Wherever you are on your voice over journey, I hope you’re springing forward!
Here are 13 skills every voice actor needs to achieve success:
1. You follow direction well. This means receiving, understanding, and applying creative direction from clients, producers, and creatives. You understand it’s a collaborative effort, and you’re able to deliver the goods quickly and effectively.
2. You’re a stellar reader. You have solid reading comprehension, are able to interpret where the writer is coming from and headed, and you don’t sound like you’re re
3. You’re an easy breezy communicator. You make it very easy for people to get a hold of you and hire you. You respond to emails quickly and you’re happy to help. You turn your auditions around as quickly as possible. You don’t leave people hangin’. People hire talent they like to work with and who also make their lives easier. No divas around these parts. This is one of the ways you shine!
4. You’re confident. You believe in your abilities and talent. You aren’t cocky or arrogant. You’ve worked hard honing your craft and you don’t second guess every creative choice you make. You show up to sessions ready to rock (and have fun)! Even if you feel a little nervous at first, you have a kind, team-spirit way about you that always puts your clients at ease.
5. You’re a great listener. You care. You don’t interrupt people. You don’t take direction personally. You’re fully present and patient even if a client goes on and on for 10 minutes, describing their “vision and backstory” for how their three-word tag needs to sound. 😉
6. You know how to use your recording gear. You’ve spent time learning how your DAW works. You know how to record and edit your voice properly. You also know how to troubleshoot basic audio issues when random gremlins show up in the night and now your stuff doesn’t want to work. Start with rebooting EVERYTHING for the win! I kid, I kid… But sometimes a hard reset works! 😉 Even for us humans!
7. You’re consistent. This is a tough one, but the truth is you know in your heart that when you’re being consistent in any area of your life you start to get results. And if you’re not getting the results you want, you can be real with yourself about how much time and effort you’re actually putting into auditioning, honing your craft, and marketing yourself, etc. You schedule it and track it. You know you’re running a business and you show up for yourself. Building your voiceover career won’t miraculously happen by just daydreaming about it. You continue to put in consistent effort.
8. You are the magic. You know that no one else has your exact voice print, perspective, and delivery of spoken word. It’s all you. How you tell stories and bring characters to life is uniquely you. You don’t compare yourself to other talent. Instead you celebrate their special gifts and they act as inspiration for you. You embrace that YOU are the secret sauce someone is listening for.
9. You’re grateful. When someone reaches out to you to hire you, the first two words you say are “thank you,” not “how much?” You’ll get to the money conversation, of course. But you express gratitude when someone asks you to audition for their project or wants to hire you. You always show your appreciation and exercise professional etiquette.
10. You’re prepared. Whether it’s a last-minute session with a client or you had the luxury of receiving copy the day before (lucky you – lol), you’ve got a solid workflow in place and can roll with whatever clients throw your way. Solid processes and best practices make running your voiceover business so much easier. Good job, you.
11. You’re always growing. The best voice actors I know are humble humans and they operate from a growth mindset. And you know that there is always something new to learn. Growth-minded talent are excited to explore new genres, keep their demos and professional tools up to date, learn a new DAW, expand their vocal range with continued training, and so on.
12. You don’t give up on yourself. Getting your voiceover career off the ground ain’t easy. It takes time, energy, patience, and perseverance. You keep your eye on the prize and keep making progress. You know that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same is true as you build your career from the ground up. So you keep planting seeds and watering them regularly knowing that sooner or later something amazing is gonna sprout! *Revisit #7 for the win.
13. You love what you do. Magic happens when you’re in your element doing what you love to do. Time stops. You’re in the flow zone. And you just feel good. You know this feeling is incredibly infectious as it spills into other areas of your life too.
Below the surface there is work to be done and you are willing to do it.
And your friends at The Voice Actors Studio are here to help.
