You have to begin each day with intention and purpose, and you must always be a G.O.A.T!  Not the cute farm kind of goat or the “let’s do yoga” kind of goat, but a G.O.A.T. – Greatest of All Time!

While I would love to take credit for this acronym and the idea of being the greatest of all time, I can’t. I discovered it while reading an interview on Serena Williams, who is very comfortable being a G.O.A.T. In the interview, she didn’t apologize for being incredible – she simply owned it, saying “I always play everyone at their greatest, so I have to be greater.”

Let’s be clear, I’m not indicating that you should announce to the world that you are the most wonderful thing since sliced bread! I’m suggesting that you give yourself permission to own what you do well. It’s adopting a positive attitude, believing in yourself, and rewarding yourself for your accomplishments.  

Voice-over is a business in which you have to prove yourself, audition after audition. And in this business, you have to focus on pursuing mastery at many different levels – professional voice-over training, home studio set-up, self directing your auditions, editing and marketing, just to name a few.

Be prepared to perform with confidence and tenacity. Take a chance, be bold, be fearless. You want to maximize the odds of being the voice that the client must have, so be courageous and embrace how truly wonderful and incredible you are.

Whenever successful people want to accomplish something, they go at it absolutely convinced they will achieve it. Be that person. Pat yourself on the back and embrace the greatness of what you’re doing as you follow the path to becoming a voice actor and a G.O.A.T.

As you consider your greatness, contemplate the following questions:

How can I bring my life experiences to a script and make those words come to life?

What is my greatest strength in my voice over vocal delivery?

Who does this client need me to be?

What kind of extraordinary zing can I give to this audition that will make it a great one?

Thanks for tuning in for this week’s Working Wednesday segment! Remember, we LOVE hearing your feedback so be sure to join in on the conversation!

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Heather Costa, Such A Voice Chief Fulfillment & Content Officer

When I was a young child, I wanted to be Ariel in The Little Mermaid. With dreams of being a Disney princess, I submersed myself in acting and all things music. In 2003, after studying opera, I earned a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from the Hartt School of Music. A year after I graduated, I began learning about the voice-over industry and took my first ever voice-over class. That class was with Dan Levine at Such A Voice. From that moment on, my life was never the same. I had never been happier. I finally found my true passion.

After successfully working in the voice-over industry, thanks in large part to the training I received at SAV, I was invited to return to Such A Voice as an instructor in 2005. Having started my college journey as a Music Education major, before transferring into Vocal Performance, the chance to teach something I absolutely loved was beyond exciting.

Over the years, I have worn many hats at Such A Voice. I’ve had the privilege of teaching, coaching, producing, doing post-production, and working on the administrative side. Today, 13 years later, I’m proud to say that I’m Such A Voice’s Chief Fulfillment & Content Officer, one of the four members of SAV’s leadership team. It is such an honor to share my voice-over industry experience and knowledge as the base of Such A Voice’s current curriculum and to have such a prominent part, alongside the amazing SAV team, in shaping up-and-coming voice-over actors.

As a voice-over actor, you can hear me nationally on the radio and television for many top brands including McDonalds, Subway, Herbal Essence, and Today’s Parent. I’ve lent my voice to video games with Square Enix, promos nationally and abroad, and narrations for many corporations such as Lowes and Finish Line. I have also recorded over a dozen audiobooks and the most exciting moment of my career thus far, has been when I became a lead character in an animated Disney series!

I had spent my entire life living in the northeastern United States and almost half of that, working in the voice-over industry. In January 2017, my incredibly supportive husband, our two young boys, and I did the scariest yet most exciting thing of our lives. We moved from New York to Los Angeles for my voice-over career and it’s been amazing.

The little girl who dreamed of being Ariel, who began as a Such A Voice student in 2004, is now a Los Angeles based SAG-AFTRA voice-over artist and audiobook narrator, represented by one of the top LA agents with thousands of VO credits to date and even bigger dreams that she’ll never stop chasing.

Mike Hanko, Voice-Over Coach

So, how does someone get started in the voice-over industry? I used to wonder that myself. My story began in college, where I studied Communications and wanted to be a DJ. I loved music and the concept of bringing it to people on a regular basis.

I did two years of college radio and that did it for me. So you’d think this would be one of those happy ending stories where I go right into a highly successful radio career, right? Sadly, no.

Years later, I learned that I had another talent, training people professionally. It was actually this path that led me back to wanting to do something professionally with my voice.

I submitted an audition to Such a Voice a few years ago and then again in 2015. Content with the feedback that I received, I signed up and completed my voice-over training with them that same year. I have been steadily establishing my career and brand in the years since. I have auditioned several hundred times for commercial voice-over gigs, but my real success has been with audiobooks.

