Jodi Krangle

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Jodi@VoiceoversAndVocals.com

Jodi Krangle

Interview with Tal Florentin, Founder & CEO of Summurai – Part 1

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In this interview, I have the pleasure of speaking with Tal Florentin. He’s in the UX space and has spent the last decade working to enhance UX using audio in the Israeli market. He’s done some monumental things in the UX world, including creating the Israeli UX certification program. After realizing that audio is the future and bound to be bigger than video, he founded Summurai which allows companies to create audio branded channels for a variety of different reasons. You’ll find some great information about how to elevate your business with audio in this interview!

We discuss:

  • What life looks like for Tal in Israel with COVID
  • Our hopeful look at the future without COVID
  • Tal’s background in software engineering which led him to design
  • The big things that popped up for Tal when he was working in design and doing research
  • The mass amount of content that is now available and how to even start consuming it all
  • Tal’s lean toward audio to enhance and make for a better customer experience
  • Optimizing our time and what we’re doing each activity
  • Using audio to fill badly used time
  • The difference between where video is going from here and where audio is going
  • Working with companies to figure out how they want to use audio
  • The uncharted territory of audio
  • When first starting Summurai, trying to eliminate the human element
  • Creating shorter pieces of audio- under 3 minutes
  • Where the name Summurai came from
  • Tal’s process for creating audio
  • Some of the different things they’ve tried in Summurai
  • Trying to make things sound conversational and when that’s not actually the goal
  • Taking written content and creating audio content from that
  • Tal’s experience working with LG and creating audio versions of training kits
  • Pulling in story telling to the different audio pieces
  • Moving ourselves away from technology with audio
  • The benefits to moving away from technology

 

If you want to find out more about Tal or Summurai, you can visit:

Website: www.summurai.com 

Downloadable PDF: www.summurai.com/ebook

Audio version of the PDF: http://summur.ai/dTEDG

 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

 

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

 

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Interview with ASMR Performance Artist and Co-Founder of Whisperlodge, Melinda Lauw – Part 2

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In the second part of my interview with Melinda Lauw, we continue our conversation about ASMR. In the first part, we really had a chance to dive into what ASMR is and what it looks like to create ASMR experiences – both in person and online. Now, we’re talking more about the commercial side of ASMR and where ASMR is starting to show up in more mainstream media.

We discuss:

  • What it looks like to do this work with advertisers
  • How Melinda partnered with a hotel and doing events with the hotel
  • Creating videos with Moxie hotels – Melinda gives her expertise and creates scripts for the hotels
  • Most of her gigs have been in conjunction with in person events
  • Melinda has been hired as the consultant for different companies when they’re looking to create ASMR content
  • The different parameters she has to work within when doing consulting work
  • The balance between the purpose of the ad or gig and being true to ASMR
  • Melinda shares some of her experiences with different advertising companies
  • ASMR forces people to pay attention to the little details
  • The growth of the ASMR community online
  • The continued waves of ASMR
  • How ASMR is becoming much more accessible to everyone
  • How ASMR is free and so accessible because of its online presence
  • The possibility of making money in ASMR, especially with YouTube
  • The pushback when people do try to monetize ASMR
  • The selective nature in finding the right brand sponsorship – they want to find sponsorships that are in alignment with ASMR
  • Melinda doesn’t like watching ASMR videos with ads in the middle because it ruins the experience (I don’t blame her at all!)
  • Tastefully adding in ads and how to make them in the same vein as ASMR
  • Melinda’s currently working on a live stream and the exhibit in Europe doing a live exhibit on ASMR
  • Melinda’s work creating videos for her YouTube channel
  • How she’ll be experimenting with different types and ways to make videos

 

If you want to find out more about Melinda, you can find her through the following:

Find out more about Whisperlodge: http://whisperlodge.nyc

See a video of an immersive live ASMR performance either on Netflix’s Follow This, Part 1, Episode 1 https://www.netflix.com/title/80217889

Or on Mashable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdW5k-7FcA&t=1s

Check out our ASMR videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/whisperlodge

 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

 

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

 

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Interview with ASMR Performance Artist and Co-Founder of Whisperlodge, Melinda Lauw – Part 1

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In this interview, I’m talking with Melinda Lauw. She’s the cofounder of Whisperlodge – a company working to create in person ASMR experiences. Whisperlodge has toured San Francisco, L.A., and New York and even been featured in a Netflix documentary. ASMR is one of the more recent additions to audio entertainment (it stands for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response”) and it was fascinating to hear from someone who’s been on the forefront of this growing industry. In this first part of our interview, we’re discussing what ASMR is, and where you may have seen it in your own life!

