Personality or Polish?

In Radio Drama and spoken word recordings, producers often make a point of leaving in breaths and small vocal 'ticks' that inform the listener that they're listening to a real person, with real flaws and emotions.

Yet in today's fast-moving, content-driven life, doesn't it make sense to let AI produce such media? It's cheaper, faster and more efficient.

Well, here are 6 reasons why we should keep it real (human!)

1. Emotional depth & authenticity
Humans naturally convey emotion, nuance, hesitation, humour and empathy.

For storytelling, ads, or sensitive topics, people feel a human voice more deeply.

2. Trust & credibility
Listeners tend to trust real voices more — especially in:

• customer support

• healthcare or education

• brand messaging
  A human voice signals “there’s a real person behind this.”

3. Natural timing & emphasis
Humans instinctively know:

• when to pause

• which word to stress

• how to adapt tone mid-sentence;
  AI often sounds “technically correct” but emotionally flat or slightly off.

4. Brand personality
A human voice can become part of your brand identity (think iconic narrators or announcers).

AI voices are often reused and can sound generic.

5. Cultural & contextual sensitivity
Humans understand sarcasm, local slang, cultural cues, and sensitive phrasing better — reducing the risk of awkward or inappropriate delivery.

6. Listener preference (less fatigue)
People can get tired of AI voices faster, especially in long-form content like audiobooks or training sessions.

Interestingly, the compelling reasons outlined above were produced...by AI.

Conclusion

AI certainly has its place and will continue to support us in our industry, but we feel that the fundamental concept of one human speaking to another can never be replaced - particularly when emotion, trust and genuine connection matter.