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Tool #1: "Free Recorded Message" Tips The importance for using a Free Recorded Message is HUGE! It has been discussed in detail in the Members pages. Please, please, please make sure you read that section. This will be one of the most powerful things you can do to warmly and powerfully inform a Birthmom about you! As you draft your script, I can’t tell you what to say. The words you speak will need to come from your hearts. But I will help you with the Introduction and the Close. (Of course, since you just completed your Family Bio, that information will be used as you draft this script.)Also I will help with some writing and recording tips that you can apply as you draft your script. First, the tips. Tip 1: The length of your recording can really be about as long as you want. An interested Birthmom will listen for 10, 15, even 20 minutes. But since you pay for every minute that she listens, you might want to strike a balance. A 10 to 12-minute message is usually long enough to say what you need to say, and it is short enough so you don’t break the bank.
Tip 2: Writing words to be heard is very different than writing words to be read. Follow these points to make your message sound as warm and personal as possible to the ear. • Use informal language. We all dangle a participial or two when we speak, so don’t draft your script in strictly formal language. Don’t say, "We are looking for a Birthmom from whom we can adopt a child." The "from whom" bit sounds really formal and awkward when you hear it out loud. • Textbook grammar goes out the window when most of us speak. You don’t want to sound "dumber" than you are, but loosen up the script with regards to grammar. Keep it easy-going. • Write it as you speak it. If you would say, "You know…like, we just want to be parents so bad!...You know?", then say it that way. If this sentence were meant to be read, you might edit out the words "You know" and "like", or you might correct the word "bad" to "badly". But since this message will be heard, you must write it like you’d say it. It’s that simple. Tip 3: This tip is a MUST. The script, when read for the recording, must start with the woman’s voice and end with the woman’s voice asking for the action step. In between, you will alternate major ideas in each person’s voice. Basically, women trust the voice of a woman more than they do a man’s. Sorry men…facts are facts. The woman’s voice must open and close the message. Tip 4: Structure your verbal script like a newspaper article. • Newspaper articles have a very specific structure. The first paragraph captures your attention and summarizes the entire story in just a few sentences. The next 2 to 3 paragraphs fill in the relevant and immediate details required to understand paragraph 1. In these first 3 to 4 paragraphs, the beginning, middle and ending of the story are divulged. No secrets, no suspense until the end of the article. It’s all laid out in the first few paragraphs. • The remaining paragraphs in the article are designed to fill in all the background information and historical facts. Many times these later paragraphs provide a sort of "flashback" in time, filling in details that lead to the main events of the story. • YOUR SCRIPT MUST DO THIS TOO. • In the outline below, you’ll see that we hit the high points right away. No waiting around. We tell the Birthmom exactly what we want and why we want it. You don’t know how long your Birthmom will listen. The important stuff must be said right away. • Then later in the message, you can circle around and fill in your histories and bio information. Tip 5: Be sure to practice your script so that is sounds natural and comfortable. Stammering through the script will present discomfort to the Birthmom listening. ALSO, be sure to time your reading. In the script, you will be referencing the time it takes to listen to the whole message. You want this to be accurate. |
