voice over career

How Your Mindset Can Shape Your VO Career

January 16, 2019 by Debbie Grattan

Many factors come into play for building a successful voice over career, and one of the most important is your mindset. And your mindset goes much deeper than, say, having a positive or negative attitude.

I’m talking about the attitudes and beliefs outlined by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, who has done extensive research related to two main types of mindsets: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. Each mindset comes with its own set of beliefs that shape the way individuals approach their VO careers – and their overall lives.

The Fixed Mindset vs. The Growth Mindset

Folks who have a fixed mindset believe they were born with a certain amount of intelligence, talent, and skills, and those traits are fixed in place. No matter what they do or how hard they try, there’s no way to increase those traits.

On the opposite side of the fence is the growth mindset. This mindset assumes the intelligence, character traits and creative abilities we harbor at birth are just a starting point, and they can all be strengthened and enhanced throughout our lives.

More on the Fixed Mindset

Because people with fixed mindsets think the hand they were dealt is as good as it gets, their mission in life becomes proving they were dealt an amazing hand. Every success confirms they have the winning hand, while every failure is a blatant sign of deficiencies.

The Fixed Mindset:

Views success as validation of their inherent traits
Views failures as proof of deficiencies
Avoids challenges as they may result in failure
Gives up easily in the face of obstacles
Sees effort as useless since they’re already born with what they need
Ignores constructive criticism
Feels threatened by the success of others

More on the Growth Mindset

Those with a growth mindset believe hard work and targeted efforts can bring about significant changes in our level of intelligence, talent and skills – or even in our personality traits. Failures are not seen as proof of deficiencies but rather as valuable lessons that help stretch existing abilities to even higher heights.

The Growth Mindset:

Views success as the reward for their hard work and efforts
Views failure as valuable lessons
Thrives on challenges and pushes to higher heights
Persists in the face of obstacles
Sees effort as the path to mastery
Learns from constructive criticism
Feels inspired by and learns lessons from the success of others

How a Fixed Mindset Might Approach a VO Career

Someone with a fixed mindset may go into a career as a voice over artist with high hopes of proving their innate talents and skills in the area. Since they were born with all the talent they need, they may not be interested in advanced training or putting intense effort into sharpening their skills.

They’ll instead sit at a microphone, send out audition after audition, knowing they’ll eventually be hailed as the highly talented and amazing voice over artist they feel they are. They may land a job or two, but then notice the majority of auditions they send get no response whatsoever.

Rather than trying to figure out why some auditions get no response, they look at the ones that do – then go for jobs that are similar to those they’re already landing. They may discover they have a strong, inherent talent for political voice overs, for instance, but notice they get no response when they send out auditions for commercials or e-books.

So they focus solely on political voice-overs, responding to calls for auditions, and also contacting companies directly to offer their services, whether the company called for an audition or not.

While they may have failed to land voice over jobs outside a specific niche, that’s perfectly fine with them. They’ll stick with a category in which know they excel and it’s easy to prove it again and again.

What a Growth Mindset Might Do

A person with a growth mindset may enter a career as a voice over artist with the same aim of success, but they’re likely to prepare with voice training, learning the necessary software skills, and taking a few marketing classes to help spread the word about their new adventure.

When the auditions they send out get no response, they may seek advice from voice over pros or additional training to improve weaknesses in their performance. While it may take some time to land a single gig, they’re learning a lot along the way.

The first audition they sent out is drastically different than the much-improved 36th audition they sent out, and their work keeps getting more refined and on target with consistent effort and hard work.

Over time, their career may be filled with ups and downs, but each down is a chance to look at how far they’ve come and where they want to go next with the development of their VO career. They learn new technology and techniques as the needs arise, keeping their skills aligned with current trends.

When they see others succeed in the same field, they get inspired and are eager to learn more about how the person is making it work. It reinforces that they, too, can enjoy success if they put in enough effort and work.

Mindset, of course, is just one of the factors playing a role in the outcome of a voice over career. Other factors are totally outside our control, and they can be working for or against an individual at any given time.

