Today a few thoughts about working in the studio.
A few days ago I congratulated one of my correspondents, Noel, on landing his first paying job through Voice123.com. He wrote again today with some additional observations that I’ve asked his permission to copy here. And then below, an observation that I hope is helpful not only to him, but to you as well.
Noel writes that he’s beginning to understand…
…not only is it the sound and range of one’s voice, but the ability to not get all hung up on listening to the sound of one’s own voice. The ability to lift the words off the page counts for something as well.
Best regards,
Noel G
Not only is Noel right that the ability to lift the words off the page counts for something, it’s very nearly everything. This is critically important, so please take note. It’s not about you or your voice.
Really, it’s not. There are literally hundreds of millions of people with pleasant sounding voices in the world, millions of whom speak English as their native tongue. And of those millions, most have a voice that’s more pleasant sounding than your voice…at least to some people.
You know all those times when you auditioned for a job and someone told you they hired you because you “had just the right voice for this project”? Here’s what they were really saying: “we loved what you did with our script.” How do I know that’s true? Because if they didn’t love what you did with their script in your audition, they would have hired someone else. Think about it for a second. If you mangled their script, gave no indication that you understood the message, they would never hire you.
Having an interesting, or pleasant, or appealing voice is the price of admission. It’s like a restaurant that advertises tasty food. What? As opposed to all of those other restaurants with bad tasting food? No, of course not. And for that matter, a pretty long list could be created of successful voiceover people with annoying voices. AFLAC!
It’s not about you. It’s not about your voice. It’s about your client and the message that client is trying to convey. You’re either helping deliver that message effectively or your not working. At least not for long.
Let me know what you think. Comments are open.