Why Using Read-Aloud Features Can Improve Your Business Storytelling

 

By Rob Wozny, SCMP

 

If you’re looking for a simple way to catch awkward phrasing, mispronounced words, or clunky sentences before you post, produce, or publish for your business storytelling content? Consider the read-aloud feature.


Most devices and computers now offer read-aloud features. Microsoft Word includes a built-in read-aloud function, and browsers like Google Chrome support extensions that will read your writing out loud. These tools can dramatically improve the clarity and flow of your business storytelling. I rely on read-aloud regularly when drafting scripts that create an output where the audio portion is heard. As an aside, read-aloud also works for business emails, presentations, and leadership messaging.

When you hear your words instead of silently reading them, problems reveal themselves quickly. Even when I’m confident my writing free of typos, punctuation issues, or grammatical errors, read-aloud is an effective tool to point out what could’ve been glossed over visually.

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I’ve discovered the more invested you are in your writing, the less objective you can become about how it actually sounds. On the page, everything can read well in your mind. However, hearing another “voice” read it out loud is a completely different, objective experience. I find read-aloud works best when you truly listen without distraction. It’s tempting to speed up playback of read-aloud in the platform’s settings and then multitask on other projects as read-aloud reads to you. 


When I do this, the chance of missing errors increases. Remaining focused while listening to read-aloud allows you to hear awkward transitions, unnatural phrasing, and moments where your message may lose momentum. Effective business storytelling includes creating a meaningful experience to the reader or listener and with read-aloud as a proof-reading resource, you’re investing in achieving that outcome consistently.


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