For Lifelong Clients, Apply Lifelong
Learning … About VO & Everything!

By Randye Kaye
Voice Actor and Coach

Okay, so you’ve already graduated from high school, college, whatever.

But education is a lifelong pursuit, and in the field of voice-over, everything you learn comes in handy.

And it’s not just about the specific basics your VO training has drummed into you: acting, diction, body language, pitch, tone, volume and tempo, etc.

Since over 90% of VO work is in the field of narrations, and since we all want our clients to hire us again, here are 10 things I have found helpful in my 20 years as a VO talent – with many valued clients who have continued to use my voice for new projects.

1. BASIC ENGLISH SKILLS

What? Grammar / Vocabulary / Reading Comprehension.

Why? Let’s face it, you are reading copy – and the more you understand, the more your listener will understand.

Sometimes you may clarify the copywriter’s intent by catching grammar inconsistencies. Likewise, the better your vocabulary, the fewer stumbling blocks you’ll have to understanding what you’re saying and thereby communicating it (and saying it correctly).

How? When you read, look up the words you don’t know. Help a 5th grader with homework.

Practice reading out loud (fiction, non-fiction), and then look away from the page and see if you understand what you just read.

2. PHONETICS

What? The science or study of speech, the symbols that represent the sounds.

Why? Helpful for marking correct pronunciations (medical terms, foreign words) in the margins of your copy (doesn’t have to be standard linguistic symbols, just something you will understand!).

How? Study a dictionary, and see which symbols (e.g. a line over a vowel represents the “long” pronunciation – like the “a” in BAY; a curved line is the “short” version, like the “a” in BAT) work for you.

3. FOREIGN LANGUAGES

What? Anything that is not your native language!

Why? You’d be amazed how many phrases pop up that have their origins in other languages – plus, you get used to creating sounds that don’t occur in your native language. This has come in very handy for me when narrating audiobooks, or scripts about classical music.

How? Continuing Education classes, courses on CD or online.

that’s three! read more at http://bit.ly/Randye