We love lists don’t we? I know I do. When I need to read something and I don’t have time to really absorb it – which is, truthfully, MOST of the time – I will read the article,  blog post or book that gives me a nice – bulletized concise and easy to remember LIST.

But as a female voice talent, I can’t say I love to encounter them as part of voiceover copy. And I’m not alone. A client I was working with recently indicated they were having trouble directing VO talent on this very topic. Problems like: (see the LIST !)

• All the items sound the same
• Any momentum built in the voiceover copy to that point – stalls
• The listener, hearing the above issues, tunes out

So here’s a quick list of things to keep in mind when reading voiceover copy lists:

• Find the key thought the list is leading to – there is always one, either before or after the list
• Pick 2 or not more than 3 items in the list to really emphasize in your voiceover copy
• “Throw away” or cruise through, vocally pitch these softer and/or lower in order to better emphasize the 2 items you want to highlight
• Remember that lists can be a tool to give your voiceover copy that “conversational” feel, if you employ the above 2 techniques

AND…if you encounter questions in the copy – like the ubiquitous symptom list that comes after “Are you experiencing….” in medical voice copy, please find at least some of these to REALLY ask, (pitch the ending up) as in NOT make rhetorical (pitching the ending down).

Try these tips and send me a “list” of how they worked for you!