1 · Open with orientation. Before kick-off, say the team colours, the direction each side is playing, and how you'll refer to players ("I'll call them white 5, blue 22"). Every recording, every time.
2 · Scout, don't commentate. Ball-by-ball narration yields almost nothing. Watch a passage, then say what it told you — the pattern, the moment, the read. Stay silent when nothing changes the picture. Less talking, more signal.
3 · Anchor names with numbers. Transcription mangles names; shirt numbers come through clean. Say "Wae, number 5" — never just the name.
4 · Say the keeper's colour. "The goalkeeper" is ambiguous. "The white keeper" never is.
5 · Flag repeats aloud. "That's the second time", "again", "every time" — that's what promotes an observation to solid evidence in the report.
6 · Speak the minute on the big moments. Goals, cards, subs: say "43rd minute" and the clock snaps to it. Everything else is stamped for you.
7 · Rate each player after the match. After full time, walk BOTH teamsheets aloud — one line per player, anchored to their number ("white 5, competed everywhere, long passing over-hit"). The player cards and the know-their-men index are built from this. Or type the lines into the rating box below.
Fixing mistakes: say "scratch that" to bin the last thing you said. Say "flag this" to mark a moment as important.