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Voice Coaches Radio #443 – The only thing we have to fear…

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And welcome into this week's edition of Voice Coach's Radio. I am Josh Heller. Delighted to have you joining me as we are each and every week. Thanks so much for tuning us in. I think it was a couple weeks ago. Uh, that we, uh, we heard in an interview from back in, uh, what, 2015, 2016, about, uh, you know, what to do when you are, when you're sick, when you're under the weather.

And it is only apropos because I am sick. I am under the weather. Uh, last week, my son got sick and, um... Well, you know, we're, you know, a family that, uh, that, that shares, that, uh, you know, he lovingly gave that to me. So now I am dealing with the always dreaded, the, the worst condition known to man, the man cold.

I have a full blown man cold, and it is, uh, it's tough, it's tough, but you know what? Do you know what? I'm sucking it up. I'm sucking it up. I'm making it work. Alright? For you. For you, the listener. For you. Because I love. Because I love. No. Um, so, uh, With that in mind, I will, uh, I will muddle through this the best I can.

But, uh, we're gonna continue our look back at, uh, The past 10 years plus to 12 years now. I think that uh, That voice coaches radio has been around we've been doing that a little bit recently kind of going back into the archives and Digging up some of the the best features the best segments the best interviews We're gonna continue with that today as we're gonna go back into into 2016 where it was Warren Garling and Tom Robinson and they were discussing fear I feel like with this the voice I have now it's a little bit deeper.

I feel like I can say that Better fear. Fear. Nah. Not that great. Anywho. Uh, talking about fear. Specifically, fear in getting yourself out there. Fear in, you know, uh, marketing yourself. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. And also the fear that comes along with actually getting into the booth and, and, and doing the work.

And these are, these are legitimate fears. These are legitimate things that, uh, that we need to deal with. Um, and, and, you know. Fear is, is fine, it's, it's natural, it happens, but it's when it becomes paralytic, right, when it, when it, when it forces you to, to stop, that's when it becomes a problem. And, and I think that happens a lot, and there's a quote that, uh, you know, that I like to, to tell my students, who are going out, who just finished their demo, who are going out, because there are so many people who, who get their demo and, and don't really pursue anything.

Right? They, they, they have it, they're ready to go, and yet, you know, they don't really pursue it. And, and I found this quote that I thought was just perfect for that situation. It's, The fear of failure will sometimes have you masking procrastination as planning. Right? The fear of failure will sometimes have you masking procrastination as planning.

We've all been there. Myself included, right? Myself included where you're like, okay, yeah, no, I'm going to, I'm going to start marketing myself, but before that, before that, I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row, right? I want to make sure everything's prepared and ready to go. And then once it is, well, then I'm definitely going to do it.

But that, uh, that getting all your ducks in a row, that waiting for the perfect time, that's never going to happen. It's never going to happen. You're never going to be fully prepared. You never can be. That's okay. I remember when, um, when my wife was, my wife was pregnant, uh, with our, with our son, you know, people ask like, are you ready?

Yeah. No, of course not. You're never going to be ready. And we weren't. And we still aren't. That's for sure. And nobody is. You can't be. You're not ready for something like that. If you wait until you are ready, you'll be waiting forever. And that's just the case here as well. You have to just, you have to just do it.

You have to close your eyes, suck it up, and just do it. And, uh, and I think this, uh, they do a nice job of kind of illustrating that point. So let's take a listen in. Uh, this again from back in 2016, Voice Coaches Radio with Warren Garling and Tom Robinson talking about Fear. Take a listen.

You haven't talked in a while about fear.

And I don't mean the Halloween type of fear, but the fear of getting out there and marketing yourself and even the fear we sometimes have when we first get behind the microphone.

We all understand that starting on a new venture is going to be daunting. Sometimes think of the excuses you found over the years for not seeking out more information about voice acting and looking into training seems silly now, doesn't it?

So now that you have that training, don't let fear Stand in your way of pursuing work.

Right. Tom and I can tell you that the fear of rejection is something you can get past. When you're seeking work, marketing yourself, sending emails, making cold calls, remember that no one's going to treat you any less professional than you treat them.

Asking for politely for an opportunity is not going to be met with, No, and don't call me again. And they're going to hang up on you. Now you may hear the same thing from folks over and over again, that they have nothing for you right now, but remember the old adage, no means not today.

Keep, keep that in mind for sure.

