From learning how to project your voice and engage your audience to knowing when to take direction, this post will take you through some of the key things you need to know to grow as a voice-over artist.
Know Your Audience
Knowing your audience is half the battle when it comes to recording a voice-over. Ensure that you’re presenting your voice in a way that’s appropriate for who you’re targeting.
If you’re targeting a corporate audience, you’d want to use more formal, straight-to-the-point language; for an everyday consumer audience, you want a more informal, emotional approach. You also want to pay attention to the tonality you choose to convey in regard to which demographic you’re targeting.
Knowing your audience goes beyond just distinguishing between formal and informal, but also knowing how to switch between a younger and older audience. Furthermore, sometimes you need to adapt for a more male or female-dominated audience, so bear this in mind before you approach your next project.
Treat Your Monologues Like a Dialogue
One key tip when building your reputation as a voice-over artist is to treat the monologue you’re given like a dialogue.
Remember that you’re targeting an audience. You must speak to them, as opposed to reading off of a script like you’re in a play. Monologues are typically one-sided conversations, which doesn’t work for, say, an advert.
Treating the script like a dialogue allows users to engage with what you’re saying. Should you choose to ask questions to be extra convincing, your target audience will be able to answer them in their heads.
Treating the voice-over script like a dialogue not only directs the dialogue to the end listener, but it breathes life into it and makes the overall production much more personable.
Don’t Be Afraid to Take Creative Direction
What every great voice-over artist has in common, and what separates them from the rest, is their ability to take creative direction of their project.
You may be able to read a script in an engaging way, but how are you going to do the job better than your competitors? The key difference between the two of you is that the best voice-over artists are able to take creative direction and bring the script to life.
Creative direction could be anything from a softer tone, a more energetic take on a script or even a specific voice put on for the role. When you add this extra unspoken rule to your voice-over game, you’ll soon become unstoppable. Besides, it only takes one great gig to set you up for life. It’s no wonder that certain voice-over artists are chosen to be the voice of a certain brand, their ability to take creative direction in their voice-over recordings is priceless.
Top Tips for the Beginner Voice-Over Artist
Hopefully, these tips will help you improve over time. With a little patience and practice, you’ll certainly get there.
So long as you keep these main principles in mind, you’ll be well on your way to success:
- Know your audience
- Treat your monologues like a dialogue
- Take creative direction
