Tips To Understand Voice Over Scripts

Advertising - what fun!

You may have an opinion, even a judgement, about the world of advertising and let’s face it, some advertising can be a little average.

But?most high-end ‘brand’ advertising is well crafted and very often written and filmed beautifully.?

Good advertising is an art-form.?Often, an ad takes the best and worst of our culture and who we are as people and presents it to us ‘as?a concept wrapped around a product’.?Some of it is so memorable and clever that we make it part of our lives.?

Remember the Yellow Pages ‘Not happy Jan’ ads from the 90’s?

Or currently: ‘did someone say KFC?’ Uber eats ‘Tonight I’ll be Eating’?

However, that’s visual advertising which uses 100% talent.?That is, we can both see and hear them.

Being the?voice talent only?in any ad, whether it’s radio, television or online requires a different set of skills.

To understand how to work magic ‘voicing’ advertising scripts, you must first understand what’s being advertised, to whom and why.

The way you do that is to know which words in the script are the?‘key’ words or ‘key phrases’.?

Below is a short sample where you need to find the language, which is ‘about the product or concept’ or, ‘the reason for the ad’.

I’ve indicated those key phrases by?bolding?them.?You’ll rarely have this done for you when you get a script.??You’ll need to be able to work this out for yourself.

The non-bolded text just gets ‘said’, without too much emphasis, as though?you are saying it?to someone.

Advertising often uses something I call the?problem/solution structure.

?When you look at the script sample below, the bolded text in the first paragraph is about the?problem.?These are key phrases, because they tell what this is about.

You just need to?slow down through those phrases only?and make them mean something.

In this one, below, you might sound concerned…but only when you read the bolded text.

?

“Whenever we go on holiday, I always get?nervous about leaving the house.?Sure we get our mail collected and leave the light on, but you?can’t help worrying about being burgled.”

Then we jump to the?solution?paragraphs.?Same rules apply.?That is, just say any text that is not what the ad is about?(and just to be clear it’s not ‘about’ ugly security doors.?It’s?about?Invisigard),?and with any ‘solution’, you’ll always be a little happier.

“I always thought security doors were ugly…until we found?the range from Invisigard.?Made from the?strongest marine grade stainless steel, they not only?look great, they’re as?safe as houses.”

Now look through and read the bolded text aloud. What you’ll be reading is what I call?the story thread.

You can see how making these phrases important focuses on:

• what you’re?talking about?and how that makes you feel (emotion)
• what you’re?advertising?(product)
• what you’re?selling on behalf of the advertiser or client. (In this one, peace of mind)

Try listening to other voiceover artists voice demos, to hear how they approach key words and phrases.

Usually, you can easily access those samples on?voiceover agent’s websites.?Just Google that phrase and you should come up with the top 4 or 5.

Happy Voiceover-ing!?