I did something that I thought I would never do. I recorded something and posted it on WebWord for any person in the world to download and hear. My voice is out there. It is a very strange feeling to know that other people are listening to me. People aren't just reading what I write, they are hearing why I am saying.

As I noted in the posting, this took me many hours. Despite the fact that the book review sounds somewhat continuous, it was not. I had to do a lot of work to make this happen and that is why I haven't posted news in a couple of days. However, I think it was worth the experience.

I'm not sure if you have really ever listened to yourself speak. Editing your own voice and then playing it back (over and over) is a rather strange experience. You start to really notice how bad you sound. Most people I know don't like the sound of their own voice. They certainly don't recognize their voice because of the way that speech perception works. The bones in your ear, and the fluid, conspire to make hearing your own voice from outside your body an odd experience.

One thing that drove me crazy was the fact that I used the same words over and over. I said "quite" about 50 times. How bothersome! I guess it was a mechanism to deal with the stress. Maybe it helped to prevent me from saying "umm" or uttering some other useless sound.

I can imagine doing this kind of thing a lot more, but I think because of the time and effort required, I would need to generate some revenue. Depending on the feedback, I'll have to start thinking about how to make this work.

I look forward to your feedback. Enjoy the report!

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on July 20, 2002 11:30 PM

 

Good going, John. Now, since I'm never going to download 3.4 MB of someone speaking a book review, could you please make the plain text version available as well? :p

I'm not sure if you have really ever listened to yourself speak.

Actually, I have. I use the technique for presentations and speeches. It's an essential step in preparation. It helps you understand where you lose continuity, where you stumble, where you get boring, etc. I also try and avoid obvious mannerisms in my speech. Don't worry too much about the odd "uh" and "um" here and there. We are so used to hearing it in our daily lives that our minds just ignore it anyway. Even some TV news anchors "um" and "uh".

To illustrate what I mean, walk into the office of a software company. You'll find several people typing away on their PCs. But have you noticed how your ear seems to tune out the clickety clicks of all the keyboards? Then, stand at one place and try to actively listen to the keyboard noise. It'll suddenly become obvious. How could you not be aware of that earlier? ;)

Posted by: MadMan on July 21, 2002 02:12 AM

 

Post a (possibly edited) transcription, or at least a summary.

I like the irony of you posting something in such an unusable format. Did you consider the qualities of written text vs recorded speech before starting your project?

I have absolutely no interest in listening to a spoken review, but I am interested in skimming a written one.

Posted by: Ron Zeno on July 21, 2002 10:53 AM

 

John, you have a very good voice! My only suggestion is to be aware of how fast you are speaking at certain points, which could make comprehension difficult for listeners if you are trying impart information that they might want to take notes on.

Other than that, excellent review. I was looking up information on this book the other day and came across an interview with the author in The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-12-14.htm) where he talks about wanting to highlight the problems of migrant workers in the meat packing industry, how the government really doesn't have any control to force companies to recall meat, and so on. Interesting read.

I am not bothered that this was a recorded review rather than written, and in fact I kind of liked the personalization that the recording affords, as well as being able to play it and glean the information while I did some organizing at my desk. Obviously, the most usable format (considering slow modems) is the written word, but this was a nice change.

Posted by: Sandra on July 21, 2002 04:41 PM

 

Ron, may I respectfully point you to http://www.Bagarashi.com? :p

John, whatever happened to that?

Posted by: MadMan on July 21, 2002 05:59 PM

 

A useful review, but you really need to speak slower (and dare I say it, perhaps in a deeper voice) - it sounded like a bit of a ramble or stream of consciousness, although there was a structure here.

Posted by: Wild Bill on July 22, 2002 01:19 AM

 

I enjoyed your recorded review. However, on your home page you may want to make it very clear that the target of the headline link is an MP3 file. Many folks won't read the description text very carefully and then be surprised.

The review was a tad long, and your delivery was a bit monotone and scholarly. ;^) You need to adapt to the medium-- liven it up, make it brief yet engaging. If the recording must be longer than 30 seconds, get a co-host to interject counterpoints rather than supplying your own.

Anyway, you earn big bonus points for taking risks and experimenting with audio. You sound like a bright, likeable guy.

PS I read Fast Food Nation back in January, and I was stunned to read in the news last week about the beef recall from the plant in... Greely Colorado.

Posted by: EdOC on July 22, 2002 01:46 PM

 

I think it sounds pretty good for a first effort! For what it's worth, you have a voice that's easy to listen to.

Posted by: amm on July 22, 2002 08:55 PM

 

I read this book last year, and have not eaten a burger since! In the UK we have had mad cow disease and BSE recently and we are supposed to have higher standards than the US. You may like to find out more about the McLibel case that is mentioned briefly in the book.

Posted by: Mac on July 23, 2002 03:46 AM

 

Would it be too much to ask for a text transcript?

Posted by: Joe on July 26, 2002 03:44 PM