Tony Jones

Revolutionizing Learning: 3 Ways AI Personalizes Learning Pathways

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you now have access to affordable, high-quality recording equipment and software. The bad news is that even though your equipment may be semi-pro, your voiceover performance is still amateur. And, hey, that’s not something you should beat yourself up about. If it were just a matter of showing up and talking into a microphone, there would be no such thing as a professional voiceover actor. Unfortunately, you can’t always afford a pro, but you can learn from their craft to improve your own DIY performance.Get Over YourselfSo let me guess…you hate the sound of your own voice, right? We’ve all had the experience of hearing our voice on a recording and wondering, “Do I really sound like that?”  Yes, you really do.That “awful” voice you hear in the recordings? That’s what the rest of us hear when you talk, and we think it’s just fine. As a voiceover performer, your voice is your instrument, so you had better make friends with it. The more you practice and listen to your recordings, the more comfortable you’ll be.Got a bad case of the nerves? Practice is the best medicine for that, too. You might lock up when you sit down in front of a microphone the first time, but the more you practice, the easier it will get. Remind yourself that no one listening to your performance is judging you as harshly as you are. Take a deep breath and just keep practicing.Preparing for the GigProfessional voiceover performers drink water like it’s their job, because it is. Hydration will have a huge effect on your performance, so be like a pro and start sipping water at least two hours before you’re scheduled to record. This prevents strained, rough-sounding recordings full of the dreaded “mouth click.” Avoid smoking and spicy foods before a performance unless you’re going for the Clint Eastwood/Batman/sandpaper sound. Also, don’t eat dairy the day of your performance—it produces mucus (a.k.a. “mouth sludge”). While you’re drinking your water, take a look at the script and read it out loud. Are there any tongue twisters? Awkward phrases that look fine on paper but sound weird when you say them out loud? If this is your own script, you still have time to improve it. If it’s someone else’s and you’re not allowed to touch it, at least you can practice those tongue twisters so they don’t sneak up on you during the recording.  Give yourself some direction. Take a pencil and mark up the script. If you want to emphasize a particular word, underline it. If a phrase should be spoken with a rising inflection, draw an upward arrow next to it. There are some industry norms for markup notation, but use whatever works for you. ShowtimeThe best way to deliver copy is standing up, but that’s usually not practical in a DIY recording situation. If you must sit, sit on the edge of your chair with your left knee pointed down at the floor. This forces you to straighten your back and allows you to breathe more easily. It also gives your diaphragm plenty of space. Also, keep your chin parallel to the floor. (When you look up, your vocal chords stretch; when you look down, they constrict. Neither is good for your performance.)Your breath is the fuel of your performance, so take a deep in-breath before starting each new line of copy. This will prevent you from needing to take a distracting catch-up breath in the middle of a line. A deep inhalation should move your belly, not your chest. Shallow chest breathing will cause you to run out of gas in the middle of a phrase.When you deliver, don’t try to imitate a “radio voice.” You don’t have a radio voice, and even if you did, that probably wouldn’t be the right tone for your e-learning project anyway. Instead, visualize a member of your audience and imagine you’re talking directly to him or her. A conversational voice is going to carry more credibility than the kind of smooth announcer voice that most people associate with used car ads.Put some emotion in your voice when the script calls for it. In fact, ham it up a little. Remember that the audience will not be able to pick up on your non-visual cues. What feels like a subtle, understated performance to you will sound like a boring monotone to your audience. What feels like a slightly over-the-top emotional performance to you will usually be just enough for your audience to hear in the final product.Deliver multiple takes for each line of copy, even if you think you’ve nailed it on the first one. Your perfect delivery might have the sound of a chair squeaking in the background. Having multiple takes to choose from is called “coverage” and you want lots of it. It will help you later in the editing process if you call the take out loud before each delivery (“Take 1…” “Take 2...” etc.).Cut!If your nerves get to you, take a couple of deep breaths and start a new take. If you’re really stuck on a given section, just move on to the next one and come back after you’ve built some momentum. Just keep going until your nerves cool off. Remember: you’re recording digitally, and you’re not going to run out of tape.If your mouth is sludgy and you’re getting a lot of “mouth click” or other gross sounds in the recording, take a few sips of water. (You should be drinking it throughout the session anyway.)  If you’ve got really stubborn sludge, eat a green apple. The acid will dissolve the mucus and other gunk to give you a clean, click-free mouth.That’s a WrapEven if you’ve got a good voice and a decent recording setup, you might still feel unsatisfied with the results. Keep things in perspective: you’re not recording a movie trailer or a luxury car commercial. E-learning is about learning, after all, and your audience will probably learn just as much from you as they would from James Earl Jones. Now go have some fun and don’t forget to keep your most embarrassing recordings for the outtake reel.

