Is Sound Recording a Trick? It Shouldn't Be.

In our most recent articles, we discussed two rather distinct modes of
professional communication: flyers and video presentations, the former
dealing solely with a static image printed on paper, and the latter
encompassing dynamic images, sound, text, and other aspects that one
may include in a video presentation. Today, we are going to take one of
the complex components that make it up: sound recording.


Uses

Luckily, sound is a complaisant creature; video presentations is not
its only calling. In fact, we are going to discuss three additional
uses for your voice on tape. Each of these tools can stand alone and
radiate its unique flavor. However, if you are a fan of variety or
all-around message delivery, we recommend combining these weapons to
make a beautiful Caesar salad that captivates your listeners with what
you have to say.

Voice e-mails
From the marketing standpoint, video is more powerful than voice, and
voice is more powerful than text. That means that in perfect
circumstances,your every e-mail marketing campaign should contain the
video presentation that you've successfully made as a result of
following our last article's advice. Nevertheless, we can only imagine
how busy you are. Since making a fresh video for every campaign may not
always be plausible, we encourage you to opt for audio e-mails instead.
You will save time by only doing a fraction of the work, yet your
effort will let you triumph over your rivals that stop at the text
level of communication with their audience.

Presentations narration
Well, this is an obvious one. Just like we discussed in the previous
article, a voice over is an important component to a video
presentation. Not only does this let you speak directly to the
long-distance members of your audience, those who suffer from stage
fright find voice-overed presentations a powerful tool for facing live
audiences (though we highly recommend working to conquer that beatable
fear.)

Voice comments in Word or Excel
While MS Word was created to deliver written words and Excel - written
calculations, at times written does not cut it. It might be that you
want to get closer to your audience by using your own voice, like we
recommended for e-mail campaigns. Or maybe there is a sound or word
that you do not know how to transcribe. In any case, it is good to keep
the option of voice comments in mind and a microphone on hand. One
never knows when sound might just be more effective.

Podcasts
This is our personal favorite. Podcasts are recordings that are
uploaded to a website, a digital store (iTunes) or otherwise
distributed digitally (through e-mail, RSS feeds, or CDs.) Normally,
each podcast is part of a series of such recordings that together form
a collection of talks with a uniting theme and a particular host behind
it. The incredible thing about podcasts is that they let you host a
single-person radio station from your home computer. All you need is a
microphone and a uniting theme for each program you create. Et voila!
Distribute your expertise as much as your professional instinct lets
you.


Choose your microphone wisely

Avoid built-ins and chip mikes
Yes, we know; built-in microphones are convenient. There have been
times when we fell for them too. However, let us warn you before it
is too late: a first-time listener is most likely not going to sit
through a minute of your recorded message, no matter your charming baritone, if
the sound quality leaves one wanting more. Unfortunately, the
overwhelming majority of built-in microphones negate their convenience
with their deplorable recording quality. If you ever think of using the
mike that came along with your laptop, at least record yourself saying
your elevator pitch as a trial. When listening to that pitch, can you hear yourself? How about your laptop's air-conditioning? If you didn't just answer Yes, No, then it is time to splurge on an external microphone. Don't worry; they don't cost that much.

Our personal favorite
We always seem to be satisfied with the USB digital microphone from
Logitech. A USB microphone always provides better sound than the other
kinds. Plus, Logitech manages to make its microphones durable and
easy to use at the same time. This is not an advertisement; just a
recommendation.


Software to use

Once you have the purpose and the hardware, it is time to think about
the program that you is going to let you record your message before you
move on to further steps. There are several free options that you might
want to consider before opening your wallet.
First of all, if you are using Windows, the built-in audio program is
Windows Sound Recording. While it is rather exciting not having to go
through any installing or downloading, WSR does only let you record
yourself for 1 minute or less. Then it cuts you off. Not good.
Mac OS users are on the sunnier side of the beach here - GarageBand is
part of iLife and comes in handy for simple voice work, podcasting, and
even music recording. It also has plenty of other features that
unfortunately have no direct connection to professional communication.
Those of you who do not use Mac OS nevertheless shouldn't despair. An
option for owners of all operating systems ranging from Windows to
FreeBSD who wish to record and edit sound is Audacity. Its lengthy list
of features tops with the main feature of all: Audacity is free of
charge. No risk involved.
Lastly, if we are talking about professional recording of your
communication, some might feel that free software is not reputable
enough. In that case, Sony offers Sound Forge, a line of programs that
let your audio editing persona get as professional or creative as it
may please. The software's price ranges from $64.95 to $399.95
depending upon its features and method of delivery. We recommend seeing
the free trial before giving up your hard-earned dollars.


That is all about sound today. We are planning to continue our series
about professional communication next week. If there is anything
particular about which you would like us to write, let us know about
your wish in the comments. We look forward to reading any opinions,
wishes and simply Hellos from our readers.