I have narrated and produced over 50 books and have active projects going on as I write this. I find books really fit my strength, which is narration. I love doing different types of books (fiction, non-fiction, self-help, and more recently, history) and I love really getting involved with them. In the interim, I continue to do auditions and other professional projects. As a trainer, I have completed online videos, software simulations, and presentations.

Such a Voice believes in developing its alumni. When they approached me 18 months ago to become a coach, I jumped at it. Coaching allows me to stay connected to this industry that I’ve grown to love and appreciate. It also allows me to teach and help others discover their own talent and start their careers. Take it from me, there is a niche for everyone. As you read this, I wish you much success in your own voice-over career! May it be as fun and rewarding as it has been for me!

Bonnie Gilgallon, Voice-Over Coach

May 2016 was a memorable month for me, both personally and professionally. It’s when I began working as a voice-over technique coach for Such a Voice and when I reached a whole new level of creative fulfillment.

I had been working as a professional stage actress, singer, theatre reviewer, and voice-over artist, and had been occasionally teaching acting classes for years, but often had to supplement my income with what I call “job” jobs – temporary office gigs, etc. It was frustrating and deflated my ego. When I was offered the coaching position with Such A Voice, all that changed.

I finally had a steady source of income that allowed me to use virtually ALL of my talents: teaching, public speaking, acting, voice-over technique, and even a bit of writing. Not only do I get to experience the joy and satisfaction of helping students develop their own voice-over skills on a daily basis, but I also know I have become a much better voice-over artist myself in the process. I have learned so much from my students. They’ve taught me to listen more, to understand how each individual learns differently, to help them overcome fears and emotional blocks, and how important it is to maintain a sense of humor through it all!

Everything I do now professionally involves using my voice, which might seem surprising since I did not speak at all until the age of two. Voices have always intrigued me. My mother was a singer and a teacher, and always stressed the importance of articulation and the correct use of the English language. I began acting and singing as a kid, and it all just evolved from there.

I was a Vocal Music major in college, did a few spots for a friend at a local radio station, got my voice-over training and demos through Such A Voice President, Dan Levine, in the late 90s back in Washington, D.C., and the rest is history.

I have done hundreds of voice-overs since then, many during my 13-year tenure as a news anchor at KNWZ, a local station in Palm Springs, where I currently live.

My schedule is very full now with coaching my voice-over students, singing gigs, acting in plays, writing theatre reviews and teaching traffic school, but I’m also still a successfully working voice-over artist.

I am so grateful and proud to be a member of the Such A Voice coaching team. It’s been a wonderful ride, which I hope continues for many years to come!

Tia Sorensen, Voice-Over Coach

My journey with Such A Voice began in 2014. I was working at a job that was soul-sucking and personal life circumstances had me searching for a change. Like so many of us who get into the voice-over world, I had been told that I had a nice voice. Voice-over sat in the back of my brain for a long time and, all of a sudden, it was asking to come forward. But as with any new endeavor, there were so many questions. I turned to Google. “How do you become a voice-over artist?” I asked Google. “Well, check out this nifty company!” Google said. That’s how I found Such A Voice.

I jumped into the VIP program with my lovely coach, Bill Sleeper. After my commercial and narration demos were complete, he suggested I look into audiobook narration. “Reading a book out loud? How hard can that be?” I thought.

LOL, you guys. LOL.

I completed my audiobook demo with another talented and amazing coach, Michael Yurchak. I received excellent guidance from marketing guru, Joleene Derks, and I was ready to build my voice-over business.

It was slow going at first. I would go to my full-time job during the day, then spend many evenings and weekends in my home studio. I built momentum for a couple of years. Two and a half years ago, my partner, Jake, encouraged me to quit my full-time job and dedicate myself to my growing voice-over business. I was terrified, but excited. The first year was… rough. The second year I could breathe. And now, in the third year, I’m excited to say I’m flourishing.

In almost five years as a voice-over artist, I’ve completed over 70 audiobooks, a couple dozen explainer videos, several corporate and e-learning projects, as well as some TV and radio commercial work. Soon, I’ll be back to coaching sessions with Michael Yurchak to prepare for my animation demo! I love coaching for Such A Voice because I’ve been there and I get to share my experience with my new students.

In conclusion…

There is nothing more rewarding than to see the success of your students, and to be so proud of their achievements, that you welcome them back as staff. Such A Voice wouldn’t be who we are today without the passion, dedication, and joy that people like Heather, Mike, Bonnie and Tia bring to this company along with all the other amazing members of the SAV team. We are thrilled to be a part of their journey and know that we’re continuing to make a difference in many careers today!

