Here are Five Sure Ways to Make Sure you’re Ready for it

 

This is you.  You have a passion for voiceover.  You want to turn that passion into something that’s creative, satisfying, extremely well paid and great fun!!!

You want to work in Commercial voiceover.  And why not?  That’s where the big bucks are as well as the most work, with the biggest variety of scripts.

But before you leap, you need to make sure you’re well prepared. 

I’ve coached many voiceover artists who admit that one of the biggest mistakes they made, was trying to break into voiceover before they were ready.

So, let’s just look at what you need to be really good at, before you begin to build your voiceover career.

 

Have a Clear, Easy to Listen to Voice

 

It’s not necessary to have a sensationally beautiful voice to get work, but it is important that your voice is clear and easy to listen to.

I often work with voice artists who don’t have an exceptional voice but just know how to find the meaning in the script. 

And to be a successful voiceover artist, you must be able to pick up any script and understand pretty quickly what the message is.   Don’t worry, you’ll get help.

And I’ll add that Advertising Agencies, Recording Studios and Voiceover Agents are also always looking for very distinctive or unusual voices.  

 

Understand the skill of converting ‘written word’ to ‘spoken word’

 

A good voice is so important, but it’s crucial that you know how to convert your script from ‘written word’ to ‘spoken word.’

You need to make the words sound like they’re your own, like you’re just making them up.   That is, you’re not ‘reading’ the copywriters words, you’re ‘speaking’ them.  

If you’re someone who’s been told, ‘I love your voice’ or ‘hey you could work in radio’, or ‘You could do voiceover’, they’re commenting on the way you sound when you ‘speak’, not necessarily the way you sound when you read.

There’s often a lot to sort out when you first look at a script.  And in the commercial world there are so many different styles of scripts, sometimes written in quite stylised language or even rather clunky language, and you need to learn the techniques to making any script sound completely natural. 

This is a crucial skill, because once you understand what it is, you’re well over half-way to having a career as a voiceover artist.

 

Understand the ‘Act’ of Being a Voiceover Artist!

 

You don’t have to be a trained actor to be a great voiceover artist, but you still need to perform.  Many people who work in voiceover are not trained actors and many have never performed at all.

Being a voiceover artist relies more on a set of natural abilities, combined with the knowledge of how to make a script work, than intensive performance training.

But working in voiceover does require you to act.

You may need to act like the chocolate in the ad you’re reading is the best thing you’ve ever tasted.

You may need to act like the bargains at the sale you’re reading an ad for are ’sensational’. 

You may need to act warm or bitchy, be funny, caring, authoritative or manipulative, whatever it is the script is asking for.

And in order to really ‘pull off’ the read, you need to understand what ‘attitude’ you need to have or what ’stance’ you need to take in order to make the script work.

 

Build Confidence!

 

When you are a working voiceover artist, this is what usually happens.

You get cast or booked for a job.  If you’re working from a home studio, you always get the script beforehand.  But if it’s a studio, you turn up and see the script for the first time.

Most often, in a Commercial session, you’ll be handed a 15 or 30 second script or multiples of.

You’ll discuss with the producer or engineer what the script is about and what kind of style they might be looking for and then you’ll jump into the studio and begin a wonderful collaborative process.  I call it the triangle of collaboration.

Of course, you’re not required to ‘get it’ straight away. Many voice over potentials ask me, “How many reads are you expected to do before you get it?”  Well, the answer is, “As many as it takes to get the right result.”

So, because it can sometimes be a little stressful when you’re new to it all, you need to be really confident; confident about your abilities and confident that you can understand what’s required.

And the best way to build confidence is to understand all you can about voiceover techniques, script analysis, studios and microphone technique, and how to deliver a great job in the studio.

Confidence comes from knowledge, and knowledge, as they say, is power. You need to feel empowered when you are working in a studio or from a home studio.

If you can say confidently that you have all the above abilities to launch yourself, then go for it!

But even if you have even the teeniest doubt that you might need to know a little more, then you need to find great voice over technique coaching.

 

Know What You’re Good at and Would Be Cast For!

 

Before you go to the expense of making a voice over demo and launching yourself into the world of voice over, you need to be able to understand what it is you have to offer as a voiceover artist, what your strengths are and where you’d fit in the industry.

You need to be trained in techniques using genuine broadcast scripts and then ultimately additional coaching in a real-life studio situation. 

You need these experiences to understand and perfect the myriad ways of bringing a script to life.  Being comfortable and confident enough to be playful in the studio is a sure way to success.  And that takes me to the next point.

There are so many different styles of scripts, announcer style, conversational, retail, character driven and character. 

If you want to get the answers to any question this blog hasn’t answered, find out about the industry, what skills you already have and potentially what you’d be good at, you might like to come to my all-day Saturday ‘Discover Technique Course’ in Melbourne.

I’ll give you all the tips, tricks and secrets that the professionals use.  I have a course coming up soon.

Once you’ve determined you have the talent for voice over and this is definitely a career you want for yourself, you can go ahead and take the final step.

You make a voice demo and plunge in.

Happy VoiceOvering!!!