 2B
Using a DVR or any recorder, record some
of your favorite performers, announcers or
actors. Write down the sentences in their
deliveries that sounded convincing. Then, recording what you say, try to mimic their deliveries.
Compare the way you read the lines with
the way the person you mimicked said them.
Do you sound as real, as convincing?
Exercise 2C
Now let’s explore some exercises geared
toward a voice-over commercial.
Turn on the recording device, and read the
following sentence as if you were saying it
nonchalantly to a friend: “There’s nothing so
wonderful as a trip to the islands.” Repeat the
sentence  this time, trying to sell your friend
on the idea of such a trip. Really put your heart
into it.
Without overselling, repeat the sentence
several times  each time, trying to say it as
convincingly as possible. Listen to your read of
that sentence. Would it convince you to go to
the islands? A big part of selling is being convincing.
Exercise 2D
Record your reading of the following sentence: “I was the best student in the entire
school.” Say it several times, each time emphasizing different words. Play the tape back and
listen to how the meaning of that sentence
changes with the different points of emphasis.
Try this again with the following sentences:
“You are the right one for the job.”
“Give me the keys, please.”
When recording an actual commercial, the
producer will probably tell you what the key
words are. But whether or not you’re given
such direction, try to imagine yourself as the
advertiser: What kind of emphasis would he or
she expect?
Read the following, typical advertising lines
as the advertiser might expect:
“Come in today for the best deal you’ll ever
find!”
“You made us what we are today.”
“We make it all happen for you.”
Exercise 2E
The next two exercises apply more to
narrations, so use your voice to inform, not to
sell or persuade.
Think back to the various teachers you had
in high school. The ones with an enthusiastic
delivery made the time whiz by and the
material fascinating. How much brighter do they
stand out in your memory than the teachers
who, speaking in a dull fashion without spark
or energy, put everyone to sleep?
If you are doing a voice-over for biography or travelogue, try to impart the enthusiasm
of those special teachers. Read the following
sentences as if you were telling an exciting
story (not as if you were trying to sell something):
“It was farewell to all the worries and cares
of the day.”
“There was nothing quite as magical in New
York during the holidays as the annual
Christmas extravaganza at the Radio City Music
Hall.”
Now read those lines as if you were selling
something. Listen to the difference. Recognize
the changes in your inflection as your intent
switches from narrating to selling.
Exercise 2F
Rent and watch a documentary, travelogue,
educational film, biography, etc. on which there
is a narrator. Listen carefully, and imitate what
you hear. Try to copy the various styles of
inflection which work for this medium. Though
you should never adopt someone’s style as your
own, listening and practicing will help you
develop a basic, innate sense of how to do
commercial and narration voice-overs.
SUMMARY:
Sounding natural while selling is altogether
different from sounding natural while reading a
documentary. In a commercial, you must
sound like you believe in the product you’re
selling. In a narration, you must sound vitally
interested in the material you’re reading.
But in both narrations and commercials,
you must convince the listener of your sincerity.
In voice-overs, it is crucial to be real.
PART THREE:
Getting into the Part
Voice-overs have much more to do with
acting than with reading. The proficient actor
sounds believable, authentic  crying real tears
during a tragic moment  because he or she
has become one with the character.
In other words, whether you’re reading a
commercial or a narration, get into the part. Of
course, it’s much easier to get “into character” if
you feel deeply about the subject matter. But if
you happen to be selling something of no great
import, something that wouldn’t otherwise
interest you, challenge yourself to get emotionally involved.
For example, if you’re selling absorbent
paper towels, make paper towels the most
important thing in your life for the few moments that you’re at the microphone.
You can do anything you set your mind to!
Exercise 3A
Go through magazines, looking for ads that
are easy to believe in, like a public service ad
for the American Lung Association or a message against drunk driving. Record yourself reading
the ad aloud with conviction.
Then find an ad that seems meaningless to
you. Record that ad, too, trying to make it
sound as convincing as the first one. Play back
the two ads. Did you sound as believable when
reading the fluff ad? If not, listen again to your
recording of the public service message. What
made you come across as sounding more sincere?
Record the fluff ad again  trying your very
best to get into character and to emulate what
you did in the first ad. Now close your eyes for
a few moments, and allow yourself to slowly
and without pressure become one with the part.
