Writing for the Ear

Writing for the Ear

Be Sure Your Interactive Narration Is Heard
Audio is often one of the media in "multimedia." The spoken word can have tremendous impact. But it can also fall flat if the text is ill-suited for oral delivery.

Writing that's great for the eye is not always great for the ear. Here are some characteristics to look for in your next audio script:

Conversational
Sure, there's formal and informal speech. And it's often hard to make technical content sound natural. But think about how you normally break up big ideas into smaller units when speaking. This naturally leads to:

Short Sentences
Long sentences with a complicated grammatical structure (for example, with parenthetical asides) are often difficult to comprehend when heard since the listener has to reconstruct the meaning without the benefit of seeing the punctuation or, in the case of certain lists, the layout's use of text sizes and styles, plus other design elements. Instead, apply the old KISS rule: Keep It Short and Simple. After all, even professional announcers have to breathe.

Clear to Hear
Natural speech runs some words together, particularly when vowel/consonant combinations meet. Recently, for instance, I thought I heard a commercial say, "Your doom, madam." That sounded rather ominous. However, I finally realized the announcer was saying, "You're due, madam." Quite a different message.

Poetic
Recall the rhyme, rhythm, and resonance of good poetry. Lift a lesson about lovely alliteration. The brain will retain what the ear likes to hear.

Summary
The best way to test audio writing is to read the work aloud and really listen to it. For example, test this article. See if you can tell which parts work when spoken (hint: not all do). Check all your copy this way BEFORE you give it to the narrator. Your listeners will be glad you did.