VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #597 – Auditioning Reminders
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches radio. As we are maneuvering ourselves already about halfway through August. You know, there's a lot of kids that have gone back to school or preparing. And I was thinking about this recently because I've been talking about it a lot.
for radio stuff and, you know, I've been thinking about, you know, that first semester in college and I very much remember, you know, driving myself in that, that first hunk of a car. Uh, I had a 96 Dodge Intrepid. Man, that thing was a... It was like a boat. It was so big, and it was kind of sporty, but I hated it.
Like, it was just, just dirty. No matter what I did to it, because it was used, obviously, uh, I was just like, ugh, this thing's gross. Uh, but I tried to like it at first. And then, every time I turned around, the rotors were busted on it, which just meant new tires. And, uh, you know, as a, I don't know, 19 year old, 18 year old, I was like this.
It's a lot of money and I only work at Burger King. This really, really sucks, uh, but I remember like blasting J Lo on the way to, uh, to softball practice. Got that bass going cause, you know, I was 19, uh, but, or, or just like, you know, being a little kid and going through. The stationary aisle, the back to school aisle and pick it out folders.
You know, kids now, uh, they don't, they don't get the cool stuff like we did. You know, I remember being like, even in high school and having it in sync on my folder. Uh, you know, but now it's like they, they either get a cat, a dog, or it's got to be plain. Uh, and I, I realize a lot of them too, they have to be plain.
And I think like, we're just, we're ruining, we're ruining that for our kids. Um, you know, the lunch boxes need Toy Story and, and the folders need. Whatever band is popular right now. I don't know. Is Justin Bieber still for the kids? Probably not. It's fine. Um, but, uh, I hope that this is finding you well, that you've enjoyed your summer.
Maybe you still have some stuff planned. I really hope that is the case because there is still summer to be lived. But, uh, let's get into some voiceover, shall we? I don't know where you are in your process when it goes to your career. Maybe you're somebody that's Established, if that's the case. Um, try not to poke me apart too much, uh, because, you know, uh, that I just, I, I feel like may, hey, sometimes maybe somebody knows more than I do.
That is a thing, you know, uh, . Uh, but if you're just kind of getting into the swing of things, hopefully you could find some helpful tidbits here within these podcast episodes. That's what I'm trying to do. Um, do doing my, my, my best over here. Um, you know, I've been doing some auditioning lately. I've had some additional time.
And that's really just because one of the stations that I had, uh, that was taking up a lot of, it was seven days a week, it was taking up a lot of my time, um, it, it went bye bye, it was sold, so I, I had to say goodbye to, uh, New Country 93 1 in Detroit, oh god, I love that station so much, um, it, it was just programmed super well, the staff was amazing, like, everybody sounded proud of it.
Fun and and like you knew them, um, you know, and and this is like and like we all knew each other and honestly I had only met the girl in the morning show once and like I knew my friend Kevin He was doing stuff for afternoons, but he was in Atlanta I was here in Albany and you had the morning show right there in Detroit, but we also Sounded like a family which was great and that's exactly what a radio station is supposed to sound like Um, so it was just really disappointing to to watch the company sell that but here we are nonetheless Um, so it's giving me a little extra time and I decided you know What let's try to go for some of the longer form reads stuff just because I, I, I don't have a lot of that on my resume.
I have fun doing it. Um, it can be a little bit of a challenge for me just because I'm slightly dyslexic and even all these years in it, it still can be a little bit of a mind twist. I went and I found some stuff to audition for, and I was like, let's just go and run for it. So I I've done a handful, right.
And I've, I've heard the no's like we all do. That is just what happens. Um, but. The first thing that I wanted to figure out for myself was What kind of work do I want to get out there and try to do? Like, what do I think is, is like the low hanging fruit, if you will? You know, cause that's kind of what I wanted to just like kind of jump into and, and something that was going to be rather.
Easy, we'll say, for me to go ahead and accomplish and, and to potentially get a little bit easier than something else. So, I figured straightforward information is, is a good way to, to go about things because I know that I'm rather engaging. Hi, that's why I'm on the podcast. I don't know if you realize that.
Uh, but, you know, it's It's, it's the animated side of me. I'm a little bit more, um, well, I'm a little bit more, uh, you know, so it's like, I, I can grab somebody's attention a little bit easier because of the way that I speak and because of the way that my pitch play is and, and those kinds of things. I'm energetic.
Um, so I was like, let's go for the straightforward information. And from there it was like, all right, well, what kind of straightforward information do I want? to talk about. I mean, it needs to be, I think, something relatable to me, you know, something that I can You know, kind of at least understand and have potentially a passion for, because if that's the case, then guess what?
I'm going to be connected to it and I'm going to bring it to life better. Right? So what did I do? I, I will be honest. I picked, well, the first one was like affirmations for women. And I was like, cool. Like. I'm a woman. This makes sense. Um, I didn't get that one, but I, I felt like the audition was pretty solid.
