You’ve heard the saying “little hinges swing big doors.” Well in voice over I just discovered a little hinge, a simple performance tweak that’s been making a huge difference for my private coaching clients, and it can do the same for you.
I’ve recently started singing lessons, something I’ve wanted to do for awhile. My teacher is great. I learned more from her in the first hour than I had in years of trying to figure it out on my own.
In singing, she said, you must feel where your voice is placed, not listen to the way you sound. A light bulb went off. It’s exactly the same in voice over! You need to feel, not listen to the way you sound.
Job one in voice over is to talk to one person and one person only, never to a crowd. Choose someone you know and someone you like, someone who makes you feel good. The listener and the voice buyer will respond to the positive feeling-they’ll hear it in the sound of your voice.
Many voice over beginners, on the other hand, approach the craft by listening to the sound of their voice, trying to direct themselves as they perform. This, unfortunately, is a recipe for disaster. You cannot direct and perform at the same time.
With the exception of Woody Allen, many actors have tried to direct and act at the same time and failed. There was Kevin Costner in Waterworld, Warren Beatty in Ishtar, a couple of the biggest movie flops of all time.
Another problem is that the Director In The Mind, is seldom kind. He or she is a critical task master, never satisfied with what they get. The Director berates you, calling you a loser, saying you’re a fool for even trying to do voice over.
Come on, admit it. We’ve all heard that voice.
So my advice is to not even go there. Take off the headphones, choose your audience of one and give the person you’re talking to in your mind’s eye, your love and undivided attention whenever you turn on the mic.
Feel, don’t listen and notice the tremendous difference in the quality of your voice over work. You can sit in the Director’s Chair while you’re editing your recording, but never while you perform.
Here’s some important time-sensitive news:
Many of you have told me you’d love to attend my famous Voice Over Bootcamp Recording Studio Immersion Experience but you just cant make it to New York. You’ve been begging me to create a Virtual Home Study Version of that event.
I’m so excited to announce my ALL NEW Virtual Voice Over Bootcamp Coaching Program starting this Monday October 29. Get the details here at www.virtualvobootcamp.com. But do it today. There are still a few seats left but they won’t last long.
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Susan Berkley is a top voice over 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. The Great Voice Company is an international leader in voice over training and in providing top quality voice over recordings in all languages to discerning businesses and marketers. For additional information visit www.greatvoice.com
Copyright 2012, The Great Voice Company. All Rights Reserved. The little “voice over tweak” that changes everything.
