In ep 187 of “How Do You Say That?!” Louis Critchley joins Sam and Mark to talk about how energetic you have to go with a football commentator style commercial script. Is high energy through the whole read just too much? Is subtlety needed or wanted, and when you find a niche – you should exploit it.
We explore how to play a baddie without it being over the top… Mark brings some bruiser energy, and we explore how to lean in on dialogue to get intimate with the listener.
In ep 181 of “How Do You Say That?!” Karim Kronfli joins Sam and Mark to talk about getting to grips with a summer advertorial that’s full of alliteration, with no time constraint. We have to be playful without going over the top. It’s all about a script being “knowing” and as a voice actor having to give a nod and a wink to your audience. We also have an amazing dramatic piece between a man who’s been in jail and his estranged daughter.
In ep 180 of “How Do You Say That?!” Paul Cartwright joins Sam and Mark to talk about trusting your senses as a VA to do the work in a script without actively trying to do the work. We explore a commercial script using Paul’s theory of pulling back on the crafting and being less voiceovery and less polished to make a real connection with the audience.
In ep 170 of “How Do You Say That?!” John Kennard joins Sam and Mark to talk about how numbers can punctuate a script, and whether you see numbers in a script or have to write them longhand so you don’t trip over them. We discuss conversational versus informational and try to bring a touch of David Attenborough without doing an impression. We also note the character versus speed ratio and work out how a character can sometimes slow the read and sometimes speed it up!
In ep 169 of “How Do You Say That?!” Tammy King joins Sam and Mark to ask when is a safe read too safe? Do we need to be scared of making a script “too voiceovery”? We’ll look at what that means! Also in the show… Is it helpful when a client sends a scratch read for direction? Plus how getting the music for a read can change everything about your voice – the softness, the tonality and especially the pacing. We also examine how to pivot from whimsy to confident curiosity? Our wildcards are: an alien made of Smarties, a happy go lucky window cleaner, and a person muttering to themselves.
In ep 164 of “How Do You Say That?!” Denise Hoey joins Sam and Mark to talk about the choices you make when a script has a number of obvious possibilities – but are any of them actually what a client would want? We explore why you should never say “My character wouldn’t say that!”… and journey into the wonderful land of voice acting to meet a wizard of a radio script. Find out how Mark’s choice of character brings both Sam and Denise to stunned silence, prepare to be blown away by the spirit of Judy Garland, and we bring you possibly the nicest put-down you’ve ever heard! This week’s wildcards bring us a big teddy, a bee keeper and a wicked witch (unsurprisingly for Oz!)
In ep 160 of “How Do You Say That?!” Richie Tavake joins Sam and Mark to talk about the differences between the US and UK radio commercial market and why sometimes an American script can sound cheesey in a British accent. We get savvy and become a consumer champion, and we explore ways to research scripts that you may not have thought of before. Our wildcards see us getting ecstaticly happy, very judgy and absolutely huge in stature.
Our VO question this week is all about the different processes we go through when a script lands in our inbox.
In ep 159 of “How Do You Say That?!” Mike Paine joins Sam and Mark from Chicago to talk about how to approach a local market US radio commercial, switching between a serious cyber security narrator and a cartoon boss character, getting your lips round a droopy loopy tongue twister and which choices you make if you’re asked to create a character on the fly. In the wildcards we find out what would happen if William Shatner auditioned as a Principal ballet dancer, or if film noir became sexy, or if your school crossing lady really was cross!
In ep 157 of “How Do You Say That?!”, Hannah Hebblethwaite joins Sam and Mark to talk about fitting too many words into a commercial read, varying the pace to combat a list, making IT interesting (even if you don’t fully understand it) and how your website SEO is even more important if you have a particular accent or dialect. Plus we realise a massive relevation for 2026!
Our VO question this week is all about entering the industry without formal acting training.
In ep 128 of “How Do You Say That?!” J. Michael Collins joins Sam and Mark to talk about fishy fingers, creating an evocative atmopshere to resonate with the words on the page, and how testing an A-read and a B-read can be really helpful in a script that will tickle Seinfeld fans! Our VO question this week is all about the difference between clients in the US and across the rest of the world.
