Al Jazeera: Brea in... brea out

Why spend hours perfecting a script, but just minutes preparing how it is delivered? Sally Lawrence recently visited Doha in behalf of the Thomson Foundation to share some tips with Al Jazeera trainees on using their voices effectively.

Armed with a selection of poems and Shakespeare monologues I set off to Doha to deliver a five day voice course.

Why, you may wonder, do the staff of Al Jazeera need such training? Answer: because everyone who is in the business of broadcasting needs to use their voice to its best advantage.

In reporting we need to take the viewer or the listener on a journey, and vocal delivery needs to be full of light and shade, pace, pause and pitch to get the best out of the piece being delivered.

We may spend hours on the copy and then lose its importance when we vocalise it. This can be for many reasons lack of confidence; the need for urgency and the simple fact that the written word is hard to lift off the page and share with the audience. How many times have we heard something on the television or radio which we dont quite get the meaning of, yet on paper it seems so clear?

Strange noises My delegates were fantastic and up for anything I asked them to do. They spent several hours lying on the floor on towels working their diaphragms (the muscular membrane that separates the abdomen from the area around the lungs) and making strange noises to increase their breath.

They were happy to move around the room with a book balanced on their heads, or to recite passages from the Owl and the Pussy Cat. They used various emotions to deliver nursery rhymes and worked with bone props to increase articulation.

By the end of the five days all the delegates had learnt the importance of abdominal breathing and had heard the difference good breath control and clear speech could make.

Remember your voice is one of the most valuables tools you have so think about using it properly and taking good care of it.

Top tips:

Drink plenty of water

Avoid dairy produce, coffee and fizzy drinks before broadcasting.

Check your breathing -- are you filling your lungs and using your diaphragm correctly?

Try not to clear your throat -- swallow or drink water instead.

Watch your diction and clarity -- open your mouth and let the words out.

LINK:	http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/news-and-features/2013/03/13/al-jazee...
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