Someone with a fixed mindset may be more prone to giving up if they keep hitting a brick wall, then moving on to try something new. Someone with a growth mindset may keep pushing their limits to overcome the challenges that appear to block their path.

Tips for Cultivating a Growth Mindset

While the fixed or growth mindset can both lead to positive outcomes in different ways, the growth mindset can be an asset in certain situations to help increase the likelihood of success. Our mindsets are formed at an early age, but it’s never too late to change them.

Developing a growth mindset is possible for anyone, and a few tips from InformED may help:

Trade the word “failing” for the word “learning”: Everything is a learning experience, no matter how it turns out.
Admit, and even embrace, your imperfections: Acknowledging weaknesses can lead to overcoming them.
Focus on growth over speed, keeping in mind it can take some time to learn or master a new trait.
Focus on learning over approval: If your main goal is to get approval, you diminish your potential for growth.
Make a new goal every time you accomplish an existing one: Those with a growth mindset tend to constantly set goals to keep themselves active and growing.
Become friends with the word “yet”: Instead of simply saying you haven’t mastered something, tell yourself you just haven’t mastered it – yet.

Just like any other goal you set out to achieve, cultivating a growth mindset is going to take time, effort, and practice. Yet the small changes in thinking can result in larger changes in your attitudes and behaviors that notably improve your likelihood for success, whether it’s with a voice over career or any other path you choose.

Looking for success with your next voice over project? Contact Debbie today.

Can You Spot the 14 Voice-Over Mistakes Waiting to Happen?

April 15, 2017 by Debbie Grattan

Your script is written and ready to go. It’s short, straightforward, and simple. It doesn’t contain anything about complicated medical procedures, highly technical computer jargon, or words that have been translated from a different language. You’ve hired a professional voice-over talent to record it, and have about one hour to deliver the finished recording to your boss. No problem, right? Not so fast. There could be plenty of voice over mistakes brewing in even the simplest-looking scripts if the copy is not carefully reviewed to ensure the voice-over actor knows exactly what you want. And we’re not just talking about directions on tone, emphasis, and style. We’re talking about a host of issues within standard copy that could turn a quick VO project into a long and arduous ordeal.

To illustrate the point, I created a seemingly simple script of exactly four sentences – that’s actually not so simple at all. The script is packed with 14 potential mistakes just waiting to happen if the voice-over talent isn’t given a heads up on specific preferences the client desires.

Review This Sample VO Script – Do You See Any Problems Brewing?

Well, folks, we will be having our annual party to celebrate yet another successful completion of our animal/plant life data project! Invites will go out ASAP, and this year’s topic is the effects of caramel on animal/plant life. Neither appeared to mind the gooey substance. Researcher Sinead Linux looked at data from 1996 to 2016 and found a total of 592 different benefits caramel brings to plants/animals (i.e. it prompts growth).

Avoid These Potential Voice Over Mistakes

Mistake No. 1 – “We will”

While the copy uses “we will,” the copy also kicks off with a very casual opening. An experienced voice-over artist may be inclined to keep the casual vibe alive by changing “we will” to “we’ll” for a smoother, more conversational flow.

Avoid the issue: Use contractions if you want a friendlier, more casual copy. Don’t use contractions if you want a more formal tone. Make sure your choice, however, is consistent with the rest of the copy’s tone.

Mistake No. 2 – “Animal/plant life”

Voice-over artists have numerous ways to interpret slashes, and chances are high they’re not going to pick the exact way you want it unless you prep them in advance. This particular slashed phrase could be read as:

Animal and plant life
Animal or plant life
Animal and or plant life
Animal (pause) plant life

Avoid the issue: Skip slashes in VO copy, spelling out what you want said instead.

Mistake No. 3 – “Data”

Do you want data pronounced “DAY-tuh” or “DA-tuh?” The VO actor has a 50/50 chance of getting it right. (Make that fifty fifty! See mistake number 2)

Avoid the issue: Words that have multiple pronunciation options should include the preferred pronunciation within the copy.

