188. Four ways to sound less "scripted"
Sounding "scripted" is the opposite of sounding genuine.
In this episode I use stories and examples to describe four ways to sound less scripted - and it doesn't involve ditching the script!
1. Write the way you speak.
2. Partially script.
3. Swap scripts for structures.
4. Use vocal variation.
Transcript
Hello welcome back to That Voice Podcast.
Let’s face it no one wants to sound scripted.
Sounding scripted is the opposite of sounding genuine.
I saw some TikTok drama the other day about a business called KyteBaby, it was around an employee not being granted remote work arrangements while she was in the NICU caring for her baby. You can check it out yourself, but one of the big criticisms of the apology was that it sounded scripted. The CEO in question admitted it was scripted, she did read it and it wasn’t sincere. But it was obvious through the sound of her voice.
And later in this episode I’ll play you a snippet so you can hear exactly what I mean.
First, let’s get one thing straight. Intentions.
People don’t use a script because they want to sound bad, it’s because they want to sound good.
You might relate to this ..
If you script things is probably because you want to get it ‘right’ and you’re afraid of saying the ‘wrong’ thing or you want to make sure you hit all the key points, you want to stick to time or you don’t want your words to come out like alphabet soup all scrambly jambly and if you can see the words on a page there’s more chance they’ll come out of your mouth in a coherent fashion.
Here’s the catch people don’t want to hear words on a page they want to feel words from your heart.
In this episode I’m going to share with you four ways to sound less scripted – and guess what they don’t involve ditching the script.
Because you absolutely can still sound scripted without a script – you can tell when someone’s poorly memorised something or it’s badly written to begin with. In their eyes you can see the search for the words. As though they are reading.
The best speakers, comedians and actors they memorise the shit out of their script to the point the words aren’t learnt they’re embedded in their body. This episode is not about memorisation techniques. I have a fantastic masterclass inside Soul Speakers on How to Memorise Like a Pro. And way back in episode 86 I also talk about this. And if you have a speech coming up, getting professional help to write and deliver it might really pay off for you. I have clients who get rebooked when they speak, they get new clients, they have skills to write their own content going forward. And using their words is key.
This is the first way to sound less scripted.
Write the way you speak.
Key word YOU – your language, your filler words, your quirky phrases.
And key word SPEAK.
The biggest issue with scripting is that is usually done in silence on your computer like you’re back at school or uni writing a paper. The language we use is different when we type in silence as when we speak. A good speech or video should be riddled with those green grammar underlines in Microsoft Word because we speak in fragments. We use filler words. We characterise the dialogue. We speak more colloquially and probably don’t say a lot of the words we would write. The sentences are also shorter.
You need to be reading out loud as you’re writing and if it doesn’t sound like something you’d say, don’t write it. And if it takes more than a line and half – split it. And if you haven’t got filler words, add them. I bet you didn’t expect that advice from a speaking coach, but honestly a couple of fillers here and there, you know, sound more natural and believable.
Now that leads me to the second way to sound less scripted. .. is not to script the whole thing, do partial scripting.
And this is different to dot points.
This is actually scripting some parts and freestyling others.
And this is usually what I do with my solo episodes of the podcast like this one.
I’ll often script the opening and the ending and any facts and figures I include or references to people or resources or other episodes. And then in between I’ll just write the point like number two partially script. And then I might say for example – this podcast and I know what I want to say.
Partial scripting is a great stepping stone to going fully off script, and it’s also great for clarity and time. I could do my podcasts completely off the top of my head, but you as the listener would probably get fed up with my meandering or there’ll be more stops and starts in the recording and then it takes me longer to edit.
Partial scripting is also great when you’re on camera in long form content and don’t want to do lots of edits. I make that distinction because if you can edit you can easily say short snippets straight to camera and then edit between you looking at your notes by cropping the shot. Reach out if you have no idea what I’m talking about.
