What is the proper technique to a "voice-over" informative video?

[TonyYter]

I started Youtube almost 3 years ago and my channel has been built around informative highly analytical gaming guides. At this moment I have 5.1k subscribers and everything seems to come to my way; except the ability to keep viewers engaged and attract new subscribers. Yes I understand that 5k is a lot to many people and I acknowledge all the struggles.

There was really one thing that held me back from getting way more than I should. That is my voice-over speech patterns. For many years I struggled to get it right. What's the problem is the way I speak just doesn't sound like what a normal person would speak in a conversational tone. Yeah I try to keep it as if I'm speaking to a friend but there are other problems. It's just my natural way of speaking seems different than how others speak. Sure I understand that practice makes perfect but what is the proper technique towards this practice? How can I do something for 3+ years and still have the same problem? I know it's gradually improved but from what it seems, it's like I have to re-wire my way of speaking from bottom-up. I think another part of the problem is the way I edit my audio. Whenever I make a mistake on a sentence, I would then cut the sentence off from the editor and restart the sentence.

How are people supposed to do voice-overs with good flow + solid information? Is there some sort of methodology? Or is there some sort of audio editing program that will make it so that if you cut/paste a sentence, it will not mess up the flow? Any voice-over experts out here?

Thank-you in advance.

 

[Jamie]

I watched some of your videos and I think I see what you mean. I don't think that there is a formula for how to do natural speech with a good flow. I think it all comes down to how you feel while you're recording. I'm a music producer and one of the most important things when recording a singer or a voice actor is ALWAYS make sure that the actor/singer is feeling comfortable. When they are not, they tend to do mistakes and not act natural. Where are you sitting/standing when you record? are you in a natural environment that is comfortable for you? are you sitting or standing or have you tried out different positions when talking?

don't try to "edit" your flow in an audio program try to adjust to your environment. if you have been sitting in front of your computer try standing up and record yourself like that (or the other way around). put a nice poster on the wall that you can look at, while recording. maybe have a friend (or someone else who knows you well) come over to your place and have them watch you while you talk. in that case, firstly you can pretend that you are talking to that friend, which will make it more natural automatically and secondly, they can give you feedback. they will know best how different you sound, when you talk in front of a mic, as opposed to talking with them

make sure you are feeling comfortable and not stressed while you do your videos

 

[Yachts For Sale]

I listened to a couple of your videos with a critical ear hoping to give you some advice, since I also do a lot of voice over in my videos.

In all honesty I think you have nothing to worry about. You have an easy-to-listen-to voice, get right to the point in your videos, good tempo, and your videos are informative. I often listen to "how-to" videos on other topics and get sick of the amount of YouTubers who ramble on about nothing before they get down to business, or who sound so bored with their own topic they put me to sleep within seconds. You have neither of these problems, and although I will probably never need to know how to how to create a refer a friend account for runescape....if I did I would happily listen to you! The only advice I can give you is that you speak in such a consistent way that nothing really stands out as being more important.

Try using a highlighting pen or bold letters in your script for points that are really important. For example, if you want to say "make sure you don't right click on the magic sword button because this will release a virus and destroy your computer" - pause before you say it, and then very deliberately slow down and pronounce each word very carefully and clearly. It is far more difficult than you may think to discipline yourself to do this, since to your own ears you may sound unnatural and fake, and as you said you are trying to speak "like a normal person in a conversational tone". When you listen to it back after recording though you will really notice how much more professional and engaging it sounds.

If you think about an actor on stage, or a public speaker to an audience, they never speak in a normal tone. They have to over-emphasise words and enunciation. This is because they are addressing a larger audience and it is more challenging to keep their attention. You have exactly the same challenge, so need to use the same techniques that they do.

I also used my TubeBuddy Channelytics to take a look at your stats. They look really healthy to me for a channel of your size. If you feel you have a problem with audience retention I suspect it may just be the nature of "how to" videos, people want to watch as much as they need to for the information they want and then get back to whatever game they are playing.

Hope this helps, and good luck with it!

 

[Scotty Byrd]

my best advice is just be you don't think about it !! talk natural and just imagine your audience !! i mean if you got 5 k your voice can't be that bad !!