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Why do I want to
announce?
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Take time to
inventory the reason that you want to announce. Is it a
childhood dream? Do you have a child involved in an event
and this is a way to become involved? Is this a way for you
to volunteer, or give back to a group, or the community?
Take time to figure out why you want to announce and how
much time you are willing to invest. |
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What should I do
to prepare myself for announcing? |
After
determining the reason why you want to announce, the next
step is to begin preparing yourself for announcing As you
continue to advance and progress in your announcing, you
will soon learn that the NUMBER 1 rule in announcing is to
"Be Prepared". |
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What steps
should I take to begin my announcing career? |
To begin with,
take an inventory of why you want to be a public address
announcer. Next, take time to research what you will be
announcing. If the event is a sport, be sure you understand
the rules of the game before you attempt to
announce. Learn the basic announcing format for the event,
such as does the event want the National Anthem played, if
so is it played before or after introducing the
participants. If you are acting as an emcee, do your
homework on the event you are going to announce, as well as
individuals that you will need to introduce.
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What about my
voice? |
We are all
different and all have different voices, so you likely will
not sound like boxing announcer Michael Buffer, or baseball
great Bob Sheppard, but you can do things to make your voice
stronger and easier to understand. |
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What steps
should I take to make my voice better? |
Being a public
address announcer is not like talking to another person, or
even like being a radio announcer. There are many wonderful
radio announcers that do great on the radio, but make poor
public address announcers. The basics of public address
announcing is to deliver information to to people attending
an event to help them understand what is happening or to
describe an event or person, making the event more
enjoyable. The first step in being a great announcer is
speaking slower than you do in normal conversation. Over a
public address system speaking in normal conversational
speed may sound like, "Goodeveningladiesandgentlemen",
instead of "Good evening ladies and gentlemen". Number 1
voice lesson, slow down the speed of you talking.
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Now that I've
slowed down the speed of talking, what next? |
After you
practice slowing the pace of your speech, the next step is
learning how to project your voice. If you speak in normal
conversational levels, you words will likely come across as
blurred speech over the PA System. Practice starting your
voice from your abdomen, with a good amount of air, and work
it's way through your body and then out of your mouth. To
test if you are talking from you abdomen, place your hand on
your stomach region and if you feel the muscles tense when
you speak, you are likely starting from your abdomen. Try
to not just talk with your mouth, but instead reach deep
down to help project your voice forward. |
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I've been
practicing and doing well projecting, now am I ready to
begin announcing? |
Well, you are on
the way. You have decided that you want to be a public
address announcer, and now you've done some background work
and what you would like to announce, and you have spent time
practicing slowing the pace of your speech, and learning how
to project. Now it's time to visit some venues to hear how
other public address announcers do their job. Be sure and
visit a variety of places where there are different public
address announcers and really take time to critique what you
liked and what you didn't like. Take notes, this is
school. If you listen critically, then you will have a
better understanding of what the fans, or others you are
announcing for, like and dislike. Focus on the good things
you liked and try not to do the things you disliked. |
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So you think
you're ready? |
Now it's time to
really start thinking about where and what you want to
announce. Unfortunately, you likely will not get the
Division I football or basketball gig, or the primary
announcer for a professional team, so where does that leave
you? The best place to start to to look local. Do you have
a child that participates in a sport that you think needs an
announcer? Is there a sport or activity that could use
someone on the PA? Well for most announcers, the best and
easiest way to start their career in announcing is by
volunteering. There are many great announcers that still
volunteer for their local high schools after many years of
announcing, because they just love announcing.