Mistake No. 4 – “Use of bold or ALL CAPS”

You put the invitation information in bold as a reminder to yourself to put it on your to-do list. But the voice-over artist read the information with massive emphasis. That’s not what you wanted!

Avoid the issue: Only bold copy or use ALL CAPS if you want voice-over talent to put a big emphasis on the bolded words or phrases.

Mistake No. 5 – “ASAP”

You wanted the VO actor to say “as soon as possible,” but he said “AY-SAP” instead.

Avoid the issue: Indicate within the copy how all acronyms should be pronounced.

Mistake No. 6- “Caramel”

Who says “car-mel,” making the word two syllables? Your VO artist, that’s who – even though you wanted the three syllable pronunciation of “car-a-mel.”

Avoid the issue: Indicate your preferred pronunciation of words that may have regional or alternate pronunciations across the country.

Mistake No. 7 – “Neither”

“NEE-ther” or “NIGH-ther?” Go back four steps to Mistake No. 3. Also, check out the Cambridge Dictionary and listen to British English and American English recordings of how words should be pronounced.

Mistake No. 8 and 9 – “Sinead Linux”

Names can be incredibly tricky to pronounce, especially those that are less common than the straightforward John Doe.

Avoid the issue: Include the pronunciation of any name that’s not as straightforward as John Doe. In this case, your copy could have read: “Sinead (Shin ADE) Linux (LEE necks).”

Mistake No. 10 – “1995 to 2016”

Nineteen-ninety-five is pretty straightforward. Unless, of course, you wanted it pronounced nineteen hundred ninety-five. Or nineteen hundred and ninety-five. The year 2016 also has a handful of variants:

Twenty-sixteen
Two-oh-sixteen
Two thousand sixteen
Two thousand and sixteen

Avoid the issue: Spell out in letters how you want numbers pronounced. This is especially preferred with phone numbers in commercial copy. If you want 2414 to be pronounced twenty four fourteen, write it that way, or as 24-14.

Mistake No. 11 – “592”

Like 2016, the number 592 has at least two possible variations. Five hundred ninety-two vs. five hundred and ninety-two.

Avoid the issue: Same fix as mistake No. 10. Spell out in letters how you want numbers pronounced. And if there is a decimal point used with your number (i.e. module 12.1 or civil code 345.91) – let your reader know if you need them to say “dot,” or “point,” or something else.

Mistake No. 12 – “Plants/animals”

This one can make for a triple whammy. Not only does it contain the bothersome slash, but it reverses the order of plants and animals from how the words have appeared previously in the text. It also changes the previously used “plant life” to plain ole “plants.”

Good VO actors may notice these inconsistencies and switch it back, putting animals first and changing plants to “plant life.” Or they may not, thinking you may have wanted the words reversed and changed for some reason.

Avoid the issue: You already know to avoid slashes. Do the same with inconsistencies with a thorough proofread of your text. Don’t assume the VO talent reading your copy will understand what you mean, just because of it’s familiar usage to you.

Mistake No. 13 – “i.e.”

How should the VO talent pronounce this? Choices include:

Phonetically, as in “eye-eee”
In Latin, as in “id est” (pretty unusual, but you never know)
The English translation of the Latin, which is “that is to say”
The English translation of the Latin e.g., which is “for example” – which is also really what you meant

The Latin abbreviations i.e. and e.g. have two different meanings yet are commonly confused for one another. The former provides more information while the latter provides an example.

Avoid the issue: Clear out the confusion altogether by spelling out what you want said in the copy, omitting abbreviations whenever possible.

Mistake No. 14 – “Use of parentheses”

Parentheses are nearly as annoying as slashes. Do you want the information contained within them read aloud? Or are they just there for additional information?

Avoid the issue: Only use parenthesis in VO copy to indicate a direction, pronunciation or other information that’s not intended to be said aloud.