Now the worst that can happen is that they'll ask you to keep in touch. Right. Right. Or, or tell you that. They've got you on the short list, or they'll keep you in mind for future projects, all these kinds of things. We hear this on a regular basis. You got it. It's okay. Yep. As long as you're not calling them weekly or daily or monthly or even monthly, you could eventually get work from a prospect.

By just calling at the right time, timing in life is everything. Got it. We've all got examples of being in the right place at the right time. It's all part of the business of marketing. So don't stop. Keep trying. At the very least, you'll gain more experience and confidence. That's a big, the big word there, the big C word. as you build your business,

I, I remember when I first came here to Voice Coaches as director of marketing about 10 years ago now, believe that or not. 10 years. Yeah, exactly. Um, my first few phone calls to newspaper editors to try to get them interested in doing a story about us were absolutely nerve wracking.

Yeah. You know, I, I mean, I'd been in marketing a while, but I rarely had never, uh, I hadn't done a lot. That, you know? Mm-hmm. just calling cold, calling up editors and such. So I wasn't sure what to say, what to expect and reply, but just the sheer repetition of that phone call and many fup follow up phone calls, obviously, yeah. To these people on a regular basis. It made each one easier and of course, Eventual success also helped. We've been in a lot more than 225, uh, magazines and newspapers in the last 10 years here across the country. Success will follow, but you have to have persistence.

That's a, that's a really, really important point.

Again, as a voice actor, remember that you've already taken the first big step. You've got the training you need. Okay. Rely on that to get you started in marketing yourself. Now, so now you're faced with another challenge. You got the gig. Yeah. Oh, boy. Now what? Well, they're expecting you at the studio Wednesday afternoon at four and your knees are knocking together.

Do people's knees really still knock together? I mean, I guess if you're really nervous, they can.

I think it's probably more effective if you wear corduroy. Anyway, welcome to the club. We all get this way sometimes. You've probably done what most humans do. You started thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

Uh, Worrywart. Uh, so first, remember what just went right. You were chosen for your talent over a bunch of other professionals.

Yeah, that's right. You got the gig. So the really hard part is over when you really think about it. Once you get behind the microphone, they're not going to kick you out. You have to have as much confidence in yourself as the client does.

You're going to be nervous. It happens to even the most experienced voice actors occasionally. Happens to me. So I do what I've been doing for years to diffuse a difficult situation. I try to establish a nice lighter mood. I kid around a little bit. Some light conversation. Get to know the folks a little bit that you're working with.

And believe me, your producer is going to be doing the same thing.

Here's something I've tried. Groveling. Groveling. Works. They're just as human as you are, okay? That's true. Uh, but they know the job they have to do, and one of them is to make you comfortable in front of the microphone. Yeah. Warren and I have worked for some great producers over time, and the common denominator for those producers is producer's attitude and work ethic.

Yeah. All right? Uh, they know they'll get a better performance from their talent by making you feel at ease Thanks. and help you put aside your nervousness as soon as they can. They even invented a way to make sure that happens. It's called take two, take three, four, uh, fifty seven.

I tell my students all the time that I'm very good friends with take seven and eight because I visit them all the time.

Uh, but you know, voice acting is almost as good as being a TV meteorologist. You can make a mistake like I just did on Meteorologist and you can still come back and work. the next day. It's the same with voice acting. You're not expected to be perfect. We're going to have multiple takes while we're working, but you'll find that the more comfortable you get within the project, the fewer mistakes you'll make.

And believe me, they're not going to send you home and start looking for new talent because you've made a few mistakes. call upon your training, relax, breathe. Sometimes you have to take a step away from the microphone for a moment or two, refocus, do whatever you have to do to get back on track and stay in there.

And one of the things that I think is important to mention here too, is that no one is going to be looking at you. Yeah. So if you're shy and you're worried about somebody watching it, we don't do that.

Yeah. Here at our studios, we've actually set it up. So we've kind of got our backs to you or we're kind of, you're to the side of us.

I have worked in studios where, you know, they're looking, they could look right in directly at you. Can, maybe. Most of the time, they're paying attention to what you're saying. They're following the script in front of them. They're watching the, uh, the volumes and, you know, all that stuff, so.

Right, and, and one of the big mistakes that many inexperienced voice actors do make is losing concentration.

So, so just focus. Sometimes it's because you're getting ahead of yourself. You're thinking to yourself internally. If I mess this up, I, I won't get invited back again, uh, and please try to avoid that mindset. It's the same as the baseball player that worries about winning this series instead of winning the game.

