While catching up on a bunch of posts on Seth Godin’s blog this afternoon, I clicked through from this post to read More Cowbell, a post on Brian Clark’s brilliant Copyblogger site.
The key point Brian makes about blogging, and writing in general for that matter …
Successful content relies on the hook, the angle, the tiny little element no one else takes time to notice. It’s not that others are more talented than you, it’s that they work harder finding the winning difference.
Applies equally to voiceover talent who consistently book work. It’s not about standing out in some completely random way, it’s about finding the twist or slightly different point of view that’s just different enough.
A tip I picked up from Pat Fraley during Summit 2008 is a great starting point. Read the copy completely flat the first time through. Don’t add any inflection or “acting choices” to the copy right away, because you can lock yourself in to those choices and you can’t know right away if they’re the right ones. After you have a grasp of the whole piece, then begin making some choices based the clues that are right there in the script.