0370 - The Average Read Rate

2022.01.05 – S2005 – 0370 - The Average Read RateThe Average Reading RateThis is one which is comfortable for the reader, clear to the listener, and which suits the style of the content. For example, on a radio station that could be anywhere between 140 and 220 words per minute, depending on whether it’s a music station or a news station. The standard calculations are:·        Conversational speed - about 150 words per minute·        A scripted read (spoken with more fluency and less hesitancy) – about 180 wpm (three words per second). With this formula, a 20-second script becomes 60 words, a 30-second story is 90 words, and so on.·        Some fast talkers and readers – nearer 200 wpm. Obviously some single-syllable words are faster to say and longer words take, well, slightly longer, but this is a rule of thumb (hmm, should that be ‘rule of tongue’?), but it all averages out. VOICE BOX A good speed for presenting and reading aloud is often a real, conversational one: when your reading sounds like you’re just talking. And you can get speed and sound from what we have learnt so far: controlling your breath, confidence in the content, knowing the audience, flexing your inflection and so on. The software which scriptwriters use will calculate the accumulated duration, working to the accepted reading rate of three words per second and adding if necessarily in a broadcast situation, adding in the length of all the audio clips too. There are also online versions such as https://edgestudio.com/words-to-time-calculator/  Without using an automatic script timer, you may prefer to use a clock or stopwatch as you read. A point to keep in mind is that we tend to read faster when reading silently, so do your timing while reading the copy aloud.Audio recording script and show notes (c) 2021, 2022 Peter StewartThrough these around-5-minute episodes, you can build your confidence and competence with advice on breathing and reading, inflection and projection, the roles played by better scripting and better sitting, mic techniques and voice care tips... with exercises and anecdotes from a career spent in TV and radio studios. If you're wondering about how to start a podcast, or have had one for a while - download every episode!And as themes develop over the weeks (that is, they are not random topics day-by-day), this is a free, course to help you GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE.Look out for more details of the book during 2023.Contacts: https://linktr.ee/Peter_StewartPeter has been around voice and audio all his working life and has trained hundreds of broadcasters in all styles of radio from pop music stations such as Capital FM and BBC Radio 1, the classical music station BBC Radio 3 and regional BBC stations. He’s trained news presenters on regional TV, the BBC News Channel and on flagship programmes such as the BBC’s Panorama. He has written a number of books on audio and video presentation and production (see contacts clink above) and presented hundreds of radio shows (you may have heard him on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Virgin Radio or Kiss, as well as BBC regional radio) with various formats. He has read tens of thousands of news bulletins and hosted 3,000+ podcast episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.