He said, she said?
Posted by Courtney E. Howard
"Did I sound like a guy?" This was the question I immediately posed to a close colleague following my inaugural Webcast. (I just moderated my first Military & Aerospace Electronics Webcast.)
I'm typically more confident than self-conscious; yet, when it comes to my voice being broadcast, I have "baggage" (which I will now unload on you).
The year was 1990, and I was in my freshman year in college. My roommate and my best friend were Communications majors, who almost always turned to me for help with their audio projects. (Why not their VIDEO projects, come to think of it? Did I have a face for radio? Hmm.)
I read script after script for my friends, who recorded me for their projects and later played the tapes for their professors and classmates. The feedback was almost always the same: "That GUY sure has a strong Boston accent!"
Guy?! Argh! Thankfully, times have changed (even if my voice hasn't). Feminine reporters with deep voices -- like Diane Sawyer -- are sought after and hold prominent, public positions.
In the end, moderating the Webcast was a great experience, and why not? The well-versed speakers and inquisitive audience made it fun and informative -- and they made my job easy. I probably didn't sound like a man, anyway... Or did I?
You tell me! Download and listen to the archived "Embedded Computing Enables C4ISR" Webcast, which is posted in the Webcast archives on the Military & Aerospace Electronics Website at www.milaero.com. You'll hear what I'm talking about, and you can weigh in on the topic by posting a comment below.
Happy blogging!
"Did I sound like a guy?" This was the question I immediately posed to a close colleague following my inaugural Webcast. (I just moderated my first Military & Aerospace Electronics Webcast.)
I'm typically more confident than self-conscious; yet, when it comes to my voice being broadcast, I have "baggage" (which I will now unload on you).
The year was 1990, and I was in my freshman year in college. My roommate and my best friend were Communications majors, who almost always turned to me for help with their audio projects. (Why not their VIDEO projects, come to think of it? Did I have a face for radio? Hmm.)
I read script after script for my friends, who recorded me for their projects and later played the tapes for their professors and classmates. The feedback was almost always the same: "That GUY sure has a strong Boston accent!"
Guy?! Argh! Thankfully, times have changed (even if my voice hasn't). Feminine reporters with deep voices -- like Diane Sawyer -- are sought after and hold prominent, public positions.
In the end, moderating the Webcast was a great experience, and why not? The well-versed speakers and inquisitive audience made it fun and informative -- and they made my job easy. I probably didn't sound like a man, anyway... Or did I?
You tell me! Download and listen to the archived "Embedded Computing Enables C4ISR" Webcast, which is posted in the Webcast archives on the Military & Aerospace Electronics Website at www.milaero.com. You'll hear what I'm talking about, and you can weigh in on the topic by posting a comment below.
Happy blogging!
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