Right. Or even making the next play. Yeah, right. You know, so focus on the ball, concentrate on the task at hand and don't get ahead of yourself. Now at

the same time, and I know this is going to sound a little counter to what Tom just said, but at the same time, you want to picture yourself behind that microphone again in the future.

Okay, another sports analogy, the basketball player that sees the ball swishing through the net every time he or she shoots at the hoop. If you're concentrating on the task at hand, you can also smile as you do your job, imagining yourself here again and again and again. Have confidence in thinking that what got you here in the first place is going to bring you back.

It's your talent. Your talent. Yes.

You are the talent, by the way. Keep that in mind. You are. No one can take that away from you. Oh, you are the talent. You got it. Remember, everyone has to start somewhere, everyone has to experience the opening night jitters and get past those to become the performer that you are.

Producers have seen it before and they'll see it again, but if you channel that nervous energy into a good performance, you'll be on your way.

Yeah, so there you go a little, a little bit with, uh, with Garling back from 2016, talking about, talking about fear, talking about dealing with that fear, that, that's going to be there.

It's, it's going to be there for, you know, whenever we do something, we, we, we, we always, you know, fear what the unknown, we always fear, you know, the, the, the new and, uh, you know, most of the people who come into, to voice coaches, most of the people who come into those classes, there, there is a, there's fear, right?

Nervousness, whatever you want to call it is fear. You're, you're getting out of your comfort zone a little bit and that's okay. And that fear is okay. It really is, but you gotta channel it, you gotta use it, and most of all, you cannot let it affect you negatively. If you can do that, that's okay. You can, you can live with that fear.

That's, that's fine. You will get past it, I promise you. You know, I, I, remember... Soon after I got my, my most recent demo, uh, there was someone that, uh, I used to work out with and he had just opened up his own law firm and I had just started up and, and, uh, and, you know, and I, and I talked to him and I gave him my card and told him, you know, what I do and, and whatnot and, um, You know, we ended up chatting a little bit and look, I don't know if that's ever going to turn into anything.

He doesn't have any need for that right now. It's just a small one person startup as a law firm. But, you know, it's funny. We started commiserating about the fact that, you know, this is what we have to do. Both of us. He's like, I, I think he's like, I, I, I totally get it. He's like, I know what you're doing.

You're trying to get your name out there. He's like, I'm trying to do the same thing. He ended up giving me his business card, right? If I ever need his services. So, I mean, we ended up having just kind of a, a nice little, you know, conversation about how much we don't like doing this. And it was a very pleasant conversation.

We both walked away better for it. It's never as bad as you think it's going to be. It's never as bad as it is in your head, but you gotta get past that. You gotta burst through that. And when you do, when you start to realize that and you start to see it, it makes it a lot easier. And the next time is easier than that and easier than that.

And it goes on until it's, it's, it's not a thing, right? Until that fear isn't there anymore. So again, you just have to kind of push through that. So I hope you enjoyed listening to that. And, uh, and certainly some, some good words of wisdom, uh, from both Tom and Warren from back in 2016, talking about the fear.

So, uh, thanks so much for tuning us in this week. Sorry that, uh, My voice quality is not quite at 100% right now, but uh, thanks for putting up with me this week. Hopefully next week, uh, I'll be much better off for it, but uh, wishing a very happy and healthy holidays to everyone. Uh, Christmas and Hanukkah coming up this week, so uh, again, a very happy, healthy holidays to you all who are celebrating.

And, um, you know, we forward to chatting with you again next week, having you join us as always. As you guys know, you can, uh, you can always reach out to me. You can reach out to us, uh, here at voice coaches radio. If there's anything you want to discuss questions, comments, concerns that you might have best way to do that is via email at [email protected] [email protected]. That comes right to me. And I am more than happy to get back to you on that. If there are any topics you want to discuss any issues you want us to go over. Guests you think you'd like us to have, please do let us know because as we say, it's not just my show, it's your show too.

Alright, so definitely do reach out. But again, a very happy, healthy holidays. We will of course talk with you next week. The Last Voice Coaches Radio of 2019, the Last Voice Coaches Radio of the decade. My goodness. We'll have a little retrospective, but again, thanks for tuning in again, and until next time, so long one, visit voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.

Voice Coaches team members Tom and Warren discuss techniques for dealing with fear as a voice actor and recording industry professional.