{"id":6622,"date":"2026-10-13T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevoicerealm.com\/blog\/?p=6622"},"modified":"2026-10-13T12:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T16:05:00","slug":"how-to-read-numbers-urls-voice-over-scripts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevoicerealm.com\/blog\/how-to-read-numbers-urls-voice-over-scripts\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty Ten or Two Thousand Ten? Reading Numbers and Web Addresses in Voice Over"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open a script and count the numbers in it. A year, a price, a phone number, a web address, a date, a stray “Dr.” or “St.” that could mean two things. Every one of them is a small decision you’ll make out loud in front of a client, and the script almost never tells you what the decision should be. This guide is for voice actors who want to read numbers and addresses the way the client expects, and to stop re-recording lines for a reason that was never about their voice.<\/p>\n

The script is written for eyes, and you read it with your mouth<\/h2>\n

Writers type “2010” because it’s quick. They don’t think about whether you’ll say “twenty ten” or “two thousand ten,” because on a screen it doesn’t matter. When it’s your job to say it, it does.<\/p>\n

Voice actor Jill Goldman of Goldivox, quoted on Christy Tucker’s learning design blog, puts the problem plainly: “Please write out how you’d like it read. Also, beware of the correct way of reading numbers out loud.” She adds that this is “a pet peeve” of hers, and that many voice-over professionals don’t read numbers correctly either.<\/p>\n

Her own example: “2010 can be read as ‘two thousand ten’ or maybe ‘twenty ten,’ or even ‘two zero one zero’ in some cases.” Three readings, one string of digits, and only one of them is what the client wants. The rest of this guide is about how to find out which, and how to stay out of trouble when nobody can tell you.<\/p>\n

Years, amounts and the word “and”<\/h2>\n

Start with the rule that catches careful readers out. Goldman says: “2010 is NOT ‘two thousand AND ten.’ The word ‘and’ in a number indicates a fraction (or more of the number that will be coming after a decimal point).” So 359.42 in money is “three hundred fifty nine and forty two cents,” and the “and” belongs to the decimal point, not to the hundreds. In British English the habit runs the other way, with “three hundred and fifty nine” being normal, so ask the client which they use. Check the accent of the audience before you check the grammar book.<\/p>\n

Years are the next trap. Most years in the last century read in pairs: “nineteen ninety.” The 2000s are where people split. “Two thousand five” and “twenty oh five” are both in use, “twenty twenty-six” is the common way to say this year, and “two thousand twenty-six” works too. If the script is for a brand, listen to how the brand’s own people say it in their videos, and copy that.<\/p>\n

Long numbers need a decision, too. “$3.5M” can be “three point five million dollars” or “three and a half million dollars.” Either is fine. What isn’t fine is stopping mid-take to work it out. Do it before you press record, and write the spoken version above the line in pencil or in the margin of your script. Our guide to marking up a script before you say a word<\/a> covers how.<\/p>\n

Before you hit record<\/span><\/p>\n
    \n
  1. Circle every digit.<\/strong> Years, prices, times, phone numbers, percentages, units.<\/li>\n
  2. Write out how you’ll say each one,<\/strong> above the line, in plain words.<\/li>\n
  3. Check the odd ones with the client.<\/strong> One short email saves a re-record.<\/li>\n
  4. Say each number once in its full sentence,<\/strong> not on its own, and check it still sounds natural.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
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    \u00a9 The Voice Realm<\/p><\/div>\n

    Dates: the second version sounds better<\/h2>\n

    Dates written in numbers are worse. Tucker, who wrote the page, asks the question every narrator ought to ask: “Would you like 11\/26\/14 read as ‘eleven twenty-six fourteen’ or ‘November twenty-sixth, twenty fourteen’?” Her view: “I think the second sounds much more natural in narration, even though it looks clunky in writing.”<\/p>\n

    She’s right, and there’s a second reason to ask. In the US, 11\/12\/14 is the twelfth of November. In most of the world it’s the eleventh of December. A script that says 03\/04 is a coin toss until someone tells you where the client lives. Ask, or write the month as a word. When the date is part of an offer (“ends 03\/04”), a wrong guess is more than a style slip. It’s a mistake in the ad.<\/p>\n

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    \u00a9 The Voice Realm<\/p><\/div>\n

    Phone numbers: group them the way people dial<\/h2>\n

    Phone numbers have a rhythm, and people listening are trying to write them down. Goldman notes: “With telephone numbers, if you are giving me ‘1-800-555-4900,’ usually we know the ‘one eight hundred’ part (but if you rather it is ‘one, eight zero zero,’ let me know).” She adds that you should say whether the last group is “four, nine, zero, zero” or “forty-nine hundred.”<\/p>\n

    A few habits that keep listeners with you:<\/p>\n