Reading Aloud: How to Have Fun and Not Be Boring

● Don’t forget to breathe!

○ A comma ( , ) marks a short breath
○ A period ( . ) marks a long breath
○ Practice:
■ “There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think
well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and
every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters,
and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of
merit or sense.” ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
● Speak up, sit up
○ Sometimes characters whisper, but you always want to make sure that everyone
can hear you. Speak in a clear steady voice. To help, be sure to be sitting up and
alert and hold your text in front of you, so your not hunched over it and only
speaking to your book.
○ Practice: look at something close to you and talk to it. Then, look at something
further away and talk to it. Then, focus all the way across the room and talk to it.
● Play with the words
○ While reading, think about how the character would say it. What words would the
character stress? What emotions is the character feeling?
○ Practice:
■ “Oh my gosh, that puppy is so cute!”
■ “You think? You mean you don’t know? Thinking isn’t good enough.”
■ “I don’t know…. I just… Well… It’s just hard to explain.”
● Facial expressions go a long way
○ When reading aloud, it’s always more fun when we put more emotion into it. We
enjoy ourselves more, and the audience does too.
○ Practice: Turn to a friend. Take turns calling out emotions and then making a face
for that emotion.
● Fake it till you make it
○ If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, just try your best and move on. You
don’t need to do the “self-conscious slow down then say the word in a sort of
question mark way” or interrupt the flow of reading to ask how it’s pronounced.
○ Practice:
■ “Tomorrow we’ll rendezvous for a cordial conversation to build rapport.”
■ “Despite her job as a gaoler, she was pulchritudinous, so we would often
engage in sphallolalia.”
■ “That’s complete taradiddle! She absquatulated the party after being so
yemeles”

Adapted from How to read aloud without being boring [SPEECH]