As you can clearly see, even a short script can turn into a lengthy project with tons of edits, revisions, and do-overs. Avoid the headache by reading all your scripts aloud, with the mindset of a VO artist who is seeing it for the very first time. Clear up anything that raises a question, and you’re likely to clear up the potential for mistakes.

Avoid Costly and Tedious Voice Over Mistakes and Do-Overs

Another way to avoid costly and tedious mistakes is to hire a voice-over pro who knows just the right questions to ask before the recording even begins. With more than 20 years in the industry, I am happy to answer questions or provide a quote for your upcoming project.

For more posts on similar topics, please check out:

“When You Need More Than Just a Voice-Over Actor”

“Voice-Over Narration: Do it Yourself or Pay for a Pro?”

“8 Tips for Directing Voice Over Talent – What You Can Do BEFORE the Session”

Voiceover Career Readiness – A Five Question Quiz

March 15, 2017 by Debbie Grattan

The world of voiceover may be drawing you in with its bright promise of exciting work, big bucks, and loads of fame to come. But like any other industry, voiceover career readiness has a slightly dimmer side that comes with the territory.

If you’re in the midst of making a decision to jump off into the pool of voice-over actors to determine if it’s right for you, you will want to answer these five questions to ensure you’re truly prepared to climb up on that diving board.

The first question deals with an overview of your intent, while the next four gauge your overall readiness to enter the industry by examining how prepared you are to deal with specific aspects of a voiceover career.

1. What is My Purpose for Having a Voiceover Career?

Yes, a voice-over career sounds cool. But that’s typically not a strong enough reason to dive into it with abandon. Here you’d be smart to dig deep to understand what you’re really looking to get out of your voice-over profession. Perhaps you want:

• A full-time career
• A little extra money
• A creative outlet
• A replacement for your existing job
• Fame and recognition
• Impress friends, family, and colleagues
• Achieve success
• Any combination of the above

If your reasons for entering the voice-over arena include achieving success, you’ll again want further clarification. What does success in voice-over mean to you? And how will you know when you’ve nabbed it?

The only way you’ll reach your ultimate goals in your voice-over career is to know what those goals actually are. If you have a solid idea of why you’re getting into VO, feel free to move on to the next question.

2. Am I Ready to Deal with Rejection?

Rejection is a huge part of any type of acting career, so we may as well put this question up near the top of the list. Once you start moving forward with auditions, you may find only one to two percent of the jobs you auditioned for end up becoming a paid booking – and that could be a high estimate!

It’s not uncommon for voice-over talents to send out audition after audition after audition and not see a single job for an entire year. Startling, but true.

The number of rejections you may receive depends on several factors both within and out of your control. Those within your control include your skill level and experience. Those outside of your control include your gender, the competition, (both in volume and expertise), and what the voice seeker specifically wants to hear. It’s a mixed and changing bag that can largely depend on the “mood of the day” of the person reviewing the auditions.

A good word of advice is to try to find someone to hire you at the level and locality where you already are. Instead of immediately pitting yourself against career voice-over talents who have already established themselves and understand the marketplace, look into local production companies, and/or local radio and TV commercial opportunities.

You can also scout out e-learning or narration gigs for companies that need that type of ongoing work, and may be willing to hire someone new at a slightly lower rate.

3. Am I Ready to Go with the Flow, Whatever That Flow May Be?

Going with the flow in the voice-over industry means being highly adaptable to whatever may come your way… And adaptability is a must on several levels.

Every day in your voiceover career is going to be a little different, so you need to be flexible enough to accommodate an ever-changing schedule. This can mean adjusting work hours to meet deadlines, and weekends to meet workloads.

It can also mean adapting your acting abilities to meet the jobs that come down the pike. Are your acting skills savvy enough to play a harried mom one minute and a doctor sharing important medical information the next?

Adapting your budget is another must in the voice-over business. Going with the flow in acting work often means being able to survive when there is no flow of work coming in. Lean periods are typically part of the deal, and it’s essential to have a backup plan so you can still pay the mortgage or buy your kids new shoes.