See what our other employees have to say about their experience working at Such A Voice. We also love hearing your experiences with our voice-over training program, so join in all the conversations on our Facebook page to share your story! 

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We know that cravings for sweets and treats are real, especially after a long recording session, but instead of reaching for that pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, try incorporating some of these suggested foods and beverages below. Your vocal chords will appreciate you when you nourish them right!

What to Eat

Fresh Fruits

Fresh fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, all in which keep you full and energized. Fresh fruit is a perfect option for anyone who has a sweet tooth and is looking to avoid the “sugar swing,” where you consume something high in processed sugar, get a short-lived burst of energy, and then crash shortly after.

Tip: Aim for eating the fruits with the highest water content, like cantaloupe and strawberries. The higher the water content, the less dehydrated you’ll feel throughout the day.

Honey

I know, I know! I just talked about avoiding the “sugar swing,” and here I am talking about honey, which is mostly sugar. The benefits of honey are outstanding, though! Honey contains anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, being a quick and easy thing to consume to soothe your vocal chords.

Tip: Go for raw honey, instead of commercial honey. Commercial honey may contain fewer nutrients due to how it’s processed.

Your ABCs

Get in your Vitamin A, B, and C to ensure optimal vocal health. Vitamin A helps  draw moisture and hydration to many parts of the body, including the throat. The B vitamins assist with energy production and mood regulation, keeping you focused and energized throughout your work days. Vitamin C is known for its ability to fight off infections and boost the immune system, so it can help you fight off the common cold or a sore throat.

Tip: Vitamin A food sources: eggs, meat, carrots, apricots, cantaloupe, kale, spinach; Vitamin B food sources: nuts, seeds, lentils, poultry, bananas, seafood; Vitamin C food sources: oranges, peppers, grapefruit, broccoli, pineapple

What to Drink

Water

The most fundamental aspect of vocal health is hydration. Don’t let your voice dry out, keep it hydrated with water! Water is important to every part of your body; it helps with your mood, focus, and energy.

Tip: Have your water at room temperature before and during your sessions, so your voice will be ready to go!

Decaf Tea

In order to keep steady energy levels throughout the day, it’s best to avoid caffeine and instead reach for something that’s soothing and healing. Tea is a good choice since it’s warming and relaxing for your vocals.

Tip: Get creative and try different herbal blends! Go for some that include these anti-inflammatory herbs and spices: licorice root, ginger, peppermint, and chamomile.

Out of these foods and beverages, which do you consume? How do you take care of your vocal health through nutrition? Share your answers in the comment section below!

Also, share your positive experiences with Such A Voice and be sure to check out what others are saying about us!  

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Vocal training is a lifelong process. It’s necessary to have discipline and awareness in order to learn and maintain healthy vocal techniques. As a voice actor, your body and voice are your instruments and you must be consistently practicing, training your voice, and keeping your instrument in the best “shape” possible. As a voice-over professional, I personally like to think of myself as an athlete, if I don’t train and go to the gym to maintain my form, my skill set will weaken. Below are the areas of focus I believe are imperative to classically train your voice.

Your Body
Your entire body is involved in voice acting, it’s the vessel through which we convey the text of a script. There are many physical demands put upon voice-over actors in the booth, including but not limited to: standing for long periods of time, hours of speaking in various characters for audiobooks, as well as conveying different volumes and character voices for animation or video games. As a voice actor, we must warm up our bodies and ensure they are free of tension when we are called upon to record in a booth for several hours. There are various physical techniques known for releasing tension such as Feldenkrais, Fitzmaurice Voicework, and Alexander Technique. I recommend you try one of the above techniques, or integrate a yoga and/or meditation practice into your lifestyle which helps free our muscles from unnecessary tension.

The Lips, The Mouth, The Tongue, The Teeth!

What do these all have in common? They help us with our diction and articulation in the booth. Voice-over coaching sessions can move quickly and sometimes actors are expected to deliver large amounts of text clearly and concisely in a short amount of time. It’s imperative that you’re ready for any tongue twisting text a client throws at you, so developing those articulators is required. You must train your voice so articulation and diction sounds clear, but also natural.

Breath Support

I graduated from undergrad with a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre and breath support is something I continue to work on in my voice-over career. Breathing involves so many muscles: intercostal muscles, abdomen, and diaphragm (this is where tension will come through as your enemy). Yoga has really helped me find ease with my breath and taught me not to push or force the breath unnecessarily. I recommend working with a singing teacher on your breath support, and/or challenging yourself with long phrases (in singing or text) to develop good habits to sustain some of the phrases you will find in demanding copy. Shakespearean text is a great tool to train your voice and practice breath support due to his use of long phrases. If you’re consistently working on your breath support, you’ll soon find that long texts such as narration or audiobooks begin to feel effortless.

