5 Reasons Text-to-Speech Is Not The Choice for a Professional Podcast

While it may seem obvious, using customized voice-overs performed by podcasting voice talent on your podcast and/or podcast intros is the best route to take when producing a polished, unique, and meaningful communications tool internally or externally for your customers.

A threat to professional podcasting, known as “text-to-speech” technology lurks on the horizon, a software program comprising of different voice types, languages and spoken words that are meant to sound realistic when jumbled together to create a phrase, statement, or brief order.

Text-to-speech has its roots in aiding those who cannot speak audibly for themselves such people in the hearing and vocally impaired communities. Individuals are able to witness their words being brought to life and can even speak through a machine in some cases given the right technologies.

For these purposes, it is a noble technology with great possibilities.

In recent years, however, text-to-speech has been used in PowerPoint presentations, for reasons greatly because it is an inexpensive tool and readily available on a PC.

What They Don’t Want You to Know

What these software companies don’t want you to know is that using text-to-speech technology can hurt your business on several fronts. Because these ‘voice-overs’ are compiled and not recorded on a per project basis by a voice talent, they limit your company’s creativity and professionalism.

Here are 5 immediate disadvantages when using text-to-speech:

Poor flow in speech rhythms
Words are strung together with the least bit of consideration given to phrasing! To put it bluntly, the words will sound unnatural and have awkward timing.

Limited fluctuation of the voice
Have you ever heard someone whose voice was monotone or seemed a tad on the unpredictable side? Because these words were all recorded without knowing the context of their future combinations, they had to be recorded to accommodate any possible use, leaving them without meaning and inconsistent with any given theme.

Potential that certain words required are not in the database
There are new words being created all the time. Take “podcast” for instance. While text-to-speech companies will have to keep up with the times, there is no guarantee that every new word or even words in other languages will necessarily be available to you.

Companies these days come up with names that are unheard of in dictionaries let alone text-to-speech programs, for example, Odeo, Blogger, Flickr, Frappr, and the list goes on. Would a computer program be able to pronounce your company name or the names of your products?

Pronunciations of names foreign to the database are non-existent
There is nothing worse than having your own name, or that of someone else you are partnering with, botched in front of an audience.

Inflections, emphasis, and phonetics… these are all fundamental to proper speech production. The successful use of these elements cannot be relied upon when using text-to-speech technology as opposed to a real, human voice recording just for you from your script adhering to your notes for a presentation.

No interpretation, sensitivity or artistry = No persuading anyone!
Half of the battle is finding the right voice to represent your company and the second half is creating a voice-over that people will be comfortable listening to in a corporate setting that conveys your message and company image.

Without a customized (and natural) interpretation of your script, any hopes to land a contract, inspire your staff, or launch a product are dashed in an instant. You should be thinking of your voice talent as a part of your sales force. In many ways, they can sell your product for you that no PowerPoint ever could.

The sphere of influence that a voice has in teaching and retaining information is unparalleled, entrenched in one of our strongest senses (hearing) and tapping into our emotions, logic, and comfort zones.

Have you had great experiences with a professional voice talent? Let us know, commenting on this blog is easy!