An ounce of script preparation is worth a pound of oops

It’s all well and good, you may say, to wish for a varied and interesting delivery. But how do you actually create one?

One technique many newsreaders use is to print out and mark up their scripts. Underline the words you want to punch. Circle dramatic phrases; box boring boilerplate. Or come up with your own system.

Just the act of reading through the script asking yourself about each word and phrase will be helpful. As you grow more practiced, you may find you don’t need to print and mark your scripts. But no matter how long you’re in the business, it’ll always be useful to at least read through your scripts aloud before you deliver them on the air. Sight-reading is sometimes a necessary evil in a time crunch, but it’s never a good idea as standard operating practice. Things that look good on paper can sometimes sound awful (or worse, be a tongue-twister) when spoken aloud at speed.