Internet Voice Coach - Voiceover Tip of the Week 33 "Acronyms" video

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Internet Voice Coach - Voiceover Tip of the Week 33 "Acronyms"

Published: 2011/05/02 by VoiceoverCoach

Hello...this is MLW, with your TOW on voice over challenges like: MSRP, VAR, WiFi, VOIP, and (have you glazed over yet?) WishFi. That's right...you've entered the wonderful world of acronyms. BTW, (which is not an acronym, it's an abbreviation for use in texting) an acronym is: a pronounceable name made up of a series of initial letters or parts of words. In voice over, it also means a series of letters that may not make a word, but are still used as a name for something. You may think this TOW, or tip of the week, will go over every single acronym known to mankind, and ask you to memorize them. But what fun would that be? No, instead, I'll give you the secrets to sounding like you know them. Secret #1: When you run into letters that look like a word, they're usually pronounced as a word. VAR is a good one. It stands for "Value Added Reseller," and is used in computer sales and services all the time. Voip is another one...it stands for "Voice Over Internet Protocol." The exception to this seems to be when the acronym is only 2 letters...for example IT (which stands for Information Technology) isn't pronounced "it." And, if you can make a word out of part of the combination of letters, that's usually how it's done as well. As in the word: IScusi. Don't ask me what ISCUSI stands for...because when it comes to computer terminology, I am DUMB. Secret #2: If you are saying the letters, as in MSRP (which stands for Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) you'll sound more credible if you emphasize the last letter instead of clearly and evenly emphasizing each letter. So, MSRP instead of M.S.R.P. Here's another acronym used all the time: SMB. It stands for Small and Medium-sized businesses. How should you say it? That's right...SMB. Think of this as giving the acronym a sort of nickname...emphasizing each letter distinctly is too formal. Secret #3: If you don't know, ask! One way I ask, in order to put them off their guard, is to ask what the acronym stands for. Or, I just give them both options. Like this...would you like me to say Business Intelligence or "BI" as you have it abbreviated here? (Once again, my instincts say it's not pronounced "bye" in the same way that I know IT isn't pronounced IT.) Now, let's put it all together. Here's a script I read recently: Les Mar is an SAP Solution Advisor, supporting both SME and large enterprise organizations. Les also provides expertise on BI strategy, best practices, and migrations for the SAP/Business Objects line of products. Give it a try yourself! If you can read acronyms and make them fit into your read comfortably...you'll be doing A-ok! See you next time...and by the way...MLW stands for...oh no you don't! This is Mary, and I'll see you next time.