Writing copy for voice recordings

‘Everyone only hears what they understand.’

This line by the great poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe could apply, in slightly altered form, to every audio production. Who has not listened to a text at some point, thought the voice over artist was tremendously dynamic, and yet had no idea at the end what had actually been said? That was not the colleague’s fault, but quite simply the fault of a script that was not written for the ear. Unlike the written word, which anyone can read again when something is unclear, the spoken word is gone for good. That is why you should pay particular attention to these important points in your script:

• Remember that you are addressing a listener, not a reader.
• The text has to suit the target audience. Specialists can follow the workings of a farm tractor’s gearbox, but the average person cannot.
• Avoid convoluted sentences and focus on the core message instead - especially in TV and radio commercials, which only have a limited number of seconds available, the text has to be crisp and easy to follow.
• The content needs a sensible structure, with the most important statement first, so that if time runs short the final sentences could be cut without changing the meaning.
• If a subject is very complex, it has to be packaged into short, easily understood sentences.

If you take these points into account, your text will be understood even by the weakest member of a target audience.

In my many years of work as a voice over artist I have read a great many scripts for media productions. It is precisely the points above that are often neglected, which directly harms the overall effect of a communication video.

As a Swiss voice over artist with my own studio, translating German videos into Swiss German, for example, is one of my specialities. Switzerland may be a country with many languages, and High German is understood, but the Swiss like to hear their own language - whether that is High German as spoken in the Swiss advertising windows, Bernese German or Zurich German. That is why, for a small surcharge, I also offer the translation of German scripts into Swiss German. As the client, you can listen in live during the recording via Skype or Source-Connect Now.

Inspired by Alex Jacobi