The voice is the only thing radio and television presenters have to work with.

So, what should they focus on in developing their speech for their careers?

You have to convey the significance, urgency of what you’re saying, without injecting this artificially. Until it’s become second nature, this requires tremendous concentration. There’s such a danger that the frequency with which you’re on air can result in falling into repetitive speech patterns, clichéd intonations and inflections, which make you feel secure but fail really to put over the meaning.

Your have to be able to sound yourself even when reading subject matter remote from yourself. You have to retain an appropriate objectivity without sounding like an automaton. Listeners/viewers do not want self-indulgent personalisation, but they do want to feel addressed person-to-person. It’s a balance.

Presenters and newsreaders work in a highly pressurised environment, constantly surfing the unpredictable, with the danger that stress can come to sound in the voice. You have to become aware of how stress affects your particular voice, to develop first-aid strategies for crises, and in the long term to build in to yourself a vocal technique that renders you less susceptible to the vagaries of pressure.

When working with broadcasters I try to eschew tricks and work from the fundamentals of how the voice works, so that the client has a firm foundation in understanding. This then results in technique becoming deep seated.

Channel Four: “Thank you for the tremendous work you did with …  The programme director, Rob, was delighted with the results”