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 copywriters 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.
To read more, please click on this link to Randye’s article published on Voice Over Xtra.
For Lifelong Clients, Apply Lifelong
Learning … About VO & Everything!
By Randye Kaye
Voice Actor and Coach
Okay, so youâve 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 itâs 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? Letâs face it, you are reading copy – and the more you understand, the more your listener will understand.
Sometimes you may clarify the copywriterâs intent by catching grammar inconsistencies. Likewise, the better your vocabulary, the fewer stumbling blocks youâll have to understanding what youâre saying and thereby communicating it (and saying it correctly).
How? When you read, look up the words you donât 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 (doesnât 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 âlongâ pronunciation â like the âaâ in BAY; a curved line is the âshortâ version, like the âaâ in BAT) work for you.
