For years people have said, “Dwight, you have a great radio voice.”
If I had a dollar for every time someone said that I would be flying high right now. Fact is, I have never liked to hear my own voice on a recording. That is until I began a Voice Over (VO) Career. Now a like to hear my voice, and all that comes with it, tone, reflection, pitch, and projection. All these things have led me to a point that I know I will be a great VO actor and can do this for a living. But not so fast!
VO is an art, that takes many years to perfect. In my case, I have been working toward this goal for over 2 years now. Gathering as much information on the many topics related to a VO business. Because that is what VO acting is, a business. You must have many talents, and your voice alone accounts for just 10%. You have to be an actor, a businessperson, a website designer, a marketer, a salesman, and so much more.
Over the past 2 years I have focused on the above-mentioned tasks and abilities, while honing my VO skills in front of the microphone. You see I have a deep resonating and approachable voice. So much so, that I have never had a baby in my arms cry after just whispering a few key phrases. In fact, the longer I talk with a soothing tone, the more likely the baby is to smile.
Now this isn’t a key test on my ability to be a VO actor, in fact, it has little to do with anything except your tone, and using your voice to convey a message to a specific audience. That is the key to using your voice in the VO business.
So, I am setting out on an adventure that I know will lead me into places I could never have imagined. However, first you need to focus on the quality of your voice, the quality of your approach, and the quality of your marketing to get the jobs that present your very best work.
Dwight