Um, another one was, oh, you're going to totally buy this one, right? How to, like, It was like life hacks for like adults with ADHD. I'm like, yeah, cool. I got that. All right, let's go You know what? It's funny just like sidebar here What I've realized like some people with 80 ADHD like they can't function in life It's the highly organized side of things.
That's me. And for life, I was always like the one that was buttoned up and like I could do a million things at once. And people were like, man, you're a fantastic multitasker. I'm like, yeah, it's a skill. Turns out, not really a skill. skill, just like something that requires medication. Uh, but that's besides the point.
Um, you know, but it's still, it's been, it's been helpful for my career. Uh, just, um, you know, now I know why. Uh, but yeah, I don't think I got that one actually, which, which actually, um, was, was, it hurt a little bit. Cause I'm like, but, but I, I have it. Um, but you know, the other one that I did that I have not heard anything about yet, and I'm just like, kind of keeping my fingers crossed because this was the one that I chose where I was like, you know what?
Kind of just want to see how this works out. I just want to have fun with this. It was actually a kid's piece and, you know, again, I'm high energy, right? So I'm like, let's go ahead. Let's do this. Let's just see. Because I help people understand how to bring these pieces to life on a regular basis. So I was like, let's, let's get into it and let's just see how I can do with this.
And it was a book about. Like how to be good with money as as a kid and there's different voices in it You know, there's the narrator but then there's the little kid and then there's the piggy bank and they give you a little idea Kind of as you're reading the story as to what the piggy bank sounds like it's a little squeaky and whatever and so yeah I did it I have no idea what's gonna come from it, but I, like, listened back to it, and I was like, Ooh, I'm, like, kind of surprised myself.
Isn't that fun when you do that? Like, you surprise yourself in the audition that you've done. Um, but, you know, these are just a couple of the ideas of what I, how I went about trying to find the work. Like, I know I'm good with money, and I like trying to help people in that way. So I was like, boom, this is perfect.
Let's try this one out. Now, It obviously is good to have a focus and narrow things down, but the other important key factor here is treat these auditions like they are the job itself, right? I know it can be very easy to be like, I just got to get it done. I got to get it done. I got to get it in so I can get hired.
Let's face it. If you do a, we'll say, half ass audition, what's going to happen? Nothing. You're not gonna get that gig. You know, so you want to make sure you're putting the same care into each and every audition that you would if you had the job. And I know that, that, that sounds like a duh moment right there.
You're like, Marissa, of course I'm gonna put the care in. Are you though? Are you? Like, I, I have had that habit where I'm like, I want to get ten auditions done today and I only have, you know, X amount of time. How do I make that done? Like, get that done? How do I get that accomplished? Well, it's going fast, right?
It's trying to get things done and then get it sent in. Uh, but when you have that mindset, what happens? You let things slip. Don't let things slip. Treat that audition. Like it is the job, so you can get that job. Now here's the other thing. Uh, I don't know if, like, maybe there is a special way that somebody wants you to go and label things.
But I'll tell you how I label things. And I, I think I'm doing it right. I would like to believe so. I'm making sure that the audition piece is mentioned. I'm making sure that my name is there. Sometimes. I put my phone number in it as well. So that way if they've lost my email, but they have my file, they know how to contact me.
And sometimes I'll put the date on there just so they know it's fresh. Um, but you know, it's, it's little things that allow you to, to stand out. You know, amongst the crowd, potentially, you know, it's, it's having things, it's the organization that is important, you know, and, and making sure that they know how to get back in contact with you.
That is also very important, you know, if it's. Something that you're auditioning through ACX, it might not be as big of an issue because I think that they can go right back to that page and boom, they can find you with some ease. But, you know, if you're auditioning for something completely different and you're just sending something in to some random company, that email could easily get lost.
But boom, they've got your phone number, they know how to reach out. You know, they want to hire you, they can. Um, so that is just a little idea. And then I just want you to always remember. Set your expectation level. Alright, you know, I, I've said this before, whether on the podcast or if you've had me in a demo or in a class, like, you know, the word audition scares people at first because they don't realize that they've already Done an audition process, you know, if you've interviewed for a job you have auditioned.
It's just a different thing It's a different way, you know, you're handing in a resume and you're answering some questions But here for for this, you know when you audition it's your voice, you know It's it's your skill that is selling you Um, and, and that's the only difference. It's just a matter of perspective.
I think what I want you to understand is the expectations need to be not low, but. understood because here's the thing, you know, you can audition for a hundred things in a week. If you've got the time and the ability and the capabilities and whatever, you're not going to get all those things. You know, you're not going on a hundred job interviews in a week, but you can audition for a hundred things here.
You're not going to get every single one of them. In fact, you may not get any of them. You may get one or two, but You want to set your expectation level to understand, like, listen, I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I love doing this. And with the hopes that, sure, maybe one or two of these will stick.
But I also need to understand I'm going to hear the word no quite a bit. And I can't let it knock me down. Instead, I need to take something away from each one of these things that I'm doing. The fun of it. You know, the, the fact that I love this, take that away from it. Maybe, maybe you're like me and like, you listen back to something.