Even when you establish a good foothold with clients that bring you repetitive work, you need to be constantly auditioning and looking for new gigs, as you never know when that repetitive work may dry up. With more than 22 years in the industry, I’ve seen voice over clients come and go. In some cases, I’ve had accounts that used to pay tens of thousands per year dwindle down to nothing. Not because of anything I did wrong. Business models change. Markets change. Change is constant, in everything, so you have to adapt.

Going with the flow means ensuring the flow keeps coming. It’s always a good plan to consistently bring in new clients while maintaining the clients you already have. It’s also prudent to set up a nest egg in the form of a generous savings account, or other form of investing.

4. Am I Ready to Make Substantial Investments Without a Guarantee of Reward?

Speaking of generous savings accounts, investing in professional workshops, technology, and studio equipment is typically a MUST to get started. A soundproof booth is essential for high-quality results. If you don’t have your own home recording studio, you’ll need to find nearby accommodations. And you’ll also have to adjust your schedule (and perhaps your clients’ as well) to be available when the studio is.

Additional investments of time and effort are also required. Sending out auditions daily, creating professional voice over demos, and learning new skills are part of the deal. Acting skills are one category, but you’ll also need to learn about technology, business, marketing, and trends in all of the above.

The investment of time, effort, and money doesn’t stop once you’re established in the industry, either. There are always new technologies to learn, website updates to make, marketing materials to create, print or email, subscriptions and memberships to maintain, blogs to write, branding to strengthen, and bills to pay.

The adage says it takes money to make money, and this is definitely true in the voice-over industry. But it can also be a tricky adage to follow when there’s no money coming in at the onset of a fledgling voice-over career.

5. Am I Ready to Spend Loads of Time Working Alone?

Many voice-over folks I know end up talking to themselves – a lot. That’s because there’s seldom anyone else around during our workdays, spent in our soundproof booths. While you can certainly interact with clients through phone patches, or attend workshops and industry events that put you in contact with other voice-over actors, and the surrounding community of the VO industry, a good bulk of your time is going to be spent flying solo.

In most instances (unless you’re working with a recording studio that will take your audio and create the mix on their end) you alone are responsible for producing the entire recording, inclusive of creating the vocal sound, ( i.e. being your own director,) editing the final audio, and delivering the final results.

People who are used to being in an environment with a lot of social interaction may be in for a rude awakening when they realize how rarely many VO actors (especially those working from remote-location, home studios) actually connect with the outside world during a workweek. This particularly holds true if you’re not in a large metropolitan city that offers opportunities to record or audition live, or even interact with others, except via email and maybe a quick phone call. The learning curve for voiceover self-direction, not only in the booth but in general solopreneurship duties, is a steep one to navigate.

A Voiceover Career, Ready or Not?

If you’ve clearly outlined your purpose, your definition of success, and your readiness to deal with all the side effects that come with a voice over career, then congratulations! You may be primed to get up on that diving board and take the plunge.

If you remain hesitant about any of the issues, you may want to spend some more time pondering your next move. Strategizing for success can also help, with an honest review of your strengths and weaknesses so you can capitalize on the former and get help with the latter.

Being an entrepreneur with your own voice-over business can be exciting, fun, and terrifying all at once. But it also takes time, money, resources, knowledge – and a good amount of faith. You need to have faith in your abilities, the faith you made a well-informed decision, and faith you’ll be able to go with the flow, whatever that flow may be.

Debbie Grattan has been a working actor for most of her adult life, and a successful professional voice-over talent since the mid-1990s. Check our her many diverse voice-over demos and portfolio of hundreds of video samples to get to know Debbie’s sound.

For more posts on similar topics, please check out:

“How Professional Voice-Over Talents Get Off Track – The 3 Stages of Failure”

“Voice Over Talent Alone Won’t Pay the Bills”

“The Troublesome Plight of the Working Actor (and Voice Actor, Too)”

Does Your Voice-Over Talent Income Have a Self-Imposed Ceiling?

January 13, 2016 by Debbie Grattan

Whether you’re a seasoned professional in the VO world or brand-new to the game, a common denominator is that we’re in this business to get paid for doing something we’re good at and enjoy.

