“How did you get into voiceovers?” is a question I get asked a lot.
I was a radio presenter before I became a voiceover artist. So, let’s talk about presenting experience and what it brings to the voiceover party.
The biggest thing is connection. In broadcasting, you’re talking to one person and if you work in Commercial radio like I did, you’re representing the brand so what comes out of your mouth has to connect and resonate with the listener. To do that you really feel the things you’re saying whether that’s passion for the music, a relatable story or selling something that’s happening on the station.
The next one seems odd, but I know what talking for 30 secs feels like. I gained an innate sense of pace from talking to time on radio shows, so it’s easy to know if you need to go faster or slower. This is a great skill for commercial voiceover work!
If you’ve ever done live radio, you are much less easily flustered! Driving a desk, doing everything live and troubleshooting fast makes you focussed to the point that someone could put a bin over your head, and you’d still be able to deliver the performance. I mean, it would affect the sound quality, but you get my point. This is so useful for big sessions, live events, and voice of God work.
Being able to read a script while making it sound like you’re not, is the essence of voiceover work. It’s literally the main event. I had many years of this in radio before I became a voiceover artist with talking up competitions etc on air. Narration is a more subtle art, but a presenting background is ideal for getting that easy, natural, conversational style.
If any of these skills sound useful to your project, let’s chat.