Try again, and compare the two takes.
Exercise 3B
Listen to the radio, and make a list of those
on-air personalities or announcers who do and
don’t sound authentic. Jot down the reasons
why they sound sincere or insincere.
Is it a little quirky dip in the voice at a
certain point? Is it an attempt to sound like an
announcer from the old, booming-voice days?
Are the words pronounced unnaturally, such as
phonetically pronouncing a as it’s said when
reciting the alphabet? Does the individual take
breaths in places that seem inappropriate to
what he or she is saying?
SUMMARY:
A voice-over can’t be done effectively unless
you get into the character you’re portraying.
Think less about how you are reading. Think
more about what you are reading. The benefits
will be apparent.
PART FOUR:
Pitch Variation
(Peaks and Valleys)
Did you ever listen to someone whose
voice seemed to remain at one level all the
time? That’s called a monotone. People with
no enthusiasm for life often speak in such a
colorless fashion.
Frankly, a lackluster speech pattern is very
boring. Worse, the speaker’s mood is
contagious, and we often respond in a less than
enthusiastic way.
The reverse is also true: If someone with an
expressive voice speaks to us, chances
are we’ll respond in a similarly lively
way. In essence, it’s the peaks and valleys of
pitch (highs and lows) in the second speaker’s
voice that have lit a spark and started our juices
flowing.
So, if your range is limited, try stretching it
to its perimeter, BUT NOT BEYOND YOUR
NATURAL RANGE! Starting low makes it difficult
for you to pick up any kind of pitch variety
during the rest of the sentence. But starting at a
somewhat high pitch level sets a precedent that
enables you to reach that same pitch level at
different times during the sentence.
If a sentence begins with an article, the
noun or verb modifying that article will usually
get the higher pitch. In the sentence: “The
book is on the shelf,” the high pitch wouldn’t
be on the word the, but on the word book.
Similarly, at the end of the sentence, the beginning of the word shelf should be said higher
than the preceding word, the. The sentence
ends like most declarative statements  dropping in inflection. (In a question, the pitch
remains high to the very end…it’s that rise
which prompts someone to answer the question.)
Some words are what I call pivot words.
Take the announcer, Ed McMahon, who
opened each Johnny Carson Show with
“HEEEErrrrrEEE’S JOHNNY!” By starting
high, dropping in the middle, and bringing the
pitch back up at the end, Mr. McMahon literally
catapulted the listener to the word Johnny.
Of course, there are exceptions to every
rule. Some announcers have deep, resonant,
monotone voices, which are effective when
monumental or tragic feelings must be conveyed. But for most people, and in most circumstances, a variety of pitch creates a much
more dynamic and effective voice-over.
Exercise 4A
Read the following sentence normally:
“Welcome to Dan Levine’s wonderful world of
voice-overs.” Now read it with lots of pitch
variation. Start the sentence high in pitch,
emphasizing Welcome and Dan. The pitch
drops in the word of. It rises again, at the
beginning of voice-overs, then drops in inflection at the end of the word.
I have mapped out this sentence with diagrams to indicate variation of pitch, pivot words
and the height of pitch on certain words:
↑ Welcome to ↑ Brett ↑ Beattie’s ↑ Wonderful World of ↑
→
→
→
→
Exercise 4B
Record the following sentences, seeing how
many different ways and in how many different
places you can raise and lower the pitch of
your voice:
“The beauty of France is found in the charm
of its people.”
“The weather today will be partly cloudy
with a chance of showers.”
“Come in to DAILY CHEVROLET, and we’ll
show you what quality service is all about.”
“Coming up next on Channel 2 News, a
special report on sexual harassment in the
workplace.”
Now play the tape back and determine
which version sounds the most natural. Varying
the pitch of your voice is important but, as
indicated in Part Two, you must always sound
natural, too.
SUMMARY:
No one wants to listen to a boring speaker.
This is a critical fact to an advertiser, who is paying
lots of money for a short block of radio
or TV time. So those few seconds of ad copy
must be read with interest and variety  with
highs and lows, peaks and valleys.
Variations of pitch give a sentence interest,
color and momentum. Momentum makes a
sentence more cohesive and understandable. It
also draws the listener onward.
Never fall into repetitive patterns of speech
inflection. Sameness is dull. Avoid it at all costs.