But how much do we really want to be paid?

Everyone has their own set of parameters and goals, depending on various factors. Many voice-over talents are content to make an extra few thousand dollars per year. On the other end of the spectrum, you have full-time voice talent who have built their livelihood around voice-over work, and their income goals are six figures and beyond.

Certainly, the constantly changing VO landscape caused by technology and the internet is having a huge impact on voice-over talent incomes across the board.

But do you realize that YOU may be your worst enemy in growing your income? Do you sometimes feel stuck in a rut that keeps your income well below what you perceive you should be making?

If so, then perhaps you’ve been subconsciously sabotaging your own ability to earn top dollar.

How’s that possible? It has a lot to do with whether or not you are fully aligned with your income goals.

Are You Aligned With Your Voice Over Goals?

One form of alignment refers to the agreement between your conscious and subconscious mind. And the subconscious mind is much more responsible for your day-to-day decisions and actions than most people realize.

Without proper alignment, you can end up struggling and spinning your wheels, even if you’re doing many of the “right” things in your business.

My husband worked for several years as a personal and business coach, so he’s been using this alignment concept for over a decade. His firsthand research and observation have demonstrated repeatedly that alignment is one of the pivotal components of what makes a person successful (or not) in ultimately achieving their goals.

Yes, many factors come into play in being a successful voice-over talent. Experience, talent, and ability, execution of good business and marketing practices are all very important.

However, alignment is also very important.

If I say, “I want to be a six-figure voice-over talent,” but my alignment is out of whack with that intention, then the odds of me reaching my goal in a sustainable way and in the quickest possible time frame are greatly diminished.

Consciously, I may be very clear and focused on what I want to accomplish. Subconsciously, however, I may have thoughts and emotions that directly conflict with the goals I’m trying to achieve. Those conflicts will undermine me as I go along my path, usually in very subtle ways. They will affect my thoughts, my state of being, and my willingness to take necessary actions.

The Over-Riding Rule of Alignment

There is an overriding rule regarding alignment: The subconscious mind always wins.

Although a person’s conscious mind can win out over the short-term (by getting results through focused and determined action), if alignment is not eventually achieved on the subconscious level, you’ll end up with a “rubberband effect.” Everything will eventually snap back to the previous level of results. It’s like “yo-yo” dieting, but instead of your weight, your life situation, relationships, or finances keep returning to a normal level.

Two steps forward, two steps back. Back to square one, over and over again. Remember the movie “Groundhog Day?”

The experience can be very frustrating, and this phenomenon is a common reason why some entrepreneurs give up on their dreams. Anyone who successfully makes it to higher and higher levels of success has found a way to keep re-aligning with those higher and higher levels of success.

They have learned how to climb the ladder rung by rung and align with each new level as they go up.

Your Thoughts, Beliefs, and Emotions Can Reveal Whether You Are in Alignment

On the mental level, here are some examples of common thoughts that get in the way of entrepreneurs who are trying to ramp up their businesses:

– I’m afraid of failure/success
– I don’t deserve to make a lot of money
– No one in my family has ever been this successful, so I can’t do it either
– Who will I be if I become this successful?
– What if I become this successful and then lose it?

Hundreds of other possibilities of thoughts and beliefs can get in the way. This short list only scratches the surface. You may be able to consciously push them away, but if they are still active and strong in your subconscious mind, they still have power over you and will influence what you think, speak and do.

One of the primary tasks my husband worked on with his coaching clients was to identify the specific thoughts each person was holding onto (attached to) blocking their progress. Then he would use techniques to help them neutralize the power of those thoughts or beliefs. This process would shift them into proper alignment with their goals and intentions.

Your Voice-Over Talent Income Ceiling Works Like a Thermostat Setting

One obstacle for all business owners trying to boost their business is their comfort level with how much money they will make.

Just like the thermostat in your home that controls how warm or cool you will allow the temperature to get, you have an internal thermostat that controls how much money you’re going to make daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.

