Why Do Audio Voice-Overs?

The written word is used to convey ideas and meaning to the reader. The precise selection and sequence of words in a written work are tools of the trade. Words can move us to laughter, tears, joy. Words move mountains and cause major social change. However, the written word is a limited form of communication - visual for most of us; tactile for the visually impaired. While written words have power, the writer relies on the reader to place the desired emphasis within each phrase or sentence. Sometimes that emphasis can be misplaced or misconstrued resulting in miscommunication. Today's technology provides a potential solution: the author voice-over.

Definition of voice-over:

1A : the voice of an unseen narrator speaking (as in a motion picture or television commercial)

1B : the voice of a visible character (as in a motion picture) expressing unspoken thoughts

2 : a recording of a voice-over

“Voice-over.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/voice-over. Accessed 11 Aug. 2024.

Support my work with a $5 donation

The Substack.com writing platform provides authors with a very easy process for including voice-overs to accompany their written works. Voice-overs can contain anything the author desires: an introduction to the work, one or more excerpts of the work, even a full reading of the work (most desirable for the visually impaired). All that is required is uploading an audio file of the work into a post and Substack makes that available to the reader when published.

Why would an author include a voice-over with their work? Several reasons come to mind, such as reading aloud an entire work as accommodation for the visually impaired or as a podcast to be downloaded and listened at the convenience of the consumer; for listening while driving; creating "teasers" to entice readers to devote time to read their works; adding an extra dimension of voice tone for enhanced communication for the reader/listener.