In my students lately I’ve observed an issue you may never have thought of that could be holding you back from the voice over success you deserve.
In fact it’s one of the root causes of the problem I call “GrtGR” or “Getting Ready To Get Ready.”
This surprising problem can undermine your career like termites eating away at the foundation of a house. If you’re a new beginner pay close attention because you are especially at risk.
So what’s the problem?
It’s is too much attention to detail. And while on the surface this may seem like a good thing, it’s actually a problem in disguise.
You know you have this problem if you do one or more of the following:
Obsess over the smallest details of your business card
Should the typeface curl to the right or to the left? Is this the perfect shade of delft blue or would a little bit darker be better?
Website Analysis Paralysis
Spend weeks and even months agonizing over the details of your voice over website and once you choose a designer, micro-managing them to death.
Audition Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (AOCD)
Doing 20, 30, even 50 takes to try and say each word perfectly and when you finally submit the audition, obsessing for hours over whether you got it right.
The Demo Delay Dance
Continually postponing your demo recording session (even though you’ve worked for months with your coach) because you feel you’re not ready.
Sound familiar? Well, here’s some good news…it’s not your fault!
You are suffering from Inversion, a common psychological phenomenon discovered by Dr Norberto Keppe, my mentor in Brazil.
Inverted ideas are unconscious and deeply embedded in the way humans think—until someone (like me) turns you around.
The inversion here is the commonly held yet unconscious inverted idea that something great and good, like your voice over success, could come from a tiny detail like the color of your logo
Yet when we are nervous and uncomfortable, we try to exert control by clinging to the details.
The fact is that the lesser comes from the greater and not the other way around.
Your talent was bestowed by the Creator, the greatest force of all, and is developed in action through a desire to serve and share your talents with others. In otherwords, the more you love your clients and love the work and the more you work to meet their needs, the more success you will enjoy.
So, instead of sweating the small stuff, focus on these key big picture items for voice over success….
1. Training– are you good enough to take direction so you have the skills necessary to adapt your read to your client’s needs. When you are, you’re ready to make your demo and hit the marketplace.
2. Demo: do you have one or more up to date, professional quality demos you can use to market your services?
3. Home studio: can you record, edit and sent pristine broadcast quality audio from home
4. Marketing: do you have a list of viable prospects who hire voice talent and do you have a marketing plan for reaching them? And most important, are you working that plan and measuring your progress every day?
And always if you need help, just visit us at greatvoice.com and give us a call at 800-333-8108.
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Susan Berkley is a top voice overs artist
and founder of The Great Voice Company, a company devoted to teaching great voices around the world how to become successful voice over actors.
