Start An Online Business - Writing

 Write it RIGHT!

Professional voice talent are veterans who could read a script off of a cocktail napkin written in lipstick (that's happened to me, actually). However, no matter how talented a voice over professional is, he or she always appreciates a bit more attention to scripting than most clients give them. Here are some tips to help you create a better script to make your talent's heart flutter behind that mic!

- Take care to keep your sentence structures SHORT! It's true that sometimes "less is more". This is especially true for the spoken word. Remember, people (hopefully) are listening to starting an online business message. Shorter sentences make for more impactful communication and enable the voice talent to give as much emotion as possible to that one statement. DON'T BE WORDY!

- The BEGINNING, the MIDDLE and the END! Script-writing is like telling a story and everyone knows a story has a beginning (an introduction to your message), a middle (the who, what, why about your company or service) and an ending (a wrap up of your story that incorporates a call to action, want to start an online business "CALL NOW . . . VISIT US ONLINE . . . SHOP OUR STORE, etc." Making sure you incorporate a beginning, middle and end for your message will provide the talent with a more clear understanding of your message resulting in much better delivery of it.

- Give your script AIR!!!! There's nothing more annoying to a professional talent than to receive a script presented in 10 point type in a strange font, single spaced onto one 81/2 x 11 page. So you're network webinar "If I can read it, THEY can read it". True, they can READ it, but it's a struggle - even for the most experienced, seasoned voice over artists. When preparing your script for the talent, be sure to use at least 12 point (preferably 14 point) type. AND, double space each line!

- Another thing to be considerate about is "word emphasis". There is nothing more confusing to a talent than to have to try to figure out what you want to have "stand out" in the sea of words on a page. If you want the word "incredible" to have more strength in the delivery from the talent, by all means indicate so on the script. (Why network webinar think word programs offer you so many different options, such as BOLD, Italic and underline features?) Voice talents are just that . . . TALENTS, not MIND READERS! With just a few selections from your tool bar on the computer screen, you can place the proper emphasis on words directly into the mouths of your voices! And DON’T FORGET SPELL CHECK!!!!

- Be careful about being too vague. This is a problem that relates to scripts that are a bit avant garde . . . that is, using starting an online business for dummies 5th that may not translate as well on a radio spot when the audience you're trying to reach is totally dependent on the auditory message. Save that stuff for the television medium where graphics play a huge role in underscoring your ultimate message.

If you follow these simple tips, you'll be much more productive in creating a good "talent-ready" script and your message has a much better chance of being interpreted the way it's meant to be. Write it RIGHT!!