How do you read a TV news script so it doesn’t sound like you’re reading? The first step, obviously, is to write the way you talk. You can’t read stilted language and sound conversational. But there’s more to it than that.
KARE-TV reporter Boyd Huppert developed his unique delivery style through trial and error:
Some reporters say 3-2-1 before each chunk of track–a holdover from the days of tape-to-tape editing when a countdown made it easier to find the next section of narration. Huppert never uses a countdown. “It breaks my rhythm and cadence,” he says. “I read start to finish and take little pauses.” A comma gets a short pause for nat sound. The end of a sentence nat break is longer. And the end of a thought break can be even longer.
Huppert gives the end of the story special treatment in the tracking booth. “At the end I wind down my delivery, slow down and lower my voice, all meant to say ‘conclusion.'”
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