Daryl Cognito has coined a new, industry term: sloppy mouth. It’s a highly technical term that Daryl explains as the host sounding drunk. For me, the term describes a radio host here in Ottawa that I can’t listen to because I can clearly hear tongue, cheek and lip movements — not the kind of thing you want to hear through earbuds in your ear canal.

Daryl asked if I had any thoughts on how to avoid sloppy mouth. I rushed together some initial thoughts:

• Mic position - don’t have the diaphram of the mic aimed directly inside the centre of your mouth.

• Voice - don’t speak so softly and carefully “inside” the mic so that the volume of your voice and mouth come through at the same ratio. Position your mouth several inches from the mic.

• Inflection - if your voice is rich with dynamics and passion, it will be distracting enough for the listener to not notice the slop (that even sounds gross).

• Equipment - use a microphone that is suited to your voice and style. While many singers use elaborate and expensive mics for their vocals, Phil Collins typically uses a low-end dynamic mic because that’s what works for his voice.

• Processing - if you apply compression to a recording that already has sloppy mouth, you will boost the presence of the sloppy mouth and it will be impossible for your listener to ignore it.

It probably helps to not have dairy products before you record.