Whether you’re doing the voice over for a screencast, recording a podcast, or giving a presentation one of the keys to success is your voice. How you sound, how you project, and (most importantly) the feeling that resonates from your voice.

Tom Johnson recently posted a blog entry that discussed a voice-over workshop that he’s taking. You can read more about it here. Sounds like an interesting course. I wonder if there’s anything like it in Toronto (TO locals, please leave a comment if there is).

Tom points out a great bit of advice that I was taught in the radio course that I took in journalism school. Tom’s instructor encouraged him to “to imagine myself sitting in a café talking to a friend in a conversational way.”

That’s great advice. Why? Think of the various presentations, screencasts, and podcasts that you’ve taken in over the years. How many of them sounded stiff or over-rehearsed? How many of them sounded fluid and natural? How many of them sounded like the person was speaking not just to you but with you? I’m sure that the latter have been a minority.

In his post, Tom notes:

Wow, you wouldn’t believe what a difference it makes when you take your mind off the idea that you’re merely reading.

When you’re in that state, you’re less self conscious. You can go with the conversational flow and you’re not worried about making a mistake or sounding like a fool. And you generally won’t. When recording for a screencast or podcast, at least, you can re-record or edit out your flubs.

Getting to that state of conversational fluidity — whether with a voice over, a podcast, or a presentation — takes time. I know that Aaron and I haven’t reached it yet. We’re trying, though.

Related posts:

1. Writing for screencasts
2. What makes a good screencast?
3. Marketing yourself, without (really) marketing