One of the most frustrating things about being a voice talent today is that you rarely, if ever, get feedback on your auditions.

Sure, maybe you’ll get a “like” on one of the voice casting sites but that doesn’t help when you don’t book the job.

The truth is there is no way to really know why we do or don’t get cast for a job. Sometimes it’s as simple as not getting heard and other times it’s a completely random reason like they hired a friend.

However, I’ve identified 7 mistakes that are real deal-breakers. Any one of them can instantly knock you out of the park and cause someone to delete your audition.

And worst of all you might not even be aware there’s a problem.

So what are the 7 big auditions mistakes?

I’ve got a question for you this week. Do you make these seven voice over audition mistakes?

Now, before I tell you what they are, I just want to kind of do a little disclaimer because if you’re depending on auditions to grow your voice over business, you’re in trouble, I’m really sorry to tell you. In the old days, that’s how people got work. Today, you have got to cultivate your own clients because if you’re going into the fray and on those pay-to-play sites, doing hundreds and hundreds of auditions hoping you’ll somehow strike it rich, it just is not going to happen.

So here’s how I look at it because I auditioned too. I have voice over agents. I look at auditions like playing the lottery. Sometimes you hit it, so that’s why I do them, but the majority of my voice over work is through clients I get following my mic to money method, which we teach here at greatvoice.com.

But first, let’s talk about voice over auditions because you should do them. Every now and then you might book something. We want to make sure yours don’t get deleted. So mistake number one is poor audio quality. Is there hiss? Is there hum? Is the volume too soft? Is it too loud? Is it distorted? You got to get that dialed in. All your auditions must be broadcast quality as if these were real spots that ran on the air.

Number two is, are you sounding like an announcer? Are you talking like this? Right? That won’t cut it either. Everybody wants conversational, real sounding voice overs. So mistake number two is an announcer voice. That’s got to go.

Mistake number three is actually reading the voice over script. You sound like you are reading the script and not talking to us. That won’t cut it either. So if that’s the case, you need to have a little bit more training so you can do a voiceover like it’s normal, naturally flowing conversation.

Mistake number four is you have no relationship to the listener. There’s always somebody on the other side of the microphone and you got to make that person up. You don’t see them, obviously they’re imaginary. You’re alone in your studio, but there’s another person there. So you better have that relationship just like I have with you right now. So that everything you say is intended for the other person, right? You make that connection.

Number five is playing it too safe. An audition is where you can be bold. You should take a chance because the purpose of an audition is to actually stand out from the crowd, not to do it right or play it safe. So here’s where you take a chance. If you get the gig, then they can tone you down and direct you. You want to be the one that they notice.

Number six is your too tense. Relax; relax your shoulders, your breathing. Take a yoga class to learn how to relax.

Number seven is you have no point of view. What do I mean by that? You don’t know where this voice over is taking place. You haven’t thought about where the place is. Is it in a house? Are we in a store? Are we in your car? Are you inside my head? That’s what I mean by point of view.

So with these seven tips, your chances of booking an audition are greatly increased and when you book something, I want to know about it. Just drop me a line and be sure you leave me a comment here.

Watch this week’s short training video Here Now

After you watch the video be sure to leave a comment. I always love to hear from you so I can support you as you grow your voice over career.

To your voice over success,

Susan Berkley
Signature voice of Citibank
Founder, The Great Voice Company

PS. I’ll be coaching and mentoring a very small group of voice over beginners and emerging talent at my Mic To Money Bootcamp December 7-9, 2019. Learn my Perfect Performance techniques, the Mic To Money Marketing Framework and get a home studio Tech Check .Click or call: https://greatvoice.com/bootcamp-1 talent@greatvoice.com or 800-333-8108.