Getting Voiceover Work – Intention


If building a career in voiceover and getting voiceover work is high on your agenda, you may be planning how to do that, setting goals, and making resolutions.

We make big plans, hoping to take great strides. 

I want to share that a few years back…I gave up doing that.

In the past, I always created a list of goals and did make resolutions.  But I noticed how that system wasn’t working for me.  During the year, I’d look at my list and feel deflated about how many things weren’t achieved.

For instance, I’ve been working on a voiceover book for the past four years.  It’s a big goal and a big project.  A few years back, every time I thought about it, the enormity of the task overwhelmed me.  

Then at years end, I’d beat myself up a little because I’d not managed to finish it.

It didn’t feel good.

Goals not honoured carried with it the guilt of failure.  

Resolutions, especially big ones, were seldom achieved or fully achieved, setting me up for more self-flagellating.

Then a couple of years ago someone suggested I take on the idea of intention to achieve all that I felt I’d like to.

I meditated on the idea, gave it some meaning and took it on.

It was definitely a better fit for me and my lifestyle.

I noticed that with intentionthere came a sense of ease.  

And to my surprise, I soon discovered that sense of ease equated to low anxiety, the absence of guilt, no remorse and no failure at all.

Then, probably due to the absence of these stressors, I began to see results.

Sometimes, in a quiet week I’d have the intention to do some work on my book, update a demo, do some marketing, write a blog or any of the other things you need to do if you’re in business.  

Happiness reigned, intention allowed me to do this work little by little, with no self-imposed pressure, no overwhelm.

And over time, things were achieved in the absence of guilt and self-reproach. 

Still working on the book though…but it’s closer.

So, if you’ve been beating yourself up because last year you made yet another resolution and set a goal about;

  • your investigation and research into voiceover, 
  • getting the right training to discover where you’d fit
  • how to successfully build a voiceover career, 
  • refining skills and marketing yourself well, 
  • getting voiceover work, and
  • building a list of contacts and clients 

…and didn’t do all the things you set out to, 

just allow yourself the pleasure of pulling away from the anxiety and create some intentions around what you’d like to achieve.

Let’s talk about some ways you could get this started, to see if it works for you.

First up, create the intention.  It could be, “I’m going to make a voiceover demo”.

A voice demo is certainly the key to getting voiceover work.  But a demo is quite a thing to accomplish

So, to begin with, you need to understand that making a great voice demo takes time.  It takes planning.  It also takes money.

This is where intentioncan really help you achieve that BIG goal of a demo.

First, make a list, in small detail, of the things you’ll need to have in place, in order to get that demo.

If you’re already working in voiceover, make sure you can get copies of good work you’ve done.  Store them on your computer. Ask around and find a studio or producer who can help you put your demo together.  

If you’re just starting out, find a coach in your local areawho can assess you, give you crucial technique skills, guidance on your voice style and where you’d fit into the scheme of things and importantly allow you access the scripts that suit your voice, then give you information about the local landscape; perhaps even a list of places to send a demo. 

A coach will also give you advice on other ‘opportunities’ out there.  

The digital world is changing the path to getting voiceover work and how we do our voiceover jobs.  

A word of caution though. You need to do some research on the value of pay to play sites.  What kind of return on your investment can you expect?

Join any of the voiceover groups that you may find on facebook.

When you dot start working, you’ll need to value the work you do by understanding how to price it correctly.  Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) is a great source for information on rates and rates structures.

Avoid making the mistake of rushing this process.  

The demo is your most important tool in securing voiceover work, but you need to be able to back it up with a solid performance whenever you get booked for a job.

You need to make sure one of your intentions is to research voiceover, by listening to others working, whether it’s commercials and broadcast material or things you come across while browsing.  

Get clear about what works and what doesn’t. 

Listen also to voice demos on agents’ websites.  

Get clearer about positioning yourself with well written, well produced samples for your demo.

Intention works best when you create small, specific things to be achieved and one-by-one, you tick them off the list.

Then, have the ‘intention’ to enjoy the process 🙂 

Happy voiceovering!