AiC Episode 98

In this episode, Teri has a conversation with Peter Stewart, an award-winning broadcaster, social media producer, and author, who has been doing some amazing things with voice technology and flash briefings.

Welcome, Peter!

Peter was visiting Vancouver from the UK and got together with Teri to talk about everything voice technology. He has worked in national and regional radio and TV for the BBC and commercial companies, and he really knows his stuff when it comes to audio content.

He currently works for the digital unit at the BBC, creating videos on smartphones and smart speakers. He creates short videos that go into social media, and they occasionally get on the BBC website and BBC News. He has written several books on his expertise and is currently negotiating a contract for his eighth book. He has been working with Suze Cooper on some ideas of what to do with flash briefings and voice technology.

Getting A Voice Like Peter’s

  • He doesn’t do any kind of exercises for his voice.
  • He is passionate about teaching people how to read out loud in a natural manner.
  • He was once the BBC’s only voice trainer and he taught people how to lift words from a page and read naturally.

Developing an Interest in Voice Technology

  • He spent about 30 years in radio presentation production, and so his whole life has been around audio presentation, production, doing a variety of music shows, DJing, political shows, gardening shows, and sports programs.
  • He was really interested in the power of audio and the human voice, and what can be done with that.
  • While at a conference about mobile journalism, he met someone who encouraged him to look into voice technology, and when he did, he realized that it fit in with what he was already doing.
  • He was fascinated by the opportunities that flash briefings presented.

Voice First and Flash Briefings with Peter Stewart

Peter’s Flash Briefings

  • He has three flash briefings.
  • The first one is “What’s on In Guildford”, which is targeted at people in Surrey, UK, who can afford smart speakers. The flash briefing shares information of all the top events happening in the county. The flash briefing is supported by the local council, the National Trust in the UK, and the local theater company.
  • What’s on In Guildford is the second highest rated flash briefing in the UK.
  • The second flash briefing is “The Smart Speakers Daily”, which is a daily look into smart speakers and how people are using them.
  • “28-Day Flash Briefing Briefing” is his third flash briefing and it’s all about how to create a flash briefing.
  • A couple of times a month, Peter does a podcast on voice technology.
  • He makes his podcasts and flash briefings lively, engaging and authentic with different forms of music and sound effects.

Advice on Starting a Flash Briefing

  • He has seen an increase in the number of listeners to his flash briefing.
  • People are slow in taking up new technologies and a lot of them don’t know or have smart speakers.
  • He believes people should continuously create content for their flash briefings and podcasts as people continue embracing smart speakers.

List of resources mentioned in this episode:

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