There’s a way to determine that exact number, and my husband/coach took me through the process many years ago to make sure my setting was where I wanted it to be. We check in on it every once in a while to confirm that it’s still set at a very high level. Generally, you want the ceiling (thermostat setting) set way above the level of income you want to make so that it can’t interfere with hitting your target income.

If I have a goal to be a six-figure voice-over talent, but my income ceiling is set at $40,000 per year, then the odds of me making more than $40,000 in one year are very low. Even if I have a great year and do hit my six-figure goal if that ceiling doesn’t get adjusted, then it will be tough for me to sustain that income moving forward, and I will likely snap back to a lower level in the near future.

If your goal is to make $100,000 per year, then your ceiling should be set somewhere above that… $150,000 or $200,000 would be fine. Or, if you want room for something big to show up, push it out to a million! The ability to reset this financial thermostat can make a huge difference for anyone struggling to get to a higher income level. Being 100% in alignment with making a certain income level can remove much of the “headwind effect,” making it easier to move forward to reach your goal.

Most importantly, proper alignment helps to better ensure that you won’t be knocked back to previous results once you reach your new goals. There is no repetitive “rubberband effect” once the alignment is properly set and maintained. The new setting allows you to make that progress while locking it in as your new baseline, your new – and successful – “normal.”

Want to Learn More About This? Please Leave a Comment

If you’d like to learn more about how to align with your voice-over talent income goals and know where your income ceiling is, please leave your comments below. If there is a lot of interest in this, I’ll write a follow-up and share more info about the alignment process I use in my voice-over business.

Use Pressure to Help Propel Your Professional Voice Over Talent Career

September 15, 2015 by Debbie Grattan

I was chatting with my young teenage daughter this weekend about the pressures life brings. Even as a kid, there’s that pressure to get good grades, be accepted by your peers, make the team, win the game/race, get cast in the high school musical, and so on.

Pressure seems to start younger these days than it did for my generation. I don’t recall being so aware of the kind of pressure that most kids appear to feel in today’s world.

Competition and the ever-increasing abilities of young people to perform at higher and higher levels in every area are raising the bar all the time.

Pressure is here to stay. It is or is going to be a part of everyone’s life, so it’s essential to understand and develop a strategy to use pressure to one’s advantage.

It Seems We’re All Feeling a Lot More Pressure These Days

Being a professional voice over talent, business-owner, wife and mother of two children under the age of 14, I feel a nearly constant pressure to perform, in my professional and personal life, and to achieve real results on a daily basis.

That pressure (in varying degrees) has been there for as long as I can remember. Even before I had children, I felt pressure to reach my goals, earn a certain level of income, and be the type of person I wanted to be.

Pressure can be a good thing. Used effectively, it can help you achieve your results faster and more efficiently.

But, being under pressure doesn’t actually feel good most of the time. In fact, pressure probably stops many people from reaching their goals for the simple reason that it feels so uncomfortable. Attempting to reach any big goal is going to involve stepping into unfamiliar territory and putting yourself in situations that create a feeling of pressure. It’s pretty unavoidable.

Making Friends With Pressure = Easier Growth, Easier Life

I tried to explain to my daughter that pressure is a good thing as long as you make friends with it.

It can be your best friend in the way that you might have a workout partner who always “encourages” you to do three more push-ups when your body’s telling you that IT is pretty sure you’re DONE doing push-ups.

Without pressure, I think I could become very lazy and unproductive.

My husband eventually got in on this conversation with my daughter and said that he prefers to exist with what he calls “Goldilocks Pressure.”

Not too much – Too much pressure can feel overwhelming and debilitating
Not too little – Too little pressure can lead to feeling unmotivated and unproductive
Just right = A moderate amount of pressure usually leads to progress and productivity

Just moving about his day and getting things done with moderate external (or internal) pressure being applied is his most productive state. He chooses to frame pressure as more of a positive “pulling” energy which helps him reach completion of tasks, thereby causing a reduction of the pressure in the moment.

