It's May 13, 2024, 02:11:06 AM
I come from a family of newscasters and sportscasters, so I really want to try to outline the skill it takes to speak in "reporter voice" and how unnatural it really is. Since "reporter voice" is definitely an act, one's "regular voice" can be a night/day difference for some people. All reporters pretty much sound the same, but you know that that's not natural. There are as many different accents and dialects as there are people (which is why impersonators can nail almost anyone.)So, speaking reporter voice is a skill, and here's why:1) You must sound both formal and natural, even though it's really not natural at all2) You must eradicate all traces of accent so that you sound so average that nobody could tell where you were from, whether it be New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, or Bora Bora3) You have to stress every single word, but without sounding like you are doing it4) You have to pepper your report with those dramatic pauses and that annoying "credulous voice raise" that indicates a question.5) Field reporters have to be able to walk and report into the camera at the same time, which is actually more awkward than you might think6) Field reporters also have to figure out what to do with their arms as they walk and talk, so they don't just hang their arms at their sides but also don't flail them around too wildly7) "Reporter voice" comes from the back of your throat, further back than normal speech (sorry, it's hard to explain or describe this one) Reporter voice is much louder than regular voice, but you have to be sure you never sound like you have actually raised your voice at allReally, the act all comes down to sounding as normal as possible while actually speaking in a completely unnatural way.So I bet you would be amazed to hear what most newscasters sound like when they aren't "on." It may not always be as hugely different as this guy, but I guarantee Tom Brokaw doesn't sound the same when he's telling his wife about his day as he does when he's on camera.
I posted this vid plus 2 remixes of it a few weeks back. Damn this shit is still funny as hell LOL