PART FIVE:
Speaking With a Smile
One often hears a producer tell a voice-over
actor: “Please read with more of a smile.”
What does he mean?
Think about the word smile. It’s a powerful
word. If, for example, we enter a restaurant
and are greeted by a friendly, smiling waiter or
waitress, we are far more likely to respond
positively than if we had been approached in a
surly manner.
Putting a smile into your voice has the same
effect. And interestingly enough, the only way
to do this is to literally smile while reading the
copy! Try it. You’ll find it really works.
Exercise 5A
Banks, often regarded as cold, unfriendly
institutions, appear more human when their
spokesperson engages the public in a warm,
personal way.
First, read the following sentence in a nonsmiling, matter-of-fact way: “At CHASE,
we put interest on your account.” Then
read it again with a big smile on your face.
Notice the difference.
Now add a light, cordial laugh to the sentence. Listen to the impact made by just a bit
more emotion. Finally, read the sentence loudly, and
then softly, with a bit of a whisper in your
voice. Notice how the same material feels different. Why? When someone shouts, we feel like
we’re listening to a campaign rally. When
someone whispers, we feel like he or she is sincere.
Exercise 5B
Be conscious of those broadcasters and
voice-over actors doing commercials who
sound serious and those who sound as if
they’re smiling. Once again, emulate what you
hear. Do this on a regular basis until you feel
you have mastered the art of speaking with a
smile.
PART SIX:
Cohesive Variety
We’ve discussed the fact that it’s necessary
to read a sentence with as much variety as
possible. It’s also important to sustain interest
from sentence to sentence. If you read three
contiguous sentences, and impart to each the
identical pacing, pitch, etc., the end result will
be a lack of variety.
Exercise 6A
Read the following three sentences, making
them all sound alike:
“Today, I’m going to the store.”
“Tomorrow, I’m going to the doctor.”
“Monday, I’m going to the office.”
Now, read the same material, making each
sentence sound different  but not so different
that they no longer relate to each other. Experiment with other groups of sentences, making
sure there is cohesive variety between
them.
SUMMARY:
In a paragraph of advertising copy, each
sentence reflects its part of the total message.
So, variety of pitch is essential within and between each sentence. As the glue that connects
them, cohesive variety creates a spot (a
commercial) in which all the elements are
interesting, dynamic and solidly connected.
PART SEVEN:
Timing
There is almost nothing as important as
good timing when reading a commercial or
narration. In the world of entertainment, timing
is everything. The talk show host, David
Letterman, for example, uses timing to make
his humor work  whether it be a facial expression or a comback line.
In much the same way, Johnny Carson was a
master at timing. He was one of the few people
in show business who could take a bad joke 
which gets a poor response from the audience
 and make it funny by simply adding a look
or a comment at the right moment. Good
timing is truly an art.
When reading a copy, don’t feel you must
always leave an identical amount of space
between sentences or phrases. Varying those
spaces or pauses make the copy more interesting.
The late Paul Harvey, the famous newscaster, became very popular because of his unique use
of space between sentences. His slightly erratic
sense of timing was unconventional, to say the
least, but that unconventionality made his
delivery interesting.
A sentence can be read at varying speeds.
But don’t chop the sentence up unnaturally.
Pauses and speed changes should reflect the
boundaries of acceptable and natural speech.
Exercise 7A
Read the following paragraph, changing the
speed at various points, as well as varying the
amount of space between sentences:
“Be aware of dynamic, and keep the copy
interesting. In other words, there should be
many peaks and valleys in your reading. If
your range is limited, try to stretch that range
to its perimeters.”
Experiment with different ways of reading
the above. You might even try jumping into the
next sentence immediately after you’ve said the
preceding one. Experiment. That’s what these
exercises are all about.
Exercise 7B
Listen to broadcasters, and be aware of their
sense of timing. Find the ones who use moments of silence to their advantage. Some of
the Sunday morning religious clergy, appearing
on radio and TV, use silence to create emphasis
and importance. Make up your own sentences,
using silence to imbue these feelings.
SUMMARY:
In the craft of voice-overs, the significance
of timing should never be underestimated.
Timing is one more step toward making as
copy sound interesting and varied. Remember,
patterns of any kind should always be avoided.
Sameness is a dirty word in voice-overs.