We discuss the following in this interview:

  • COVID in the United States and Canada
  • How life looks for Melinda right now with COVID
  • Her first take on ASMR
  • 2008 was the first experience with ASMR
  • 2010 – the term ASMR officially becomes coined
  • The huge community of ASMR on YouTube
  • The most frequently asked topic within ASMR – ASMR erotica 
  • The myth behind ASMR needing to be erotic, when in reality, it’s not
  • The people who have made themselves up to enhance their ASMR pieces
  • A woman in Japan who builds in her own sound design
  • The time commitment it takes to create a YouTube video with ASMR
  • Melinda’s now shifting from ASMR in real life into ASMR on YouTube
  • Melinda’s process for creating her videos
  • ASMR sub genres – eating, sex, no speaking, miniatures, etc.
  • Melinda’s likes when it comes to what she produces and what she likes to watch herself
  • The Netflix production of Whisperlodge
  • Melinda walks us through how she was found for the Netflix production
  • How different in person ASMR is compared to watching something on YouTube
  • The intense immersion of ASMR
  • ASMR in person, is not for everyone and requires you to be vulnerable
  • Considerations that have to happen for in person ASMR
  • The need for consent with each different element of ASMR
  • The pros and cons of making an ASMR video – you don’t have any feedback
  • Melinda’s preference to work with people she doesn’t know

If you want to find out more about Melinda, you can find her through the following:

Find out more about Whisperlodge: http://whisperlodge.nyc

See a video of an immersive live ASMR performance either on Netflix’s Follow This, Part 1, Episode 1 https://www.netflix.com/title/80217889

Or on Mashable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdW5k-7FcA&t=1s

Check out our ASMR videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/whisperlodge

 

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

The Power Of Your Voice

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When’s the last time you really listened to your own voice? Maybe you were rehearsing for a presentation, or if you sing, practicing a song. You might’ve heard it while checking your voice mail or watching yourself in a video, and if you’re like most of us, you probably hardly even recognized it. We don’t think about our own voices very often, and when we do, it can seem like we’re just stuck with whatever voices we’re born with. But speaking is a skill, and just like any skill, we can improve and build upon it.
Author and sound expert Julian Treasure describes two important parts of speaking: what you say and how you say it. When it comes to what you say, Julian recommends the HAIL method, which means to always speak with Honesty, Authenticity, Integrity and Love.

As for how you say it, he suggests focusing on several different aspects of speech. There’s register, which you can think of as being how you project your voice. Some people speak from their noses and that can sound very flat and nasally, while most of us tend to speak from our throats without thinking about it. But if you want to give a sense of weight and authority to your words, you’ll want to speak from deep down in your chest. Think about where your voice is coming from, and then you can focus on other things like the “prosody,” the natural melody of your voice, the timbre and pitch of your voice as well as the pace and volume. Silence can be an important and easily overlooked part of speaking; a moment’s pause gives your listener a chance to consider what you’ve said before you move on.

If you’d like to hear more on the HAIL method and what Julian calls the Seven Deadly Sins of speaking, you can find a link to his video presentation below on speaking with empathy:

Professional speaker and voice coach Cynthia Zhai also suggests looking beyond just the tone of your voice and focusing on where your voice is coming from. More than 80% of people around the world speak with a “head voice,” a bustling, modern voice that expresses thinking, analyzing, doing, but not being; Cynthia notes it may be no coincidence that happiness rates around the world are also very low. When you practice speaking, try taking a deep breath and projecting from your whole body. Instead of thinking of your voice as a tool, let yourself become your voice. People in ancient times believed in a deep connection between our bodies, voices and selves, and that’s something we can lose sight of in today’s fast-paced world.

There’s a link below to Cynthia’s talk about the transformative power of your voice, and she’ll also be appearing on an upcoming episode of this podcast as a guest – so stay tuned!:

Finally there are the things you don’t want to do if you want to keep your voice clear and healthy. Producer and voice instructor Judy Rodman gives a lighthearted Halloween list of some of the things you can do to kill your voice: stressing out before you speak, talking breathlessly until your throat dries out, speaking with a vocal fry that strains your vocal cords. Smoking, drinking, staying up late, eating foods that give you acid reflux; just as Cynthia points out, there’s a profound link between our bodies and our voices, and if we don’t keep ourselves healthy, our voices won’t sound healthy.

For the rest of Judy Rodman’s 27 Ways to Murder Your Voice, check out a link to her YouTube video below:

As we end today’s podcast, why not try out a vocal warm-up exercise for yourself? You can also find a timestamp link below to Julian Treasure’s six vocal warm-up steps, starting with arm stretches and working your way through breathing, lip exercises, moving your tongue and finally flexing your vocal cords.

It might feel silly at first, but it takes over a hundred different muscles to speak. Just like the rest of your body, the more you practice and exercise, the stronger they’ll become.

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

And if you’re interested in crafting an audio brand for your business, why not check out my FREE download – 5 Tips For Implementing An Intentional Audio Strategy at https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/