Resonators

It’s important to know the inner mechanics of sound throughout your body. Once your vocal cords vibrate to produce tone, that tone then resonates throughout various ducts and chambers. There is head resonance, mouth resonance, chest resonance, and nasal resonance. When you choose to explore all of the sound possibilities different resonation can produce, it will be extremely helpful in your vocal health and technique and in certain voice-over areas such as animation, video games, and audiobooks.

Phrasing and Musicality

I have found my music and ear training to be extremely helpful in my voice-over career. While you always want to sound natural, it’s necessary to hear varying inflections and to be able to adjust based on a casting director or client’s notes. Just as phrasing makes a big difference in playing a piece of music, the same can be said for speaking text in theatre, as well as voice-over copy. I recommend listening to music and various voice-over professionals use of phrasing and musicality with a more critical ear. It can be difficult to find a trusted singing teacher, but the right mentor can help you not only train your voice, but also train your ear, which is extremely helpful for a voice acting career.

These are a few books I have found helpful throughout my training:

Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater

The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer by Patsy Rodenburg

Speak with Distinction by Edith Skinner

Also, don’t forget to join in the conversation and share your positive experiences about Such A Voice!

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One of the most frequent questions I hear from other professionals pursuing a voice acting career is, “How much should I charge a client for [insert voice-over project here]?” It’s imperative for voice-over artists to do their due diligence in researching current industry standard rates for various projects, as well as speak with other professionals in the industry about voice-over rates.

At SAV, we’re lucky to have a built-in community of other voice-over actors, mentors, teachers, engineers, and peers. The power of communication regarding ever-changing voice-over rates in the industry is really important and there are various guidelines to consider:

Know Your Worth!

When asked by someone outside of the industry how much I’m compensated for a commercial voice-over, I can see their eyes grow large with excitement. It may sound like a large number for two or three hours of studio time, but what is not understood is the investment in time, money and education that it takes to begin and sustain a voice acting career. As voice-over professionals, we need to remember (especially if we are setting our own rates) that the time we have spent in classes, coaching sessions, and our booth add up to our expertise in this field. When setting your own voice-over rates, or negotiating those set by producers and/or clients, you need to not only consider your session fee (the time spent in the booth recording the specific copy), but also all the training you’ve acquired and the investment in your home studio (which helps make your client’s job much easier).

Usage

Another factor to consider is how the project is being used and in which medium. If you record a commercial that’s airing nationally on television, then that is a larger rate than a regional television commercial specific to a certain market. The voice-over spot you worked on is being seen by more viewers nationally as opposed to regionally, which warrants more compensation. You should not only consider your session fee, but also get the specifics on how the voice-over is being used. My personal opinion is to avoid “in perpetuity” usage because as your career develops, something which was not a conflict in the past could be in the future. If the spot you had conflicts with another brand in which you are auditioning, this could become a conflict that was unforeseen when you initially booked and recorded the job.

Research

Always update yourself on industry standard rates. I recommend reviewing the union rates set forth by SAG-AFTRA.  Voices.com also offers a rate card as well Voice-Over Resource Guide. Upon viewing these rates you may find, based on your current experience, you fall a little lower or higher than said rates. Maybe you have a great deal of experience in the commercial voice-over world, but now you’re branching out into narration, e-learning or audiobooks, so your voice-over rates may be a bit lower for that genre as you find your footing. The most important thing is that you have a baseline rate for yourself and you’re comfortable and confident stating this rate to a client. It’s beneficial to first ask your client’s budget and proceed from there. While stating your rate, also take into consideration edits and pick-ups. It’s customary to include one free round of edits in your rate, but any edits or pick-ups past that incur a fee.

Community

One of my favorite things about being a voice-over actor is the incredibly supportive community. Use your community to communicate with other voice-over actors regarding rates and best business practices. I have rarely found anyone who is secretive or not willing to share their past experiences. By being a generous and communicative community, we are stronger as voice actors and can advocate for ourselves to get paid appropriately. If you are operating from a home studio and all communication is between yourself and the client (versus an agent as the intermediary) it’s usually your responsibility to invoice after sending your VO files. I always include a polite 30-day payment term at the bottom of my invoice. In certain states (for example, New York) there is a “Freelancing isn’t Free Act”, in which you can politely mention to be paid in a timely manner.

