The main elements of a radio script are the human voice, music, sound effects, and silence. These elements are used together to create sound landscapes or images that allow radio listeners to imagine the scenes, emotions, and meanings being conveyed without visuals. Specifically, the human voice is used to transmit messages and provoke reactions, music generates atmosphere and emotion, sound effects help describe settings, and silence provides emphasis, tension, and emotion. When combined strategically, these elements make radio stories come to life in the listener's mind.

1. THE ELEMENTS
OF RADIO
The Elements of Radio by Rubén Bermejo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
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2. THE ELEMENTS OF RADIO
The main set of elements involved in the
creation of a radio script are:
1. Human voice
2. Music
3. Sound effects
4. Silence

3. Human voice
Voice is a crucial element in radio. It can
provoke different reactions on the listener
depending on its characteristics.

4. Human voice
• Speak slowly. We are not in a hurry!
• Move your mouth as much as you can while
pronouncing words.
• Do not laugh! (if not on script) There are
people listening to you.
If we do not take care of our voice and
the way we speak, we will not make it
easy for the listener to understand our
message.
Tips

5. Music
Music is very important. Its main aim is to
generate the appropriate atmosphere so as to
make language work on the listener and with
the desired objective.

6. Music
Music does not transmit ideas or concrete
realities, instead it works on emotions. The
listener would understand and feel different
emotions depending on the images and
feelings generated by the music. It is one of
the most meaningful elements of the radio
language.

7. Music
Music functions:
• Grammatical: it joins different spaces and
identifies different contents and sections of
the programme.
• Descriptive: when the music is part of the
narration.
• As content: in musical programmes.

8. Silence
Silence is a very useful resource to put
emphasis and atmosphere to the radio
message. However, there is usually not much
place for silence in radio scripts. Silence can
provide a message with tension, emotion and
very deep feelings.

9. Silence
Silence functions:
• Expressive: to represent emotional states.
• Interactive: when doing interviews, the
interviewer does not speak to stimulate the
thinking time.
• Narrative: to represent a gap in time.

10. Sound Effects
Sound effects are sounds produced by a
human voice or by other things (e.g. animals,
objects) which are neither words nor music.
Noises and effects provoke the listener to
imagine, thus they are very important in a
radio message.

11. Sound Effects
Effects function:
• Descriptive: effects are crucial in the process
of building a sound landscape.

12. THE ELEMENTS OF RADIO
Human voice, music, sound effects and silence
combine altogether and create
sound landscapes
or
sound images.

13. Sound Landscapes
Radio listeners create images in their minds
with the help of these sound elements. A
radio piece makes your listeners imagine.