The very talented Chris McQueen from TechSmith has shared a video filled with excellent tips on what you should think about when doing voice overs.
The video is both informative and funny, well worth spending your next seven minutes on if you work with or are planning to add speech to your Camtasia Studio videos.
I have also included the tips in a summary of the video below.
Without further ado, take it away Chris:
Here is a summary of the video tips and a few bonus tips from me.
Tip 1) Use USB microphone
You can use many different Microphones for recording, but stay away from analog and webcam microphones. You will get better sound quanlity using a USB contact because the USB signal is digital.
Tip 2) “You talk what you eat”
What this somewhat cryptic statement means is that you are affected by what you eat before your recording. Stay away from sugary foods and even more important, drink a lot of water. Very important - drink between takes too to keep on being hydrated.
Tip 3) Stand up and breath
It’s easy to forget to breath when recording your voice overs. Standing up while doing your voice over recording also helps a lot to open your diaphragm.
Tip 4) Talk with your whole body and smile
Talk with your whole body. Gesticulate with your arms and smile, believe it or not people will hear if you smile.
4) Distance to mic
Do you want a close and intimate feeling? Then move up just next to the mic. You want a feeling of speaking more to the group, then move away a bit. Talk louder! A related tip – be in a quiet environment, very important.
5) Use your head voice
You can direct your voice through your lips, throat or nose. Chris recommend that you direct your voice out through your head. Let it flow upwards.
My bonus tips
6) Use a script
Write down what you are going to say.
7) Practice makes perfect
Practice your script a couple of times before going live.
That’s all for now, thanks for visiting 
Peter – Your Camtasia Guide
PS. Next week we are launching SuperCallouts a new product especially made for Camtasia. Stay tuned and and check out how you can get it for free… More about this on Monday.
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Really very informative tips! I never thought eating sugary food would affect my recording. Thanks for sharing.
Those were some really great voice recording tips. Sounding good on recordings will be hard to handle..LOL
the best usb microphone is made by Sennheiser and also Creative makes great usb microphones too,;”
As usual the TechSmith tutorials are poor, especially for a company developing screencasting software which is top notch. The audio sounds like the man is in a box with a bunch of people talking. Then the generalities of a USB mic is lame…did you ever hear of the MicPort Pro with a dynamic mic like a Heil PR40? How about the pop filter? How about turning off background noise which you apparently failed to do. But instead we are told to stay away from sugary food…what?
Great insights for the beginner. Do you have a recommendation for a cost effective mic?
I’ve used scripts before in a few videos but found them to be to much work, and before hand practice for a video. But on the other hand I do help videos and if I need a script that kinda suggest that I don’t REALLY know what I’m talking about. So I “wing it” lol, and pray for the best. My personal tip if your not going to script what you say, then do this!
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Jot down notes on what you will discuss or communicate during your voiced production. Keep these key points bulleted a little neat and in order so you don’t find yourself skipping around. This way if you feel stumped in mid speech you can refer to your list of topic key points for a reference on what to say or do next.
Just imagine it to be a “story board” in the editing window of Camtasia Studio. (Storyboard, not Time Line) Each object is separated by it’s own individual square so you can see the outline of your video. DO the same with ideas or topics so essentially your vocals (talking) is a audible representation of what that Story Board would look like once you start editing.
Make Sense?
Great tips Billy, thanks. Checked out your Youtube channel as well, cool!
Thanks,
Peter
There are mistakes in Chris’s written tip. It says “stay away from analog and webcam microphones” But in the video he says use a USB webcam as it is digital. Kind of confusing.
Also a typo.
“lips, throat or now.” Not a big mistake. But no one will take your tips serious if there are spelling errors.
Thanks TS, I will correct the typo. About the microphone you should definitely stay away from using the webcam microphone, no matter if the camera uses a a usb (which it normally does) and use a USB microphone for recording the sound.
Cheers,
Peter