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Probably nine times out of ten, the audition spec will say to read the copy with a conversational tone. Why is that? And, how do you really do it? In this video, Anne talks about why conversational works, and how you can deliver what the client is looking for.
Why conversational works, and how you can do it. Main Topic
Today. I want to talk to you about being conversational. Why is it so popular and why is it so hard to do?
Okay. So about 80 to 90% of the time, I bet you get audition specs that ask for conversational. Read like you're talking to a friend. Why is that conversational reads are so important? Well, for one conversational means that you're engaged in a conversation. Uh, and usually our conversations happen between one person and another person. And so, because we are talking person to person, friend to friend, it becomes a very natural and non-announcing type of a sell because a lot of times we are selling a product when we're being asked to be conversational. And so it's a whole lot more convincing to ask your friend for a product that they recommend versus having someone command authoritatively and announce that this is the product that you should buy. That's where it becomes very popular, a very popular casting spec because it actually works.
How is it that we're going to read or voice this copy effectively and conversationally because it's difficult. Number one, because those words are not yours. I'm talking to you right now off the cuff conversationally. I've got the words kind of up here in my head. I know what I'm going to say. And it just comes out conversationally. I'm not reading words. And a lot of times when you read words, you're processing those words from left to right. And you're not necessarily understanding where the words are going or what the context is saying.
If you immediately just start to read the copy, it's important that when you want to sound conversational, you understand what the story is that you're telling, because how can we be good storytellers if we don't know what that story is? Make sure that you're reading and analyzing your copy. And then I want you to actually pretend like you are having a conversation with the person that is on the other side of the mic, because that's going to help bring those words more natural and more conversationally, or they'll appear to sound more conversational because it will be like you're having an actual conversation.
It's important for you to understand number one, what is that story that you're telling? Who are you in regards to being the voiceover person that's telling the story? A Salesperson? Or, are you the friend that's talking to another friend? You have a good idea as to who you are while you're representing that brand.
And then really understand, I think this is more important than most people think, understand who it is that you're talking to because those people or whoever it is that you're talking to has joys, they have frustrations, they have pain. And the more that you can empathize with them and understand them, the more natural and the more friendly and the more conversational you're going to be able to talk to them and to be able to present that product and sell that product to them. You want to avoid anything that sounds announcery and that announcery sound has been kind of built into our ears.
Listening to announcery-sounding commercials, radio ads, whatever it is, listening to those promos for years where we have a melody in our ears already. And when we look at the words we say, let's just apply that same melody that I hear all the time. Well, conversational is not something you hear all the time, uh, in commercials or in television.
So you really have to do the extra work of understanding the story, understanding who you're speaking to, and then actually have a conversation in between the sentences. I want you to think about what is the listener on the other end doing? Are they answering you? Do they have a question? Are they smiling? Are they looking quizzically at you? Understanding that there is movement, there is a scene that's playing between each sentence. So many times we go into the booth, we start, we get it set up. We know who we're talking to and we start conversationally. But as we move along, we kind of forget about that scene and we forget that there's movement.
And when a casting director or anybody that might be listening to that audition that you're doing, if you can show movement and a commitment to some sort of a, of a scene that's playing out. That's very recognizable to the ears of, especially of an experienced casting director and that is going to get that audition heard. And also it will probably get that audition booked.
Thanks for reading!
Keep on rocking your business like a #VOBOSS
About Anne:
Anne Ganguzza is a professional voice actor and award-winning director and producer who works with students to develop their voiceover and business skills - including voice over Coaching and Genre-based Demo Production. She specializes in conversational Commercial & Narration styles, including Corporate, eLearning, Technology, and On-Hold Messaging. Located in Orange County, California, Anne offers private coaching and mentoring services to students via ipDTL and Zoom.