The Art Of Writing Great Voice Over Scripts

Remember all those essays and reports you wrote in school? They were written for a teacher to silently read. They were rarely read aloud. Fast forward to the world of work where you are responsible for writing voice over scripts. Unless you’ve had special training, how could you suddenly know how to write for the ear?

Yet, that’s what you’re expected to do when storyboarding for audio or writing audio scripts. Writing to be heard is a different kind of writing. If you need help making the transition from eye to ear, here are some tips.

1. Write like you speak

In most cases, writing for the ear is more informal than writing to be read. Imagine you are speaking to someone while you are writing. When you write like you speak, you will naturally use smaller words, a more conversational tone and shorter sentences. Pro Tip: a voice over script should not sound like it was scripted.

2. Get to the point quickly

When you’re writing for audio, you don’t have much time to lead up to the point. You have to get there quickly before you lose your audience. Focus on what’s most important and be concise. I like to think of it as intelligent simplicity.

3. Learn from radio commercials

Have you stopped listening to the radio, choosing podcasts instead? You may want to listen now and then because you can learn from their 30-second commercials. Radio commercials fly by quickly. The writers focus on one relevant point. They often use this formula: say it-explain it-repeat it. The lead sentence gets your attention and evokes curiosity. The next few sentences provide the details. This is followed by repeating it. This isn’t a bad formula for instructional scripts—say it-explain it-repeat it.

4. Speak with one voice

Perhaps you’re on a big project with several instructional designers furiously writing away, oblivious to the voice they are using. Or perhaps you’re the only one writing, but some days you start with one voice and other days you use another.

Speaking with one voice arises out of consistency. It sounds like the voice artist understands the topic, because consistency makes the speaker credible. To achieve the sound of one voice, consider defining these aspects of a voice over script from the start:

• Tone: Decide on a tone that will best connect with your audience (conversational, folksy, sophisticated, etc.)
• Role: Determine if the speaker is playing the role of a colleague or peer, an expert, a teacher or an omniscient narrator.
• Person: whether you’ll be using first, second or third person. If you forget what all of this is, Wikipedia explains.
• Contractions: Will you use them or not?

Then let one anointed editor read the scripts to smooth out all of the inconsistencies.

5. Keep sentences short but varied

Many people recommend using short sentences when writing for audio. And it’s true that in an eLearning environment, you can’t count on your busy audience to click Replay if they miss something. The risk of relying on short sentences, however, is that the script may sound stilted or too simplistic.

A better approach might be to aim for short sentences that vary in length. This is closer to how we speak. To keep sentences on the shorter side: 1) stick to one idea per sentence; 2) delete all the extra verbiage; and 3) break sentences into two whenever possible.

6. Avoid reading text

No one likes screens filled with text, but there are some situations that demand it, due to legal regulations or other requirements. In these cases, use audio to introduce what needs to be read and then let the participant do the reading. Adults tend to dislike being read text that is on the screen.

Also, Mayer addresses this in his Redundancy Principle. It takes more cognitive resources to match up redundant information, such as reading text while listening to audio than it does to manage one modality alone. Note: to accommodate those who are visually impaired, provide an option for having the text read aloud.

7. Pay attention to rhythm or beat

Speaking is similar to music—it’s got a rhythm related to the tempo of the speech and the alternation of stressed and unstressed words. When you read your voice over script aloud, you can improve the rhythm by considering the words as sounds and listening to their flow and timing. A pleasing rhythm has the potential to hold the listener’s attention longer and to enhance the listening experience.

8. Use silence effectively

Silence is to audio as white space is to visuals. Listeners need time to process the verbal content and to watch what’s on the screen. You can work brief pauses into your script by indicating where the talent should stop for a moment (often referred to as a beat) during the recording. I usually indicate this with an ellipsis (…). Frequent pauses also give you time to add elements for screen builds. Silence is your friend. Use it with purpose.

9. Watch your transitions

Transition words, such as yet, but, however, therefore and meanwhile, let listeners know that a change from the previous thought is coming. Use transitions as cues to help clarify your message.

10. Edit in phases

Some accomplished writers recommend editing in several passes while honing one aspect of your writing at a time. In Getting the Words Right, author Theodore Cheney recommends that your first revision should focus on massive changes, which he calls reducing. Then he advises less ambitious revisions, such as rearranging. Finally, there is rewording. Or create your own phases of editing that work for your style of writing.

11. Calculate the length of segments

You don’t want things to run on and on. A rule of thumb for calculating time is that in one minute, a narrator will read approximately 100 words. If you want your segment to last a minute, pare it down to 100 words or less.

12. Read all voice over scripts aloud

Reading your script aloud is mandatory. That’s how you can determine whether the wording is awkward or smooth and whether the sentences flow from one to the next. Reading aloud helps you know when it’s best to use contractions, if juxtaposed words are difficult to pronounce and whether the whole script is well-connected. Finally, this is how you know if a narrator can get through a sentence without having to stop for a breath in the middle.

13. Consider sound effects

Many public radio producers add depth and realism to their stories through sound effects. When used with sophistication, sound effects can add richness to straight narration, scenarios, interactions and games. And their cost is minimal.

14. Use active voice

Active voice is one in which the subject is performing the action. In passive voice, the subject is not performing the action. Active voice is more likely to keep listeners engaged because it is a clear and direct form of communication. Attempt to write in the active voice as much as possible.

Recommendations for Writing More Effectively:
Getting the Words Right by Theodore Cheyney
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont
Behind the Scenes with Three Voice Actors

Got tips? Share them in the Comments below.