Like it or not, we live in a whirlwind world where we’re expected to deliver so much more in a very compacted period of time. This means loads of pressure on all fronts and in every profession. And the voice over acting industry is certainly no exception.
With more than two decades of experience as a female voice over talent, I’ve come up with a handful of strategies to help ensure I deliver what my clients want, exactly how they want it and by their deadline – if not earlier.
How a Female Voice Over Talent Helps You Get WHAT You Want
What clients want with voice overs is the same thing that clients want in every industry: a professional final product that involves the least amount of hassle or delay. That starts with a quality ISDN voice over recording studio with all the bells and whistles to record, edit, and produce high-end final VO tracks.
You can “sit in” on the session, thanks to phone patch connections and ISDN voice over hookups that let you direct my delivery from anywhere in the world by telephone. Or you can give me the overall gist you are going for and I’ll let my experience lead the way to giving you my very best take on your script.
Getting It HOW You Want It
I take pride in being able juggle multiple projects and stay on track with all of the deadlines. Is it challenging at times to do that? Absolutely! But, I’ve found some ways to be efficient in how I get projects recorded. If I’m working on a series of quick reads that are fairly straightforward, informational and don’t require a great deal of “acting chops,” it makes sense to stay in that voice over groove and quickly move through my queue of similar tasks such as tags, voicemail recordings and other telephony messaging scripts which are usually more informational in nature.
Likewise, projects that require greater acting skills get tackled when I am in the appropriate mode and frame of mind to record them most effectively. I may shift gears several times each day, from technical narration to emotive tv commmercial spots to message on hold recordings. It makes for variety in my day, and totally keeps me on my toes as an actor.
Another prime example is a project I’ve already recorded that has come back weeks or months later for changes. It can be tougher than it seems to reproduce the exact level of energy and sound recorded several months ago. Being in the ideal frame of mind makes it much easier to get it right. And I will also pull from my audio archives to locate the original audio, to use as my refresher guide. A final meticulous review to ensure a perfect match is also part of the process in this situation.
Getting it Done by Your Deadline
Determining priorities is a must when it comes to the deadline game. My ideal day involves a steady stream of voice over clients and a queue full of orders in-progress. This scenario requires me to manage all of the various projects that are each in various stages of completion. There are the existing clients and orders, recurring orders, brand new clients and the “never-ending projects,” which are some of my favorites to work on because they are ongoing and can last months or even years.
Also worth mentioning are the female voice over talent auditions, which are a necessary part of the job these days. I audition every day, depending on the types of projects that I’m receiving in my inbox and how much workload I’m carrying for the day. I am always happy to provide a custom voiceover audition when a client has narrowed down their choice of female voice over talent and I’m on the short list.
One More Thing You Get From This Female Voice Over Talent: Exceptional Customer Service
Regardless of where projects may fall on the overall priority list, each and every client gets the specialized attention they deserve, as if they were my only client. I add a little oomph to my customer service with things like quick responses to emails and small loyalty gifts because I always want my clients to know just how much I appreciate their business.
Mix in my penchant for being dependable, responsible and delivering quality work on time or ahead of schedule, and your job becomes easier indeed.