Keep it Professional

Always keep it professional. A client may not have a budget that works within your rates presently, but one day they may have a project with a much larger budget and think of you as the talent to circle back to! It never hurts to politely decline when a project has too low of a rate and exclaim, “I would love to work with you in the future when our rates align!”

At the end of the day, we all need to have a baseline of what is an acceptable pay rate and what you may need to walk away from politely. This is a competitive market and when you have put in the training, financial investment, technical education in perfecting your studio sound, and countless hours practicing in the booth you must advocate for yourself and know your worth! If you have any questions, reach out to the SAV community. We’re here to be stronger together as you move through your voice acting career!

Check out our YouTube channel to see more content like this! The video for this post can be viewed here.

Also, don’t forget to join in the conversation and share your positive experiences about Such A Voice!

                                                                                                       About the Author

Megan MacPhee is a voice-over artist, singer, actor, dancer, content creator, and teaching artist based out of NYC. A member of Actors Equity Association, credits include national tours, regional theatre, Radio City Music Hall, and The Metropolitan Opera. Her work as a voice-over artist includes national television commercials, social media spots for various brands, voicing the role of EMMA/GHOST GAL in the animated series “YU-GI-OH! VRAINS,” as well as e-Learning, demos, promos, and audiobooks. She has a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre from CUA and Contemporary/Classical training from London Dramatic Academy. To view more of Megan’s work visit www.meganmacphee.com or check out her web series, www.unbalancedwebseries.com

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The start of something new can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. It’s a similar feeling to stage fright; no matter how many times you’ve nailed rehearsing your lines in front of the mirror and told yourself, “I’ve got this,” you still have some worry that something may go wrong when it comes to showtime. Starting up your own voice-over business doesn’t

Mistake #1: Not having a business plan that is realistic and workable, with reachable goals. – Angela Castonguay, Head Voice-Over Demo Producer

Your business plan needs to be realistic, something you can work with and find success with. Angela says, “If you don’t have a solid plan, it’s like driving to a new vacation destination without a map; it’s going to take forever to find your hotel.”

Mistake #2: Focusing too much on landing “the next client.”  – Heather Costa, Chief Fulfillment & Content Officer

New leads are important, as they can become long term clients, but there should be a greater emphasis on your repeat clients. These are the clients who you work with more than once. They keep going back to you because they see success from your services and most importantly, they trust you. As Heather puts it, “The repeat clients are the ones that will give you the stability and success of a long-term career. Creating strong relationships and nurturing your existing clients is key when running a business.”

Mistake #3: Trying to do it all.  – Joleene Derks, Marketing and Career Advisory Coach

While this is your own voice-over business, it doesn’t mean that you have to be doing everything alone. You may be a master of the voice-over world, but web design and social media management may go right over your head. The best way to prevent yourself from burning out is to ask for help when you need it. Simply put by Joleene: “Outsourcing is okay.”

Mistake #4: Having false expectations. – Brian Thon, Live Class Instructor

Brian followed up with a great example of a false expectations scenario. Say that you have an amazing website that showcases everything that you want people to know about your business. You then expect that your mailing list will grow and your inbox will be flooded with messages. Although it’s beneficial to have a professionally designed website, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll be getting a lot of inquiries just by having one. Brian suggests sending your website link out proactively as part of your marketing plan because relying on random site visitors to contact you is likely going to be a long wait.

Mistake #5: Don’t market yourself until you have the goods to sell. – Rosemary Chase, Voice-Over Coach

And by goods, Rosemary means that you must be able to record your reads properly when submitting an MP3 audition and you must be able to offer very different takes of the script.

Mistake #6: Making a homemade amateur demo. – Lisa Foster, Live Class Instructor

This one relates to mistake #2: trying to do it all. Leave it to the demo production pros to help you out with creating your demo since that’s their specialty. An amateur demo stands out easily to professional voice-over agencies (and not in a good way), so you’ll want to make sure you have a professionally produced demo.


Mistake #7: Not continuing to practice just as much as you did during your voice-over training. – Tia Sorensen, Voice-Over Coach

Practice, practice, practice. You probably hear that a lot and there’s a good reason for it. It can be easy to let that slide as you’re putting together other necessary pieces to your voice-over business, but you have to keep your skills up so you’re prepared when those auditions and jobs come along.

A new start can appear to be challenging before it even begins, but think about it like this: once it’s showtime, the passion and fire within you will come alive and you’ll be reminded of why you do what you do. Don’t forget about what inspired you to have your own voice-over business in the first place. Keep that drive going and keep this advice from our staff in the back of your minds when starting your business. Best of luck to you as you begin this exciting process!

We always enjoy hearing your feedback, so join the conversation and see what’s trending about Such A Voice!

