IVR Recordings – Professional Tips For The Best Results
Take a look at some of the best approaches to IVR recordings, to give you the most professional results.
If your company is considering using IVR recordings for an upcoming project, you may have considered recording them yourself. It’s not the easiest route to success, and professional voice over services generally offering the quickest and most polished results in the end. However, that’s not to say it is impossible to DIY it, especially with these handy tips:
Use The Best Equipment You Can Afford
You need to use a great microphone to pick up the spoken sound you are recording well. Add to this a microphone stand so there’s no bumping and knocking of the mic as you record, headphones and some great software and you’re good to go. There are multiple options for the types of equipment you choose, but your best option for both advice and quality equipment is to hire it. That way you will get an excellent result without having to pay out for the equipment as a permanent purchase.
Record in A High Quality Format
It is important to record in a high quality format, otherwise you won’t have a lot to work with when it comes to the final result. You can strip back a high-quality recording, but it’s nearly impossible to build up from, and improve, a bad recording.
Where Are You Recording?
The acoustics of your recording environment are important. If you can, record in an environment that is small, quiet and with as many soft furnishings as possible. Curtains and rugs are other great additions. If you can avoid very glassy, tiled, hollow areas for recording, the sound quality will be better.
Take Notes
It is important to log all the conditions and settings you use when you record and to link that to what has been recorded. This helps you save time because you will know where good recordings were done and how they were done. Any bad recordings won’t be repeated because you will know not to repeat those same conditions and settings again.
Provide The Script to Your Actor Before You Record
Even if you have chosen to use somebody in the company who does not have voice over experience, they will still benefit from getting the script nice and early.
Once your voice over actor has the script they can ask questions about pronunciation, they can practise the words and otherwise acquaint themselves with the script. If you are adding subtitles in a foreign language or for accessibility reasons, the script will also form the basis of the subtitles. You may also want to provide direction along with the script, giving descriptive words to help boost their understanding of how they say the words.
Is It Worth Paying for A Professional Voice Over?
It is worth it for some businesses to invest in their own IVR equipment and processes. However, for many projects, hiring a professional agency to provide the IVR system voice overs is worthwhile. It is generally quicker, easier and overall cost-effective to have a professional company provide the recordings. You also get a huge selection of voice actors to choose from, and incredible results that you’re unlikely to reproduce yourself as an amateur collective.
Calculate the costs in time and money of your own IVR recording process, and get in touch with a voice over agency for a comparison quote today to understand the options your business has for your next project.