In the Short Term, Too Much Pressure Can Still Be Manageable

Lately, however, he’s been feeling a lot more pressure (as general manager of my voice over business) since we are in the midst of several business upgrades with website redesign, branding, demo production and re-tooling our marketing strategies. So, now he’s working harder and for longer hours, to “clear the decks” and get back to that Goldilocks level.

Instead of back-pedaling in a retreat mode away from the pressure, he’s responding with more action and more energy.

The danger here is that if this goes on for too long, it can become a source of burnout and exhaustion. But, for shorter time frames (weeks or in this case, even months), it can be manageable.

For me, I have learned to function well under some degree of pressure most of the time.

Maybe it’s from my live theater days, or from being in the fast paced world of LA auditions, where we actors are forced daily to get out of our comfort zones and at least try to be extraordinary. It’s an exciting and exhilarating form of pressure and it really helped me grow as an actor and as a business owner.

Even though I’m not auditioning for on-camera work in LA anymore (I moved away several years ago), I continue to use what I learned from that experience in my voiceover business. Finding and maintaining that “Goldilocks” fit is my new gold standard, as each week I’m juggling a dozen different clients and projects, managing deadlines, answering urgent requests, actively participating in social media, and checking off projects as I send them out.

What is your relationship to pressure like? Do you feel a lot more pressure in your life and business now than ever before? How do you use it to your advantage? Has pressure increased or decreased for you in recent years? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences!

An Artist’s Simple Formula for Success and Balance

August 31, 2015 by Debbie Grattan

I’m always fascinated by artists… Of all kinds. This weekend, I was a spectator at Art Beat, a showcase of local artists in my community here in the Midwest.

Represented on several blocks of downtown real estate on a rainy Saturday was everything from dance, music and theatre, to culinary arts, painting, ceramics, sculpture and creative writing. My daughter even got in on the act, with her musical and writing talents being showcased at a couple of the booths.

Artists Face a Unique Set of Challenges on the Road to Success

An artist is a rare breed. A successful artist, rarer still. While we all have our individual talents, there are only a few who are able to rise up and gain recognition in a world where it keeps getting harder and harder to be noticed and have a sustainable career “doing” your art.

What allows an artist to actually make their livelihood practicing their craft? It’s a combination of a lot of things. But, on top of all the things you have to do, it is very important to keep a balance between the creative process and the all-important selling process of your artistic products and/or services.

Watching this short segment on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend, I thought about how the successful professional musician profiled here distilled a great three-point strategy for maintaining a balance between the creativity in his craft and the marketing of his art.

Musician and composer, Chad Lawson shares how he spends most of his time going back and forth between two keyboards:

– His piano keyboard; to create, “meditate and to worship,” and,
– His computer keyboard for marketing, promoting, and making contacts that will lead to gigs and greater awareness of his music.

And, to top it off, he goes for a run each day, to “sweat everything out, almost like a mental shower!”

He breaks it down to this simple formula:

Do your art, market your art, and re-charge for your mind/body/spirit on a daily basis.

Obviously, it’s easy to outline these three key points, and a completely different thing to understand and develop an actual strategy that puts them into action in your own life.

What he doesn’t say in his words, but demonstrates in his success, is that he’s used discipline in his life to achieve his goals. Knowing what to do is one thing. Taking what you know, and making a plan of action, and then following through on that plan, daily, for YEARS, is what creates success.

As veteran voiceover professionals, we get asked frequently by industry newcomers, “how do I do it?” I say: Watch this 4 minute explanation by Chad Lawson, and apply these concepts to your voiceover business goals.

There is no magic bullet. There’s no fast track to long-term success, although sometimes it can look like there is for a lucky few. It’s just learning your craft, practicing your craft, finding the market for your craft, and maintaining a balance (emotionally, physically and spiritually) as you do what is necessary.

Once you find that perfect balance, then it’s a matter of doing it day after day after day after day. Wash…Rinse…Repeat!

VERSATILE

EXPERIENCED

PROFESSIONAL