Writing and Recording Narration

Before you start writing:

Once you’ve settled on a structure, your narration is what will drive the story and add context for the listener.

“How would I tell this to a friend?”
Or alternatively, “Who is my audience?” Tailor your language to your listeners.
“Excavate the essential element”—Effective narration conveys the most information with the fewest words necessary.

Make it "sayable!" This can mean short sentences and using words that flow into one another. Try to avoid writing sentences with a lot of clauses; these will be hard to say.
Use everyday language. Define key terms based on your intended audience.
Write into your quotes.
- If you're looking for a way to introduce a quote, you can delete the first sentence of a quote and rewrite it in your voice! (See Podcast about Podcasting.)

There is no "right" radio voice!

What some people might think of as "the right kind of speech" for audio, or the "NPR voice," is socially conditioned, historically rooted, and based on leaving some folks out.
Writing and recording narration are about what works for you and this story (and any other humans that might have participated).

Print out transcript beforehand, consider words to emphasize
Find a quiet place, like a sound booth or car.
Like before, get thirty seconds of room noise, just in case.
Having someone in the room and speaking your narration to them can help you sound natural.
Smile as you record. This can help your voice sound "bright." (This isn't the same thing as sounding "happy," which might not be appropriate based on the story's topic. Sounding bright is about the energy in your voice, not the emotion.)
Don’t over perform emotion. Let your writing "speak" for itself.
If you muddle up a word or phrase, you can repeat it without redoing your entire narration. Remember, you can cut and delete your audio later!
Check out where to record on campus, or set up your own recording studio!

Few reporters/audio storytellers do only one cut of narration.
Listen back after recording.
- Is there anything you want to try again?
Share your narration with others to get feedback on how you sound. Remember, you want listeners to be able to access your story.

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