6 Ways to Make Your Voice-Over More Expressive

While you can’t actually ‘see’ a voice-over, it’s the element that conveys the message. Some voice-overs are so well expressed, that you not only hear what’s being said, but see images, feel things, smell things and even taste things. But how can a voice artist pull this off? A little empathy and some acting talent can go a long way, of course, but it’s just as important to know what you’re doing and really know the material you’re working with so that, when you speak, you’re speaking consciously. In this article, Myra Grünning explains how to make your voice-overs more expressive. Myra is a qualified speech therapist and speech coach and also works as a voice-over artist herself.

#1. Intonation

Your intonation is what fills your performance with life and enthusiasm. Too little intonation can make a voice-over sound a bit distant and disinterested, or even businesslike and formal. Too much intonation can risk making things sound a little childish and trivial or overexaggerated. You can sort of stimulate your intonation by moving around more: move your hands when you speak or actually mime out what you’re talking about. This will automatically make the intonation of your voice rise and fall as you speak. Also, be wary of using the same intonation patterns over and over: this can quickly sound like you’re bored (and therefore boring) or you’re just reading out a script. Using the wrong kind of intonation can also warp the message you’re trying to convey. If you adopt a newsreader-style tone while talking about what happens inside a clowning academy, then you’re missing something. Always be aware of the meaning of what you’re saying and the correct tone and intonation should naturally arise.

#2. Volume

Saying something loudly immediately sounds more self-assured and powerful. Speaking more softly promotes more intimacy and can create a more friendly and inviting feel, or even a mysterious atmosphere. When you really come close to the microphone and speak very softly with a breathy edge, then you can really draw your audience in. By using different volume levels (dynamics) in your speaking, you can accent certain points and give them more impact. You can even do this within one sentence by audibly ‘underlining’ certain words. By saying something more loudly or softly, you immediately draw attention to it. It’s also worth noting that volume and intonation actually stimulate one another. Try saying “I need to get to the shops!” The words ‘get’ and ‘shops’ are slightly louder and higher pitched, stressing the urgency of the statement and conveying that to whoever you’re losing patience with. However, keep an eye out for the ‘candle effect’, where the volume at the end of a sentence can die away, either because your voice is starting to crack or because the words are spoken too softly to be intelligible. Maintaining an active posture can really help with this, so remember to sit up straight!

#3. Tempo

Speaking slowly can give a listener the feeling that they’re listening to a reliable expert. Rapid speech has an immediately energetic and young feel. However, the tempo of your speech also affects the intelligibility. The faster you talk, the harder it is to articulate. Sometimes, it’s really hard to stick all of those syllables together at speed, so some of them just get eaten and lost, so words like ‘balloon’ and ‘camera’ become ‘blon’ and ‘cara’. Shifting tempo dictates the rhythm of a language, and we naturally vary the tempo from sentence to sentence as we speak, so continuously maintaining the same tempo can make you sound robotic. You can actually practise speaking more slowly by carefully sounding out and clapping the rhythm of every syllable in a sentence to help slow you down.

#4. Pauses

Pausing between two sentences certainly makes sense, but you can also pause briefly at logical points within a sentence. Pauses give the listener time to process the message and, using pauses, you can emphasise specific words and phrases. By pausing and just… waiting for a moment, you retain the attention of your listeners and allow the following word to land with more impact. Pick out all of the most essential words in the script before recording and experiment with adding a pause before them. Just don’t go too nuts, otherwise, you might risk sounding like a sports or weather presenter: “Arsenal… 1… Newcastle… nil.”

#5. Timbre

Everyone’s voice has its own unique and recognisable timbre, but you actually have control over it, so you can consciously distort your voice. Maybe the text calls for a hoarse speaking voice so you can create an intimate or mysterious feel and really pull in your listeners. Certain words can be emphasised by squeezing your voice a touch, so that in an exclamation like “That was really great!” On the word ‘really’, you tighten your voice a touch, which has the effect of putting extra emphasis on ‘great’. Low-key, it’s a bit like playing with the volume of your voice. You can also play characters by changing the timbre of your voice: think a wealthy older woman who only ever speaks in the Queen’s English or an aggressive 15 year old with something to prove.

#6. Articulation

Articulation is about pronunciation and regional accents fall under the same umbrella. A while back, regional accents weren’t considered very ‘BBC’ and were often viewed as unintelligent and untrustworthy, but thankfully, things have changed a lot since then. Adversely, these days, speaking with an accent can actually make the speech sound more friendly and honest.

In short, there are plenty of options when it comes to playing with the timbre of your voice and bringing the text to life. The best advice is always to try to feel what you’re saying and always bear your listener in mind. From there, you can fine-tune your voice by paying attention to the intonation, the volume, tempo, timbre and articulation while throwing a few cliff-hanger-style pauses in there while you’re at it.

Did you try anything new after reading this? Let me know which part helped you the most in the comments!