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Ready to jump
in? |
Okay, you're
ready to "Get It On". You've done your homework, you have
practiced with your voice and now you have a gig to
announce. Now it's time to step up and give it a try. Do
you remember the Number 1 Rule? "Be Prepared". If you have
followed this rule, you will likely have a good time. Plan
on being nervous, we all were when we started. Take a deep
breath and now for Rule #2 - "Have Fun!" Give it a whirl
and wee if this is something you really want to do. |
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Success, now
what? |
Now that you've
announced a few times and you are loving it, it's time to
begin thinking about being professional in your new
position. As you progress you will want to get better and
provide a better product. Well, you'll be able to continue
to work on your voice and delivery a little, but now it may
be time to start thinking about what kind of equipment you
need to make yourself a better announcer and thus more
sought after as an announcer. |
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So, where do I
begin? |
You will soon
learn that you don't have much, if any, control over the PA
System that's being used where you announce, but one thing
you can have immediate control over is your microphone.
This should be your first real equipment purchase. Once
again, do your homework. If you go and buy a $20
microphone, that's what you'll get, a $20 microphone. The
quality of a microphone can help make you sound better, not
to mention the health reasons. (Check out your mic after
announcing...if you're projecting your speech, you will be
spitting on the microphone, which mean when others use the
mic, they do the same.) A microphone to start with could be
a Shure SM58, or possibly an AKG D 870, both under $100. |
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Which way now? |
Well, now it's
time to start thinking about working on Rule #1 "Be
Prepared". Now it's time to start talking about developing
a script for your event. Let's start with a few sports, so
you'll begin to get the idea. This can be a starting point
when talking to the coach, athletic director or organizer of
the event. First off is
basketball. |
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What are some of
the things I need to consider if I want to announce
baseball? |
Now that you
have had the opportunity to try your announcing skills,
you've probably found it's not at east as it looks. Well,
you're right. To be a good announcer it takes time,
practice and work. There are different things you need to
think about when you announce different sports. Now we need
to look at some things you may want to think about before
your next
baseball
game, including an example of a script. |
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OK, now it's
time to talk equipment! |
There are
thousands of equipment options to choose from and thousands
of dollars that can be spent. Depending on what equipment
is already available will help make some of your choices,
but what about if you announce at several different venues,
will you have the equipment to provide yourself with an
enjoyable experience. There's nothing worse than offering
to announce at a new venue, only to find out they don't have
the same equipment you are used to to hook up your music.
It makes for an embarrassing situation for you and a very
dissatisfied customer. I am going to provide
information on equipment
that I
always take with me. If there is a microphone cable hooked
up to their pa system, I can set up and use all my
equipment. Remember, there are a number of choices and this
reference is provided to show you one option. Do your
research and you too can always be prepared! |
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WOW, now you've
announced the "Big 3 Sports" (football, basketball,
baseball) and now you're ready to expand your horizons... |
Your next step
is to think about what other sports or events you would like
to announce and once again begin your research. Be
sure you understand the sport or the reasoning behind the
event, and think about what you can bring to the announcer's
table. Again, one of the best places to start
something new is as a volunteer, so don't be afraid to
volunteer your services for your new endeavor. Whether
you're wanting to announce something like track and field,
soccer, wrestling, volleyball, swim meet, rugby, lacrosse,
or any other sport, a good place to start is with other
announcers that are announcing those sports. You will
get a pretty good idea of what is expected as far as what
information is conveyed by the announcer. When you get
serious about announcing a sport, visit with the
Activity/Athletic Director and see what they expect from an
announcer and finally, whether it's a new sporting event, a
parade. or just being an Emcee, get after it and remember,
be professional and HAVE FUN! |
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As you progress,
you will want to look for aids to help you while you
announce.
NEW! |
The
following links will take you to the game time basketball
form that I use during the games. The first form is
the
base basketball form, with
no information entered. The second form is the base
basketball form completed,
that has been filled in and used during the game. The form is set up in Microsoft Word and it will
allow the announcer to list all the players, mark players as
they are ready to come into the game, personal fouls, and
team fouls. If you would be interested in trying it
out, please
e-mail
me and I will send you the basic form
and the directions for setting it up. |
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MORE TIPS TO COME! |
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© 2012 PA ANNOUNCER - All Rights Reserved |
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P.A. Announcer