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Assuming that you have finished with your voice-over training and your home studio is set up and working properly, here is a final checklist to make sure your voice-over auditions are of the highest quality. This checklist is for Audacity users, however, some of the items will also pertain to other recording programs.

1. Double check your Audacity software is connected to your Focusrite Scarlett home studio interface.
2. Check that your recording gain is not peaking past -12db to keep you from peaking past -0 and distorting the recording.
3. Record the script.
4. Save the project with a different file name than the original and create a new project folder inside of your master projects folder.
5. Copy the original recording and paste it into a new track. Never work from the original recording. That way, if you make a mistake you can go back and retrieve the original.
6. If you have done multiple takes (highly recommended), select the best take and copy and paste it into a new track below. If you want to use a different section from one of the other takes, you can simply copy and paste it over the old section, but make sure it matches with the rest of the take.
7. Remove all breaths, mouth noises, clicks, and pops.
8. Listen carefully to each edit. They should be smooth and not heard, invisible to the ear. Your goal is to make the read sound as if you read it without any breaths, mouth noises, or mistakes. If you can hear an edit, try Fade Out and Fade In on the words before and after the edit.
9. Highlight the track and normalize it to -1.0 db, unless otherwise instructed by client.
10. Look at the Normalize .wav pattern. Check for any radically taller peaks. (Often, some words or parts of words are recorded unintentionally much louder than the rest of the read). If you see any radically taller peaks, listen to that area. If you punched that word on purpose, leave it alone, but if there’s no reason for it to be that much louder, or taller, highlight the tall peak and go to Amplify in the Audacity Effect title bar. Slide the fader to -2.0 db and hit OK. If you need to bring it down a bit more, go back to Effect and hit  Repeat Amplify until it looks like the rest of the high peaks in the read. Always listen after each time you hit Repeat Amplify to make sure you haven’t turned it down too much. If you have, hit Undo.
11. Once all the radical peaks are corrected, then highlight the entire read again and Normalize it one more time.
12. Listen very carefully to the read. Sometimes when you normalize (raise up the volume), things you didn’t hear before can now be heard. Remove any unwanted noises.
13. Finally, save the project again. Once that is done, export the final read to mp3 and email it to the client.

When clients listen to your voice-over audition, they are listening for more than just the quality and sound of your voice, or how you read and interpreted the script. They are also listening to the overall technical quality of the recording. They need to know that if they select your voice for the job, you have the technical expertise with home studio equipment to actually give them the final read at the highest quality possible.

One last thing, if anything I mentioned on this list is foreign to you, or if you’re interested in learning more about your home studio setup, I recommend you book a session with me at this link: https://my.suchavoice.com/private-home-studio-review-sessions.

We always enjoy hearing your feedback, so join the conversation and see what’s being discussed about Such A Voice!

We’re also on YouTube. Check out our video for this article below:

                                      About the Author

Ben Marney has been a studio engineer, singer and musician for over 40 years. Over the last 8 years (as a full time voice-over talent) he has recorded literally thousands of radio and television commercials and has been the narrator for three national television shows airing on the Discovery, Destination America and Sportsman channels. He currently resides in Port St. John, Florida where he (with his wife’s permission) produces voice-overs out of his home studio.

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You may have been told our

There are a couple of things that can propel you into the vast world of VO that many of our coaches (who are all voice actors and were once in your shoes) have suggested.

