Some tips...
Before recording, ensure you understand the message and mark up the script. One hallmark of human speech is the ability to truly connect with the content. We humans can interpret underlying meanings and adapt tone and delivery accordingly. This deep comprehension brings a dynamic range to your performance, something AI struggles to replicate convincingly.
Be concious of your timing and pace. Humans have an innate sense of timing and rhythm in speech, often irregular and influenced by emotions, thoughts, and natural breathing. AI-generated speech tends to lack these nuances, resulting in more uniform delivery.
The human voice conveys a wide range of emotions. Subtle shifts in tone, pitch, and volume that express joy, sadness, sarcasm, or excitement are complex and difficult for AI to replicate with the same authenticity.
Consider the personal touch and mic proximity. A unique human quality is the ability to modulate projection for a more personal touch. We instinctively soften our voice and move closer to the microphone for an intimate, conversational tone. This adds warmth and detail to the voice, distinguishing it from the more sterile delivery of AI.
However, if there’s likely to be future amendments or pickups, avoid varying this approach within a recording unless you're prepared to re-record the entire paragraph.
Consider leaving breath sounds in your demo recordings. If they feel too noticeable, you can soften them rather than remove them entirely. These breaths add realism, something AI voices generally lack. Of course, the client may prefer recordings with breaths removed.
Keep your inflection and intonation natural and varied. Humans naturally vary their inflection and intonation, influenced by regional accents, personal style, and the natural modulation of speech. AI voices, on the other hand, tend to sound more monotone or follow predictable intonation patterns.
Also - we recommend you practice with some test scripts, and get feedback from others.