Marice Tobias is holding a seminar in Los Angeles later this month. If you are working steadily these days, you seriously need to think about attending this unique event which will be unlike just about anything else you could do by way of training and taking your voiceover career to the next level.
From the email I received today:
This event will focus on:
- Shifting gears
- Nailing the read with your own spin
- The current trends
The structure of the weekend is very different. It will refect the times we are in, how the work now occurs and how armed talent must be to not only stay in the game but to move to the next level.
Working with Marice is a wonderful and unique experience. This will be an exceptional weekend. January 24th & 25th, 2009. To book your spot contact:
Tobias Entertainment Group
c/o CEM Management
creativeentertainmentmanagement.com
503.246.2239
There is a limit of 12 participants. The price is $775. It will be money well spent.
I often read about the next great event from the coach who will teach you how to “nail the read”, “move you to the next level” and “get you into gear” but there is never any substance to pieces beyond a glorified advertisement.
Some time ago I spoke to a friend who sells himself as a marketing expert.
“Philip, will you give me a testimonial” he asked.
“Yes, no problem” I replied. “Here’s what we’ll do. You get me a voice over job from one of your contacts and I’ll give you all of the fee and a testimonial to the effect that your marketing increased my level of business”. Sound fair to you? So far, no client and so no testimonial.
Now back to the plot. I know you have studied with Marice Tobias so could you give us one detailed story regarding a piece of coaching from her that really made a difference?
One of the things I am encouraging people in Voice Over work to do this year is to challenge the spin. $775 is a lot of money to spend when one realises, after the shouts of “Woot that was awesome Dood!” have faded away, that there is nothing left except spin.
Philip,
I always appreciate your comments. To pick up the gauntlet, here is just one example.
One of the most valuable things about studying with Marice is that she has helped me tune my ear to the important though subtle differences between certain kinds of seemingly similar voiceover work. So, following my second weekend of study with her over a year ago, I came home and in less than 60 days had booked 3 projects that paid for the price of the weekend of study and left me quite a bit in my pocket.
Those 3 projects, I’m quite sure, I would have had little probability of booking before that weekend of study with Marice, because I would not have been able to deliver the copy with just the right shading. These 3 projects were above and beyond lots of other work I also booked. I’m highlighting them because of the specific type of work they entailed.
At the end of any decision to invest (in study or equipment upgrades or anything else) one has to examine whether the evidence supports a reasonable rate of return on that investment. I started studying with Marice because credible people had told me of their own similar experiences. And because in the one public seminar I’d attended with her (prior to my more intensive study with her) I could hear with own ears the value of what she had to say.
Do you, Philip, need to study with Marice Tobias? Probably not. But as I’ve recently noted elsewhere on this blog, you are the exception that proves the rule. I worked as a professional voice actor for 23 years before I started getting some serious coaching. In the 2 years since I started my coaching, my voiceover income has risen just shy of 100%. Yes, essentially, doubled. I need no further evidence of the value of profession voiceover coaching.
Be well,
Bob
I appreciate Philip’s comments; maybe I can offer a different perspective as to why one would willingly engage a voice coach. For once with me, it wasn’t about the money
In 2008, I invested in three voice seminars: one with Fraley (who’s so well know now he needs only go by a one name moniker ala Madonna without the leather…as far as I know anyway 😉 another with Stevie Vallance in Toronto and a third with Deb Munroe in Toronto.
My reasoning for investing the money and time in one year was two fold – it ran into the calendar that way and secondly (most importantly) I really value a professional 2nd opinion on my performance.
Now, I cannot dollarize the impact on my business but I know artistically my performance improves. As a side note, I also value the input and camaraderie of my fellow professional voice students.
May it all boils down to some people learn differently. In an age where everyone’s a teacher, I understand how one needs to be aware of who they study with.
So far, I’ve been pretty lucky.
Great discussion.
Best always,
– Peter
Peter,
I very much appreciate what you’ve added to the conversation.
Be well,
Bob
As you probably gathered my comment was not about me or the coach in question. I am aware that people get carried away with the enthusiasm of students and the (in most cases)hyped reputation of the coach.
Anyone paying for something should find the substance in what is being bought before handing over the cash. Particularly with coaching they should bear in mind that the return on investment may not be measureable in cash, particularly in the short term.
Philip,
I quite agree, especially about “in the short term.” I’ve been blessed to experience both short and long term returns on more than one occasion; but that hasn’t been the case every time I’ve taken a seminar.
Thank you for sparking some interesting discussion.
Be well,
Bob
Marice is brilliant.
Period.
Nancy,
Quite.
Be well,
Bob