• Throw your ego out the door because there’s always room for improvement. Ok, keep your ego intact because you need it for your self-confidence (which is a must in the VO industry) but don’t assume because you’ve taken a few workshops that you have the chops now. You need to train and practice on a regular basis, just like an athlete, just like a musician, just like a professional chef. Beyonce didn’t make it to the top and then just stop and let the fruits of her labor work for her. She still practices, rehearses and continues perfecting it all. Laying down some cash for proper voice-over training with coaches may feel costly at the time, but you have to consider that those sessions will pay for themselves after you’ve had a few job offers, which ideally you will if you keep working on improving your skills. A voice coach will take you out of your comfort zone and help you to grow as a voice actor in ways that you wouldn’t otherwise on your own. The best part of working with a coach is that it’s fun!
• Make it happen, don’t wait for it to happen. Well, there’s some waiting involved after you submit auditions of course, but I’m talking about being proactive and sharing your enthusiasm for your new career endeavors with everyone. The more people who know you’re getting into voice acting, the more likely you are to find work. Networking is huge and although you may cringe at the idea of it, again, it’s a step outside your comfort zone which can potentially bring results. This can also mean getting your business cards made, launching your website, your business Facebook page, and your LinkedIn profile. It means cold calls and emailing prospective clients. Prepare yourself for rejection and take it with a grain of salt when it happens. Remember that a rejection doesn’t mean you don’t have talent, it means you didn’t fit the voice description of what the client had in mind.
• Setting realistic goals helps you with time management. It can feel overwhelming to embark on a voice acting career. If you’re anything like me when you feel overwhelmed you shut down and don’t accomplish anything except accumulating a YouTube history of funny cat videos. Now as entertaining as that is, it’s not going to bring you anything but guilt later on for not getting anything done. So, set goals for yourself and I’m talking realistic goals. Not goals like- Send auditions this week. No, that’s too broad and too vague. Get detailed with your goals and ask someone to hold you accountable. This could be the voice-over coach that you’ve invested in. Setting goals will ideally teach you how to organize your time as well. What helps me is to use my Google calendar as my guiding light. I write my goals into the time and day slots that I want to get them done. When I do that, I usually achieve said goals. If I just think it and assume I’ll get it done, it doesn’t happen. In that case, what gets done is more accumulation of cat videos. With setting goals and practical organization of your time, it can be helpful to create a routine for yourself so that you’re dedicating a set amount of hours each day to starting your voice acting career.
• A professional demo and high-quality equipment are key. I cannot stress enough how important a professional demo is. Imagine you’re interviewing someone for a job and they show up in ripped jeans with their hair askew. Would you hire that person based on your first impression? Unless it’s for a heavy metal music booking company, probably not. Your demo is your prospective client’s first impression of you. If there’s background noise or the sound is muffled or you’re popping your p’s too much, that’s going to reflect poorly on you and what the client assumes your capabilities are. Get into a studio with a producer and director so that you can take advantage of their expertise. Don’t forget that we can help you with that too!

If after reading this article, you’re still feeling apprehensive and not jazzed enough, here are some books that I recommend to get you off your tush and into the world of voice acting!

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

You’re a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

We always enjoy hearing your feedback, so join the conversation and see what’s trending about Such A Voice!

We also provide more tips about how to get started with your voice acting career on our YouTube channel. We even have a video for this post, so you can hear the blog author, Bekka Burton, in action. Check it out below: 

                                                                                                   About the Author

Bekka Burton is a copywriter, scriptwriter and copy editor at Such A Voice. She’s also an English Language teacher forcing fun grammar activities onto unsuspecting students in Barcelona, Spain. She’s currently studying an online Diploma course for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Trinity College in London and will be pursuing a Master’s in Linguistics in Fall 2018. When she’s not studying, writing, editing or teaching, she’s sure to be found hiking mountains, reading books, and eating her way through many European cities.

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Getting to know one another before your first voice-over coaching session

Here at Such A Voice, we assign you a technique coach once you have selected and purchased your SAV voice-over package. After you have scheduled your voice-over coaching sessions and connected with your coach via Skype, you’ll meet each week to work together. SAV’s online voice-over training program is flexible and allows students to work around their other commitments. Since the voice-over coaching is done over Skype, it doesn’t matter where you or your coach live. In fact, some of our coaches work outside of the U.S in places like Spain and Germany! We have staff who can work with students both nationwide and internationally.

How I get to know my students before their first voice-over coaching session

Every coach has their own approach when it comes to learning more about their students. I email my new students a self-assessment worksheet before the first session. This two-page questionnaire asks the student more about what got them interested in voice-overs, what their current job is, and how much time they have to dedicate to voice-over training. I love reading these questionnaires, especially when students give lots of details. It gives me a good understanding of their background. It helps me to know how to begin and where to focus. Best of all, it makes me even more excited to work with them because I feel like we’ve already met!

Communication is Key

Coaches have to be good listeners while students need to be good communicators. If a student can express the struggles they are feeling along the way, the coach will be able to flesh out which techniques work best and help navigate their student to connect authentically to the copy. While your coach is following the SAV curriculum, we are free to personalize the voice-over coaching sessions for the student, focusing on areas that require more attention. SAV coaches also bring their own VO experiences to the sessions. My background inspired me to write an article for the Such A Voice blog about voice-over practice exercises you can do outside of the booth. It’ll be posted on the blog in June, so keep an eye out for it!

Be Prepared

It helps to be prepared in order to make the most out of your voice-over coaching sessions. As a coach, I make sure my students and I are connected on Skype at least a day before our first session.I have my email open and my phone close by in the rare case that any technical issues arise with Skype. I also have the lesson and scripts open on my computer to readily follow along with what my student is reading. As a student, you should prepare the same way so you and your coach can make the most out of your time together. In addition, you should have completed your homework assignment and be ready to access the lesson at your fingertips so you’re ready to work!

