voiceovers

What Keeps You Grounded As A Voiceover?

August 2, 2023 by Leesha S

Woman Reaching while Grounded — Reaching while Grounded

The basics of voice acting don’t change. While styles, preferred ages, and other nuances may be ever changing, the basics of voice acting are what they are. As voice actors and business owners, we must know our strengths and weaknesses. But we also need to understand what supports our stand and helps move us toward continued success. For me, what keeps me going is not one stagnate thing. On the contrary, applying the various things that keep me grounded helps me move toward voice-over and personal success.

Getting Too Much Too Fast

Every week, we’re bombarded with too many new reports, advertisements, and unsolicited help. Humans are not equipped to keep up with floods of communication at the speed of light. The constant change and distractions we experience and continue to experience are what give most of the attention span of a fly.

Healthcare industry influencer Steven Zauderer writes in a July 24th, 2023, article, Average Human Attention Span By Age: 47 Statistics, says “The average human has an attention span of just 8.25 seconds according to recent studies – 4.25 seconds less than in 2000.” Zauderer further writes, “The average human attention span decreased by nearly 25% between 2000 and 2015.” So, you might say, it’s hard to know what is means to be or how to stay grounded at least for very long.

Getting Grounded

It’s pretty common to walk through an airport or down a busy metropolitan city and notice almost everyone on a smart device. While it’s nice to be connected, the constant stream of information will hamper our ability to absorb all the information we need on any given topic.

In voiceovers, it’s essential to continue grounding ourselves through education, practice, and connections. Adding to our abilities and improving our skills may not be sexy and exciting, but it builds the foundation for a successful business.

“Grounding is most effective when you have some place to go. When you know where you are going, grounding brings strength and confidence, when you’re stagnant you get caught in the past.”

― Tony Curl (Seriously Simple Stuff to Get You Unstuck)

Patience is still a Virtue

Patience is voice acting seems like an oxymoron, but it is not. We stay grounded as we apply what has been learned. If one has learned the appropriate skills for a successful voiceover career, some success will eventually come. There is no shortcut for hard work and continued development. Patience in the voiceover business may be the best way to secure your business for the long haul.

Make It A Family Thing

We voice actors are people; therefore, we need people. We need interaction with those in business, those who can help us in business, and those who are NOT in the voice-over business. The care coming from the right supporters can make us successful, console us in our times of failure, and replenish our souls. Make sure you have associations with those who can keep you in the loop with trends in the voice-over industry. Moreover, make sure you know those who are experts in marketing or at least refresh your marketing techniques through education. Don’t forget to attend at least one in-person voiceover event every year to be around like-minded people.

Lastly, always make time for family and friends. Whether you’re married or single, you need time with people you like and love and those who like and love you. Time with close friends and family supports your mental health. We’ve had too much time alone thanks to the COVID-19 lock downs.

It’s time to continue restoring our personal and professional support groups. These associations and practices can keep us sane and creative voice talents. You may find that applying the above concepts will help you be more grounded leading you into being the best you can be as an excellent, long-term voice actor. #breakthatlip

In Voiceovers-Just Be You

September 1, 2021 by Leesha S

I’ve just returned from a lovely voiceover conference. It was my first real jaunt since the COVID-19 lock downs, so I was looking forward to the time away from my city. To my surprise, I learned something unexpected at the conference. Nothing new was added to my knowledge, but more of a reminder of the importance of being myself. It’s essential to keep in mind our specialness and worth. I believe you’ll agree that the real you is your best performance at whatever you do in life.

Somewhere between December 2020 and August 2021, the voiceover industry’s preferred style changed yet again. The calming voice of season individuals between the ages of 35-55 is now passé. Instead, the current (as of this writing) industry norm has changed (back) to the younger, hipper, conversational tone. The announcer tone that has been a mainstay for decades in media is again seen as unthinkable.

Change is a regular part of the voice-acting industry. Voice seekers are looking for something that stands out from the rest of the crowd, which is a great point. But, unfortunately, our industry has been so saturated with styles and deliveries, it’s becoming harder and harder to have a sound that has never been heard or felt somewhere in the audio world.

A voice talent can get pretty insecure trying to keep up with all the changes and may feel like their style is still not enough to impress the most understanding of voice seekers. Yes, it can be a daunting task, but perhaps the focus needs an adjustment.

