Students often ask me if they need a voice coach. Most of the time, the answer is no. On Wednesday, Aug. 5, I’ll be speaking at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) convention in Boston. It may seem odd, but my contribution to a panel on voice coaching is to say that I don’t believe in it. Most of the time, a student’s voice problems can be fixed through simple awareness of such things as writing, breathing and time management. I’ve also been asked to talk about “tough love,” including ways to work with students who aren’t naturally gifted with the perfect broadcast voice.
Fortunately, the expectations are changing. No longer is it necessary to be the midwestern guy with the deep “announcer” voice. The multimedia world tolerates — and welcomes — a diversity of male and female voices. The challenge is not to change a student’s voice through coaching, but rather to help him or her make the most of the voice they have.
It can be difficult for a teacher who has never been an on-air talent to teach these concepts. Most working anchors and reporters have had a boss tell them to “be conversational,” without any explanation of how to achieve that goal. That’s why TV stations hire talent coaches. Please visit my web site at www.terryanzur.com to learn more about custom coaching packages for student newscasts.