Enjoy it

Before your first voice-over coaching session, get your mind and attitude set to have fun! When you are reading for your coach, this is the place to try everything. One of my most important objectives when working with a student is to create a safe space. I once had an influential instructor in college teach me a valuable lesson. She said, “If you’re not failing, then you’re not pushing yourself.” Express different ways to read the script, let go of inhibitions, put your entire body into the reads, and play! If you keep yourself buttoned up we’ll hear that in your voice. So don’t be afraid to try new things because there are no mistakes in your voice-over coaching sessions, only more opportunities to practice!

A Final Word

The VO industry consists of many talented, independent, and self-motivated artists. As a student, it’s your responsibility to train, develop your self-directing ear, practice, create your home studio, market yourself, and audition for gigs. Such A Voice offers support in all these areas. Your technique coach is your mentor. They help guide you according to the grainline of who you are. We are here to teach you the principles of the craft and most importantly, we are a part of your team here to support and encourage you to carry on with your voice-over career. We are always on your side rooting for your success. We love to hear about your successes, so please stay in touch!

Enjoyed reading this content? We’d love to hear more of your feedback about our blog. 

We’re also on YouTube! Check out the video for this post:

                                                                                                              About the Author

Rosemary Chase is a NY-based SAG-AFTRA union actor and voice-over artist. She has been featured on numerous television and feature film projects, including such hit shows as “Elementary”, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, and has appeared in several episodes of “Saturday Night Live”. She has voiced projects for GE Capital, Fidelity, a variety of dubbing projects, and a short film (playing an on-air radio personality). She landed her first feature animation film playing a loveable cow, Theodora, in “Pup 2 No Good”. Rosemary’s long list of diverse acting training from local studios around her NYC neighborhood include stand-up comedy at The Comedy Cellar, improv at Upright Citizen’s Brigade, and Meisner Training, at MN Studio. To learn more about Rosemary’s journey as a voice-over artist, visit www.rosemarychase.com.

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As a voice-over artist, your voice-over demo is the most useful tool you have in getting your voice heard and allowing potential clients and agents to have a comprehensive understanding of what you offer as a unique and capable voice talent. When you think about it, your demo is your calling card, business card, and resume all rolled into one! That’s why

Here’s how to create a compelling voice-over demo:

Get up to Speed

It’s important to become familiar with industry standards and understand the reasoning behind them before creating your voice-over demo. Most demos are around 60 seconds long these days. One reason is because people have shorter attention spans than ever before. Another reason is that there is more content being made nowadays and potential clients simply don’t have enough time to listen to longer demos in order to decide who they are interested in working with. Making sure your demo fits into the voice-over landscape shows clients that you’re in tune with what’s going on in the industry.

Focus on Genre

It’s important that your voice-over demo showcases one specific genre, as opposed to being a compilation of different genres on one demo. Voice seekers are busy, and they don’t have time to wade through a long montage to eventually see if you can master the style they’re looking for. That’s why having a genre-specific demo that accurately showcases your current skill set in that particular genre is a must for any voice-over artist.

Commercial and narration demos are common genres to focus on initially, and will remain staples of your demo arsenal. As you grow in your voice work, you may want to create specialty demos in other genres. These include animation, promo, audiobook, narration, and foreign language.

Great Content

When selecting scripts for your demo, make sure the copy is strong and allows you to shine as a performer. Choose marketable content that accurately reflects your capabilities. Ensure the spots you choose are evergreen, meaning that they can be used months and potentially years down the road without the content feeling dated.

Show Your Range

As a voice actor, you’ve honed the ability to create a variety of different reads and interpretations. Your demo should showcase your best performances, showing enough range and versatility to capture the listener’s attention, hold it, and leave them wanting more.

Quality Matters

Your demo should reflect the level of professionalism and quality you aim to offer your future clients. In keeping with a high standard of excellence, it’s optimal for your demo to be professionally recorded in a studio. The most marketable passages with the strongest performances should then be selected, ideally by a post producer with experience in the industry. Finally, an audio engineer should bring their expertise to the table, adding music and sound effects, and ultimately editing, sequencing, mixing, and mastering the demo.

It’s easy to feel nervous about creating your voice-over demo, especially for the first time, but if you start out having these key points covered, you can feel confident that you’re ready to create a compelling voice-over demo.

Check out our VO Pro Membership and the Such A Voice blog for more content like this!

About the Author

Claudine Ohayon is an Emmy Award-winning director/producer, commercial and promotional voice talent for brands like Verizon, Listerine, and MasterCard, native Brooklynite, published photographer. She was also the live announcer for the first ever televised Hollywood Film Awards on CBS.

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