SPOKEN

STORIES

Know someone with a tale to tell?

Everyone has life stories and memories to share - whether it’s your relative, a friend, or your own tale.

Spoken Stories are professionally crafted audio recordings that document important moments and capture the essence of the story teller.

A Spoken Story makes a beautiful present - for birthdays, retirements, anniversaries or to grant a loved one the time to look back at all they’ve seen and achieved. Think of it as a legacy.

Nobody is too old or too young to record at SOUNDYARD, our team can support anybody to capture their story.

Standard Spoken Story package £350

You can find out more about what our package includes and listen to some examples below, or just click the button to purchase.

Listen

Short extracts from previous Spoken Stories

Why record a Spoken Story?

They are expertly produced. Our founders Sophie and Anna have spent many years sensitively and thoughtfully capturing a wide range of personal life stories. Sometimes telling a story to a third party unlocks new memories, new angles, and forgotten context. It allows you to express your story from your perspective, with a neutral listener.

You’ll capture a personal legacy. A Spoken Story can help loved ones and future generations to connect with you in a deeper way. Your story can inspire, educate, and provide valuable lessons, offering insight into the world you lived in and the life you’ve led.

It’s a simple and comfortable experience. Our process is gentle and enjoyable. You share your life journey at your own pace, while we handle the rest.

It feels good. The act of reflecting on your life can be a powerful and fulfilling experience. It can help you gain clarity and appreciation for your journey.

You can hear everything. Spoken Stories are recorded to a professional broadcasting standard with state of the art equipment. Meaning you can enjoy the tone, breath, intonation, and mannerisms of voice.

Because you don’t want to leave it too late. Documenting stories is important, but we recognise it’s not at the top of many to-do lists. We know from personal experience how regretful it can be to miss the opportunity to capture someone’s voice or life story. Booking a Spoken Story is a great alternative to writing ‘that book’, getting those stories down, or navigating the technical side of self-recording.

Whether you’re capturing the memories and voice of your child as they approach the teen years, or looking back over the decades of a life well lived, we can help you.

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How does it work?

Purchase a Spoken Stories package - This works like a gift voucher. You can send it on as a gift, or you can use the voucher yourself to book in your session here.

Anna Perrott or Sophie Little, founders of SOUNDYARD, will email and arrange a phone conversation with the person coming in to tell their story.

Phone call - this is a chance for you or your loved one to get to know Sophie or Anna, before the session. They will ask what you’d like to cover, and answer any questions you might have. It’s also an opportunity to flag up anything you’d like to avoid speaking about.

Recording - On the day of your session, you will come to our studio in Norwich. You will have a short tour of the space and be offered refreshments. Then you will settle into the comfortable studio, and we will start to record.

The sessions work as a conversation with questions that you answer. There is no intrusion, the line of questioning will be curious and gentle, and the audio producer will be responsible for timekeeping and guiding the conversation, so you can relax, answer questions and enjoy the experience.

There will be an opportunity at the end of the recording to flag up anything you’d like removed or amended during the edit.

Edit - In the days following your session, we will get to work crafting your Spoken Story. All of the interviewer’s questions will be removed, and your answers will be woven into a beautiful monologue. There will be (optional) sound design - creating natural and subtle sounds in the background.

Once it’s ready, we will send your spoken story to you, for you to treasure and share. This can be done as a WAV or MP3 file, or alternatively on a CD.

  • My interview was so comfortable, and the final recording exceeded my expectations. I’m so glad I captured my family’s history this way.

    Joyce P

  • The final recording is incredible, so clear and professionally done.

    David P

  • A very lovely snapshot of ‘life’... thank you, I’m grateful

    Chris S

  • I was nervous about recording, but the process was surprisingly enjoyable. The end result is something I’m proud of and my family love it too.

    Susan B

Pricing

£350

Spoken Story sessions are redeemable for 12 months after purchase date.

Our standard Spoken Story package includes:

  • A 20 minute pre-interview 1:1 with the storyteller via phone call - an opportunity to initially connect and answer any questions you might have

  • An hour interview in the audio studio at SOUNDYARD, or via Zoom, with experienced broadcasters and producers Anna Perrott or Sophie Little

  • Professional cuts and edits made

  • Advanced sound design carefully added

  • Professional studio mixdown

  • The final audio file of your Spoken Story delivered to you via WAV or MP3 file, or CD

If you’d like to book a longer session, want us to travel to you to record, or have any other questions, please email us hello@soundyard.org

FAQs

  • A Spoken Story is a very special audio recording. We’ve designed this experience to allow for you to tell your own story and cover aspects of your life or family history that you want to capture. Be it a significant career achievement or travel tales, a Spoken Story can record all of this in your own words.

  • A Spoken Story is an incredible gift. If you purchase from the website you will immediately be emailed a voucher with information on how this can be redeemed. This can then be emailed or printed out for a loved one to open.

  • A Spoken Story package includes:

    • A pre-interview consultation on the phone to discuss the topics and themes you’d like to cover

    • A professionally conducted interview with Anna or Sophie

    • Audio recording and digital editing of the interview

    • A copy of the final recording in your preferred format (e.g., MP3, WAV, CD)

    • Optional additional services, such as transcription

  • You, as the interviewee, retain ownership of the content of your story, including the intellectual property rights to the narrative. However, SOUNDYARD holds the rights to the recording itself, including any edits or additional work performed by our team. We recommend discussing any distribution or use agreements with us prior to sharing the recording.

  • You have full control over how you share your Spoken Story. While we can provide you with digital copies of your recording, the decision to share it publicly or privately is entirely yours.

  • We understand that things can come up. If you need to cancel or reschedule your interview, please contact us at least 24 hours in advance. Cancellations or reschedules made within 24 hours may incur a fee, depending on the timing and circumstances.

    Item descriptionWe understand that things can come up. If you need to cancel or reschedule your interview, please contact us at least 24 hours in advance. Cancellations or reschedules made within 24 hours may incur a fee, depending on the timing and circumstances.

  • To book a Spoken Story you can click here. Once booked, you will be sent an email with voucher details. You can keep and either gift it to someone via email, or print out to put in a card. Use the code on the voucher to redeem your Spoken Story session here. If you have any problems you can get in touch by emailing hello@soundyard.org Please note the voucher must be redeemed within a year from the date of purchase. 

  • Recording sessions last for an hour and can include as many breaks as you need.

    You’ll have time to get settled with a drink and chat before getting behind a microphone. There is also time and space for you to reflect at the end of the session.

  • For adults these can vary between 35 - 50 minutes. Sessions for children and young people are usually between 15-30 minutes.

  • Your producer will manage the time within the session. If however, you feel you have more to say you can either book extra sessions for another time or the producer can continue recording. This is to be arranged at the producer's discretion and extra recording time will incur a fee.

  • Our aim is for you to be really happy with your Spoken Story. After the recording we will talk to you about any parts you would like to be left out specifically. Our experienced editors will be able to make any changes you need to your finished Spoken Story although please be aware that changes will incur a cost. 

  • It will take two weeks to create your Spoken Story. However, if you need it sooner, get in touch with us and we will do what we can to accommodate this hello@soundyard.org.

  • If you have additional questions or need more information, feel free to reach out to us hello@soundyard.org. We are happy to assist and provide any details you need to make this a happy and comfortable experience.