Backstage.com has an interview with voice-over actor and coach Randy Thomas (co-author of Voice for Hire) on the difference between narrating and announcing and how performers should prepare before pursuing work in either field.
Here’s an excerpt:
Thomas says it’s important to know what kinds of voices are being hired in each area: “You want to make sure you’re watching the Biography channel, the History Channel, whether it’s E! or MTV, when they’re showing documentary-type shows. That would be a great way to listen to what narration is sounding like these days. And for the live announcing part, well, you can listen to a game show, you can listen to a live event, you can watch award shows, and that will certainly give you a sense of what the voice timbre should sound like in terms of being excited, loud, projected, but not all over the place. It can’t go up in pitch too much when you project.” To demonstrate, she adopts an even, projected style and punches certain words: “When you speak ‘Live from Los Angeles,’ if your voice goes up in pitch and it gets all whiny, then that wouldn’t be good work. Or if it cracks when you project out, then that wouldn’t be the proper field for you.”
Continue reading: Narrating vs. Announcing [Backstage.com].