Digital Dealer - November 2017 - 29

YOUR VOICE IS A PART OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL
'SIGNATURE.' DON'T TRY TO SOUND LIKE
SOMEONE ELSE. BE YOURSELF."
what you believe and
that people are not
putting words in your
mouth, the bigger the
buy-in belief-factor of
your message.
When it comes to underlining 'inflections'...
words you want to stand
out, read the sentence
out loud. Sometimes
the words you want to
emphasize are different
from what the copywriter underlined. Example:
The copywriter wrote
"This weekend we've
put additional discounts
on a number of our
vehicles. Click on to
our website right now...
even if you looked yesterday... check out our
prices today!" But when
you read this line, you
might re-arrange the inflections like this: "This
weekend we've put additional discounts on a
number of our vehicles.
Click onto our website
right now...even if you
looked yesterday!"
SMILE. That one
single action can make
the world of difference
in your delivery. Try to
smile as you speak.
Smiling can inspire
confidence in your voice
and message. A smile
in your voice says you
believe in what you are
saying. It says this mes-

sage is good news, and
beneficial. Go ahead...
test it. Read something
without expression, then
try reading the piece with
a smile on your face. This
works on radio, television,
and in presentations to a
group of 10 or 1000.
OPEN YOUR MOUTH.

This might be the biggest
professional secret of
all. I learned it in voice
lessons when I attended broadcast school. It
may sound goofy, but try

delivery.

DON'T RUSH. Don't

run sentences together.
Speak sentences clearly
as one thought. Pause if
you need to between sentences and paragraphs.
Often people lose their
inflection and enthusiasm
after the first line. Make
a slight pause between
sentences for edit
purposes. Remember,
the period at the end of
the sentence means the
end. A stopping point for

A SMILE IN YOUR
VOICE SAYS YOU
BELIEVE IN WHAT
YOU ARE SAYING. IT
SAYS THIS MESSAGE
IS GOOD NEWS, AND
BENEFICIAL."
reading an article with
your mouth open and
watch how much easier
it is to annunciate and
pronounce. Opening
your mouth helps prevent
slurring of words.
DEEP BREATHS.

Just before you read a
script, try taking several
deep breaths to get a
little extra oxygen in your
lungs. As you speak, try
pushing out the air from
your stomach, not just
your lungs. It will give a
little extra punch to your

that thought. Your voice
should come down to a
close at the end of the
sentence.
DON'T REPEAT
WELL-EXECUTED
LINES. If you read/say

a line and it comes out
the way you want, but
then you flub the next
line...DON'T go back
and repeat from the
beginning. That's in the
can. Just pick up the next
line after a slight pause/
edit point. The same with
when you say a line that

you know you could
say better. Just make a
slight pause, then say
the line again. Digital
editing makes it super
easy to cut, delete and
paste. No voice-over
has to be done over
from the beginning with
the new digital editing
techniques.
ON-CAMERA TIPS.

Don't read from cue
cards. A zillion directors
out there will disagree
with me but only highly
trained professional actors with years of experience can read from cue
cards and teleprompters
and make it sound like
they are not reading.
You're much better off to
memorize lines even if
it requires a number of
different camera angles
or cover. You might want
to consider memorizing
a couple of good opening and closing lines and
then reading the rest of
the copy as a voice-over
showing the dealership,
vehicles, etc.
JIM BOLDEBOOK is Founder of CBC Automotive Marketing, an advertising/marketing agency working with some
of America's most successful
dealerships. He has been involved in the broadcasting, advertising and marketing fields
for almost 50 years. EMAIL:
jim@cbcads.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

NOVEMBER 2017

http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - November 2017