Voice Over Relaxation Exercises

I’m Susan Berkley. This is the Inside Voiceover video training blog. We’re going to talk about relaxation this weekend. To start off, I’ve got a great quote from the actor Jack Nicholson who said, “Eighty five percent of acting is you, and the other 15% is relaxation so you can access you.” Boy, I love that. So let’s talk about how to stay nice and relaxed when you do voiceovers.

Being relaxed is going to make your voice sound fantastic. If you ever listen to the great voice actors on commercials and audio books, ah, they’re so relaxed, their voices are deep and rich and resonant. If your voice is tight, you have a very narrow space within which to work, so it’s very important to get all of that, ah, just really, really soft and loose. Your body mirrors the tension in your mind. So the first place to start is within. How are you feeling about the work you’re about to do? You got to psych yourself up. How are you feeling about yourself? Are you having ideas like, “Oh, you suck. You can’t do this.” Those ideas are going to undermine you. So job one is to be present in the moment and let yourself go, love yourself before you get into your work.

So mental tension always shows up as physical tension. So pull out those yoga breathing exercises, really relax your shoulders, shake it all out if you need to. Don’t be afraid to let your head hang and let your jaw be loosened, shake out your hands. All those things that you might learn in an acting class are terrific before a voiceover session. And it doesn’t matter if you look like a fool, you’re by yourself anyway. And even if you’re in a professional situation with other people directing you, you’re an actor. They’re used to us doing those types of warmup exercises. Breathing exercises are also great. Fill your lungs up, hold your breath for a couple of seconds, and then let it all go.

So I hope that’s helpful. Have a relaxed voiceover day. I’m Susan Berkley and I’ll be back next week with more Inside Voiceover.