What Makes A Great Boo?

There was a discussion on our Facebook page a couple of weeks ago about what makes a great Boo. There were some great suggestions – and I’ll be posting some of those shortly. In the meantime though, my colleague Amanda – who worked for many years as a journalist, has dug up this excellent guide she wrote offering some top tips. Have a read:

The Golden Rules

• On first hearing your own voice recorded, everyone cringes. You get over it.
• Hesitation doesn’t sound good. It comes from lack of preparedness. Be a good boy/girl scout.
• Briefer is better. The best boos tend to be 30 seconds to 2 mins max.
• Don’t forget to take a picture and attach it to your boo along with the location. This adds two whole other layers to your boo without having to voice all that stuff.

Atmosphere and Actuality.

• Have a listen to the atmosphere.
• Is it so loud you have to shout to be heard? Is there background music playing down a speaker directly next to you? Is there a toddler having a tantrum?
• None of the above are good conditions for recording yourself.
• Actuality (industry term for the sound going on around you as you record speech) is great, so long as it doesn’t dominate the foreground.
• Good example of Actuality: if you are recording at a festival, pick up sound of festival goers singing in the background for about 2-4 seconds before you begin to talk.

Recording Speech

• As Audioboo is unedited it helps to know what you are going to say before you click “Record”.
• Script your boos (more on scripting below). This prevents Um’s, errs, hesitation and going round in circles.
• Wear headphones so you can hear exactly how your recording sounds.
• Drink some water. Blow your nose. Dry lip smacking and sniffing don’t make for good listening.
• Stretch out. Take a deep breath. Good posture makes good speech.
• Do a Ron Burgandy run through. Use a tongue twister to warm up your mouth. Yes. Go on. It helps.
• Read your script aloud first.
• Run through your boo a few times. Delete those boos after you have listened back to them.
• Breathe and take enough time.
• Over enunciate a bit. Underline the important words in your script and follow that. DON’T SHOUT!  Vary your tone as if you are telling a friend something they will find fascinating.
• Speak as if you are speaking to one other person.
• Be prepared for the end of your boo and stop recording when you have finished speaking. Long run backs are annoying for a listener who thinks there is more but just hears fumbling.

What do you think we should add? Let us know in the comments below!

Style Guide

How To