Last time I posted part 1 of Tiffany Rapplean’s top tips for audio recording where we looked at the technical aspects.
In this post we can look at the techniques and “best practice” involved in audio recording.
Technique:
- Use short blurbs/bullets to prepare what you’re going to say in writing. Writing out whole sentences and reciting them causes a loss of conversational tone, resulting in a boring monotone. Not writing it out at all results in long pauses while you figure out what to say, and re-work when you have to go back and include something you forgot.
- If you are using a printed script, arrange it so that when you turn the page it is away from the microphone.
- Take your time when talking and err on the side of over-pronunciation. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to speak slowly. It may feel unnatural to you, but your audience (especially those accustomed to a language/accent other than yours) will appreciate this.
- Don’t try to record in an unnaturally loud or quiet tone. This takes a lot of practice to maintain over a long recording session–adjust the microphone sensitivity instead.
- If you make a mistake, restart from the beginning of a sentence and leave a few seconds of empty recorded space before you begin again. it is easier to edit out long pauses then remove individual words in a sentence. It is also easy to edit out words (such as expletives) we often engage in after we catch ourselves making a mistake. Pause, allow a few seconds of time to pass and begin the sentence again.
- Leave a few seconds before you start a new section of content as well as between topics. This is easy to edit out in post-production, and it makes it easier when re-recording to splice in the new audio.
- Use the pause button to eliminate noise that doesn’t belong on the recording, to take a few seconds to gather your thoughts, or to say a phrase a few times in order to untie your tongue.
- Try to avoid using filler words like “um” and “ah” (use the pause button instead to figure out exactly what you want to say and how you would like to say it).
- Always have a glass of water sitting next to you while you record. Speaking dries out your mouth quite a bit, and most beverages (soda, coffee, milk) have side effects that can interfere with enunciation.
- If recording over multiple days, try to record at the same time of day if possible. Voice quality changes markedly between morning and night.
