5 Ways to Improve Reading Aloud
As a podcaster, one of the most valuable skills you can have is the ability to read aloud and make it sound good. Unfortunately, way too many of us have flashbacks of doing this in middle school with no choice in the matter.
This is something that's easy to work on and nobody has to hear you practice. Just a few minutes of practice per day will really help you with introducing guests, reading episode notes, and the other work you do on your podcast.
Get better at reading.
The more you read, the better you’ll get better at reading aloud.
Need something to practice with? Try my book, Big Podcast.Start with simple material.
Most websites, especially pop culture and “clickbait” websites, are written at a low-grade level, without long sentences or complicated words. These are great places to start.Work on material you’ve written.
Do you have a blog or newsletter? Something written in your voice is great to practice with, since you’re already familiar with it, but also because it’s something you’re likely to read during your podcast.Practice “character” voices.
Pedro Pena, host of My Stuttering Life, told me something that I think is fascinating … when a person who stutters speaks as a character, that person doesn’t stutter. Similarly, you’ll be in a different mindset when reading as a character, which may help you calm those “middle school” nerves you still have about reading aloud.
Note that a “character” doesn’t have to be a fiction script … you can have a similar experience reading a commercial script as a “used car guy” or using a “radio voice.”Tape yourself and review the tape.
How we sound in our head differs from how we sound when listening back to yourself. Tape your practice sessions and review the tape. Better yet, save the tape, then compare it to sessions from different time periods. Progress with reading aloud can be slow, so you’re unlikely to notice daily changes, but you will notice how much you’ve improved when listening to recordings that are several months old.
You will get better at reading aloud. You will get more comfortable. Keep going!