And this episode actually came about because one of my beautiful clients has a podcast and she videos it…. And she wanted to know how to look at the camera while reading the script, so the question came in as how do I use a teleprompter.
Unless you’re an experienced news presenter or speaker … teleprompters are connection killers.
Because you’re reading and people can hear it. They can hear the words on the page not feel the words from your heart. That’s the difference.
So partial scripting is a great option for my client with her podcast because she can reference her notes and then look straight back to camera for the part she’s freestyling like her stories and expertise. And looking down or to the side for a minute in long form video content, is fine. You know if you went for a coffee with someone and stared in their eyes the whole time it’d be weird, so same with the lens of the camera. Absolutely you need to be looking at it, but it doesn’t need to be the whole time.
Ok the third way to sound less scripted is to swap the script for a structure.
And if you have downloaded my free ebook – what to say when you don’t know what to say -you will know exactly what I’m talking about.
If you haven’t got it – go and download it.
I outline the frameworks, the dot points you could say, and I also link to videos where I give an example.
The scenarios I cover and I’m reading this part by the way because is introducing yourself, explaining your job, selling something, making a point, telling a story.
Write in the masculine – give yourself structure, so you can deliver in the feminine – speak with freedom and flow … and sound natural.
Now expert speakers and presenters can have every word written out – read or memorised and it not sound scripted.
It’s because they’ve written for speaking and my fourth point – they know how to use vocal variation.
Sounding scripted at a technical level means the pitch of the voice doesn’t change much, because we are reading the words. The pace doesn’t change much it goes along at the same speed. There’s not much colour in the emphasis and intonation, so the voice sounds bland and even put on. And this is where I’ll play you a snippet of the apology video on TikTok I mentioned because you can hear it very clearly…
Did you hear it? Now of course there’s so much pressure on apologies, and they can be difficult to do well, especially when no matter what you say people will have likely made up their mind. TikTok is viscious, the masses love tearing successful people down…And Ying if you ever find your way to this little podcast, I believe you showed grace and courage in your subsequent video to own that the previous one was scripted and not genuine, that’s amazing and the reason I wanted to use the video as an example in this episode.
In order to not have these vocal hallmarks of reading, you need to know how to fully access and control the range in your voice.
Once you know how to raise and drop your pitch, you can speed up and slow down, you know how to use intonation… and pause.
This skill is the number one thing that will make you sound less scripted. It will also make you a more interesting, engaging speaker in any scenario and your voice will be able to reflect all the emotions in you.
If you have a default voice that just sounds one way, you are running the risk of not sounding genuine – because you’re robbing yourself the opportunity to have your emotions be reflected in your voice.
I’ll give you an example, how can you sound truly empathetic, if you can’t access your voice physically in your heart space where empathy lives?
When your voice is opened up as the channel to express who you are. You won’t need to intellectualise what am I doing with pitch, pace, pause, volume all that, because it will be felt.
And this is a big focus inside my group program Soul Speakers. If you are serious about being a great presenter, having a voice people listen to and opening up that channel for yourself.
Come and join us in Soul Speakers. Imagine what is possible for your business or your career your relationships, your general wellbeing when you have these skills. Script or no script.
The other thing we explore and is important to ask is why do you have / need the script.
It might be for practicality reasons. Or it might be because you’re not trusting yourself and your voice. Is the script a way to put power outside yourself, instead of trusting the power within?
If you’re not ready to join Soul Speakers at the very least get the Magnetic Voice Formula, so you can activate your inner vocal power, please.
Four ways to sound less scripted are 1. Write the way you speak. 2. Partially script instead of every single word, 3. Swap the script for structures (download the ebook) and 4. Learn how to access the full range of your voice.
And if you have the Magnetic Voice Formula, all of the above will come to you so much easier. The link is in the shownotes. It’s a short little course, a small investment in time and money and it will give you the formula to always feel confident in your voice – script or no script.