Inside the Voice Actors Studio

“Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach,” wrote Harvard professor Rosabeth Kantor. Learning leaders learn for learning’s sake—they get an adrenaline rush out of always honing their skills, enhancing their understanding, and deepening their wisdom. Learning leaders are restless, hungry souls never satisfied with what they know because they appreciate the fact that antiquated is just around the corner and obsolete is just down the hall. Most of all they create a curiosity culture by learning out loud.A culture that values curiosity is one that is inventive and exciting. Walk into the headquarters of USAA in San Antonio, Zappo’s in Las Vegas, or Apple Computer in Cupertino, California, and you can feel the heat of originality cooking in the organizational oven. What you later learn in these settings is that you are in a place with an everlasting focus on perpetual growth.When Arie de Geus author of The Living Company wrote, “Your ability to learn faster than your competition is your only sustainable competitive advantage,” he was speaking of the power of the hunt for insight, not the glorification of the attainment of competence. What are the factors common in a “discovering organization” and what do learning leaders do to foster such a culture?Learning leaders communicate a clear, compelling purpose A stroll through Universal Studios Hollywood with theme park president Larry Kurzweil says a lot about his priorities. He warmly greets guests, asks if they are having a great time, and picks up trash. Bill Marriott, chairman of Marriott Corporation, is passionate about the nobility of service to hotel guests. It is not unusual for a hotel guest to get zealously queried about their experience by Marriott in the hotel lobby or elevator. Kurzweil and Marriott both know that observation is more powerful than conversation—what people see leaders do is more important than what they hear leaders say.Learning leaders demonstrate their passion for learning by constantly asking questions of managers and employees about the customers’ experience, progress on projects, and adventures in new business. And, the query is borne of sincere interest and curiosity, not a “check up” inquisition. They look for every opportunity to learn and to communicate to employees through their actions that searching for what is unknown is as important and valuable as acting on what is known. Most importantly, the theme of their questions always reflects a clear, compelling vision and purpose.Learning leaders tell storiesOne of the most powerful tools learning leaders use to sincerely communicate a clear, compelling purpose is storytelling. Stories are memorable and rich in their capacity to convey meaning. Stories also stir inquisitiveness. It is that trait—inquisitive pursuit of purpose—that inspires and cultivates frontline employees to become customer mentors. Stories instruct everyone on focus and direction.Stories telegraph a set of norms or mores unique to the organization. When Southwest Airlines employees tell stories of retired CEO Herb Kelleher hiding in the luggage bin to surprise passengers as they entered the plane, they are really saying, “We are supposed to have fun.” When FedEx employees tell the story of a West coast frontline employee authorizing a private jet to transport a piece of equipment needed to rescue little Jessica McClure trapped in a well in Texas, they are really saying, “We are empowered to make decisions on behalf of our customers.”Just as great teachers have always used stories to foster learning, learning leaders tell stories to serve as the glue to mold a gathering of people into a partnership of colleagues.Learning leaders deliver target-seeking feedback“Honest criticism,” wrote Franklin Jones, “is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.” Yet feedback is vital to lending direction to human energy. It is also crucial to fostering a discovery-oriented atmosphere.Target-seeking feedback carries the connotation that feedback not only fuels, it inspires. Target-seeking feedback is delivered in the future perfect tense. Instead of historical statements of fact, learning leaders ask honest self-reflecting questions of promise. Rather than delivering proof, feedback attempts to unearth potential. Instead of an accusatory “You were in error when you…,” target-seeking feedback asks, “What might be the impact of your...?” Traditional feedback looks back; target-seeking feedback leans forward.Learning leaders set a powerful tone when they show that they are willing to “learn out loud” as well as encourage others in never-ending discovery. Organizations populated by learning leaders win in the marketplace because they have products and services more innovative, strategic moves more agile, and employees more enthusiastic.

Tony Jones

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