Stay Real Kids
BE YOURSELF. Always. When you’re writing, creating an audio essay, meeting someone new. Zinsser suggests it, Glass suggests it, your guidance counselor suggests it. There’s no better way to go about things in life. This advice applies to those of us making recordings that only involve our voice and those of us interviewing a number of people. Of course, it’s a lot easier when we’re interviewing others because, well, what do they care what they sound like? In most cases they will be their genuine selves and that genuineness will help to make a great audio essay (hopefully). Sometimes when I’m interviewing friends they fall into the, “Oh God, this is so stressful. SO MUCH PRESSURE JACKY. OMG ARE YOU RECORDING?! *insert nervous giggle* STOP STOP I WASN’T READY LET ME PRACTICE!!!” So I have to go on to tell them to relax, it will be fine, no one will care if your voice is obnoxious, just tell me what you’re thinking. They proceed to tell me what it is they’d like to achieve if failing wasn’t an option and it goes great. That sense of unexpectedness both in the nature of the question and unrehearsed manner in which they deliver their response, is what Ira suggests, makes an interesting radio segment. I don’t think we can go wrong with this piece of advice and although it applies more to the people narrating their own story, it also helps when we bump into the occasional nervous friend. Kudos to you Ira Glass.
2 responses so far
I really like this piece of advice. Often people try to imitate those they hear on the radio or see on TV in order to sound more “professional,” but honestly people just want you to be yourself. I know that I quickly lose interest when I’m listening to someone who sounds like he/ she is trying to impress rather than be his/her self. When a speaker is genuine and down-to-earth, it makes the story interesting and it makes the listeners willing to listen.
This piece of advice is probably the most important when it comes to writing and speaking. How many times do we find ourselves snooping around the thesaurus to find a synonym making us seem more sophisticated or professional? I think we all tend to over-think our writing and speaking and try and embelish it without realizing that our more simplistic and “real” work can go so much further. It’s interesting to note how both Zinsser and Glass echo the same advice. I feel that “trying to be ourselves” often goes overlooked especially by high achieving students.