Be You Anyway

Most people can learn to act and portray characters or types of voiceover delivery. However, if the most popular style changes with each cycle of the moon, it can be challenging to keep with “what’s in.” Perhaps the answer is trying not to fully fit in. The best advice I keep hearing from others is to “just be you.” Becoming comfortable in being oneself can be a lifelong task. However, if we master being ourselves, we may reach our own voiceover nirvana.
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Know the Great One – You

Becoming “you real,” starts with a review and study of how you talk and deliver words and emotions. Recording yourself in different situations like while talking to a friend, a client, or someone you care for, can help you learn your authentic sound. Once you’ve studied the true actor in you, you can shape your voiceover deliveries to reflect your sound. That original “you” voice sound is conversational and authentic. Once you’ve studied and mastered you, your sound will never go out of style. There is an audience for your realness as you use that talent to connect and deliver your scripts.

As I’ve blogged before, change in life is a constant, but no one or thing should force you to switch from being who you really are. As voice talents, let’s remember that our best performance is when we are genuinely ourselves and free to give our best performance.

Brake that lip!

A Hike to Remember

June 7, 2021 by Leesha S

The pre-hike briefing — **Getting ready to walk**

I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned that many changes and challenges have similar lessons. If you participate in sports, you know full well how sports can relate to business, even the voiceover business. With that, I’d like to tell you about my first adventure hiking. Hiking and voice acting are alike; you have to go with the flow and don’t quit.

The Adventure Begins

Recently, I went on my first real hike. Before the trek started, our leader asked us not to talk too much as we walked and focus our thoughts on nature. So, I was expecting a nice calming walk through gentle backwoods near Northwest Washington, DC’s old and historic neighborhoods. Instead, I experienced rough milled trails through wooded areas and dirt corridors compacted with sharp rocks, small and round boulders, hard stones, and bulging tree roots. Small streams were also in our path that ran under full, leaf-laden trees that shaded our two-and-one-half-hour walk.

The tree cover was fine, especially when a summer shower passed over us. But then, there were the steep inclines and descents. Someone (the U.S. Park Service, I presume) nicely positioned long wooden planks, like the ones you see on railroad tracks, as steps along the steep inclines. We walked up and down the vertical passageways over the planks with some protruding because erosion had washed away some of the dirt and sand that initially surrounded the wooden stepladders.

After about an hour, the hike was no longer fun for me. But, not wanting to show my unease about the terrain, I followed my group of hikers with a smile and kept moving. The leader, a well-seasoned hiker, strolled over the stone and dirt almost gliding as she took every step in a carefree manner. She seems to glance down only occasionally at the changing surfaces under our feet.

On the other hand, I had to carefully watch my every step to not trip over a stone or tree branch and break my neck! (No Uber here.) I was so happy for the occasional stop for a quick drink of water, but we were soon up and at it again.

I know we were supposed to be enjoying nature. But my primary thoughts were not to fall and keep moving. Each time I saw another steep climb or questionable ascent, I just told myself to keep going. Complaining was not going to get me out of this hike any sooner or stop the slight pain in my toes from wearing hiking boots that were just a little too snug. I tried to adjust my toes in my shoes the best I could and kept walking…and walking…and walking until the walk was finished.

After what seemed like hours, we ended our walk, which was just over two hours. We each reflected on our experience and what we thought of the walk. My comments were brief, but my primary thinking was I just had to keep moving and I would be all right.

Hiking and Voice Acting

You’re probably wondering what does hiking have to do with voice acting? Two words: keep moving. The path to voice acting success is never a straight, smooth path. Granted, some people find success quickly and consistently, but I don’t believe that is the case for most of us dedicated to finding our voice acting success. After the walk, someone said that we bump and hit our way through finding our right path to success. Sometimes, the trail is impassable and we have to try again or we find that our timing is off. So, we stop for a while, regroup, and start again. It can take years to find the right niche for our business. And it may take years for us to partner with stable clients with whom we can enjoy working regularly. So, it sounds like voice acting is a lot like hiking.

Life is a Mirror of Itself

Life takes us on many fantastic journeys if we allow it to teach us along the way. Our goals may point us to what we want, but our paths are usually never straight or smooth. We have to take each day as it comes and keep our most important things on top of mind. Today we may do our best and accomplish much or perhaps not. Either way, we must courageously walk these paths if we expect to carve out a life that we can look back on, and with assurance, know that we did our best and learned from the tests.

Keep breaking that lip.