Friday 4 December 2009

Become Highly Skilled At Voiceover work

By Lauren Hulbert

Many people are looking for new jobs or uses for their talents that can bring in some extra cash. One such job area is radio voice overs. Voiceover work might sound fancy, but really it comes down to having good diction, control over your voice and the ability to work hard.

One way to improve your voice is to practice. Speak aloud to yourself in front of the mirror. Speak into a microphone and listen to yourself on play back. You will learn a lot using this technique. Then take any opportunity you can find to have a go at public speaking.

Survey after survey reveals that public speaking is one of the most stressful activities that can occur in your life. But often if you deliberately seek appropriate opportunities and embark on these chances to speak out loud with a sense of humbleness, you will find yourself warmly received. Join the local toastmaster's club, where you will be asked to speak on a weekly basis and during which your friends will analyse and comment on your performance. Then you could try speaking out at work or social functions and notice how you are received and how you felt.

The first step is to get started. Talk as often as you can. The next step is to improve your sound, your control and your range of speaking options. The better you are at this step, the more work that will come your way.

Just start slowly and gradually improve your skills. At the start just start talking and get used to hearing your voice being projected out loud. Then slowly vary aspects of your work and notice the effect it has on how your voice-overs sound. Mess around with how quickly your talk, how loudly you speak and the tone of your voice. Control the depth and rate of your breathing during this time.

Maintain good diction but try to add accents to your speech. Then vary the emotional basis of your voiceover - either angry or happy. Notice what you had to do to create a certain effect. Try sitting down and standing up - what happens.

Remember to judge your recordings on the basis of believablity and comprehensibility. Keep a diary or some ability to record your findings and experiments so that you learn and improve your voiceover talent more rapidly. Remember to practice consistently is the key to enhancing your voice-over talent. Try to set aside 30 minutes a day for 3 months, note your findings and strive to improve. You will be one of the top 1% of voice over providers by the end of the next season if you do this.

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