You're like, holy crap. I can't believe I sound like that. That sounds so good. You know. Be impressed with yourself. That's okay. Yeah, like that's a good thing. That means you're growing, you know Also, like make sure that you're able to take some education away from each thing, you know Maybe it's a piece of you know, copy that you've never like tried to do before, you know a genre of audiobook or a style of work, you know, like Take education away from that.
What did I do well? What could I have done better? What do I need to work on? You know, everything is a learning process. If you allow it to be, it doesn't have to be, man, I didn't get that job. I hate myself. Uh, you know, we are very hard on ourselves. It can be a, okay, I didn't get that job, but what can I take away from this?
That's going to allow me to be better for the next audition or the next gig. So. It's good to have your expectation level set, but, uh, this is, I just figured, you know, I've been doing some auditioning. Let's talk about it a little bit, you know, because it is, uh, it's a tricky little world that we navigate sometimes.
Um, and, and a lot of the time, you know, I've built so many relationships. I don't have to go through the audition process. So it is always fun for me to, to look and see what's out there and be like, Hey, what? What do I want to do? I don't even know. Uh, but the world is our oyster, so we might as well go ahead and, I don't know, have a good seafood dinner.
Uh, but listen, if you've got something you want us to discuss, info at voicecoaches. com. Please feel free to reach out, and we'll have a brand new episode coming at you next week. Enjoy the remainder of your August, and I'll talk to you soon. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news.
for radio stuff and, you know, I've been thinking about, you know, that first semester in college and I very much remember, you know, driving myself in that, that first hunk of a car. Uh, I had a 96 Dodge Intrepid. Man, that thing was a... It was like a boat. It was so big, and it was kind of sporty, but I hated it.
Like, it was just, just dirty. No matter what I did to it, because it was used, obviously, uh, I was just like, ugh, this thing's gross. Uh, but I tried to like it at first. And then, every time I turned around, the rotors were busted on it, which just meant new tires. And, uh, you know, as a, I don't know, 19 year old, 18 year old, I was like this.
It's a lot of money and I only work at Burger King. This really, really sucks, uh, but I remember like blasting J Lo on the way to, uh, to softball practice. Got that bass going cause, you know, I was 19, uh, but, or, or just like, you know, being a little kid and going through. The stationary aisle, the back to school aisle and pick it out folders.
You know, kids now, uh, they don't, they don't get the cool stuff like we did. You know, I remember being like, even in high school and having it in sync on my folder. Uh, you know, but now it's like they, they either get a cat, a dog, or it's got to be plain. Uh, and I, I realize a lot of them too, they have to be plain.
And I think like, we're just, we're ruining, we're ruining that for our kids. Um, you know, the lunch boxes need Toy Story and, and the folders need. Whatever band is popular right now. I don't know. Is Justin Bieber still for the kids? Probably not. It's fine. Um, but, uh, I hope that this is finding you well, that you've enjoyed your summer.
Maybe you still have some stuff planned. I really hope that is the case because there is still summer to be lived. But, uh, let's get into some voiceover, shall we? I don't know where you are in your process when it goes to your career. Maybe you're somebody that's Established, if that's the case. Um, try not to poke me apart too much, uh, because, you know, uh, that I just, I, I feel like may, hey, sometimes maybe somebody knows more than I do.
That is a thing, you know, uh, . Uh, but if you're just kind of getting into the swing of things, hopefully you could find some helpful tidbits here within these podcast episodes. That's what I'm trying to do. Um, do doing my, my, my best over here. Um, you know, I've been doing some auditioning lately. I've had some additional time.
And that's really just because one of the stations that I had, uh, that was taking up a lot of, it was seven days a week, it was taking up a lot of my time, um, it, it went bye bye, it was sold, so I, I had to say goodbye to, uh, New Country 93 1 in Detroit, oh god, I love that station so much, um, it, it was just programmed super well, the staff was amazing, like, everybody sounded proud of it.
Fun and and like you knew them, um, you know, and and this is like and like we all knew each other and honestly I had only met the girl in the morning show once and like I knew my friend Kevin He was doing stuff for afternoons, but he was in Atlanta I was here in Albany and you had the morning show right there in Detroit, but we also Sounded like a family which was great and that's exactly what a radio station is supposed to sound like Um, so it was just really disappointing to to watch the company sell that but here we are nonetheless Um, so it's giving me a little extra time and I decided you know What let's try to go for some of the longer form reads stuff just because I, I, I don't have a lot of that on my resume.
I have fun doing it. Um, it can be a little bit of a challenge for me just because I'm slightly dyslexic and even all these years in it, it still can be a little bit of a mind twist. I went and I found some stuff to audition for, and I was like, let's just go and run for it. So I I've done a handful, right.
And I've, I've heard the no's like we all do. That is just what happens. Um, but. The first thing that I wanted to figure out for myself was What kind of work do I want to get out there and try to do? Like, what do I think is, is like the low hanging fruit, if you will? You know, cause that's kind of what I wanted to just like kind of jump into and, and something that was going to be rather.
Easy, we'll say, for me to go ahead and accomplish and, and to potentially get a little bit easier than something else. So, I figured straightforward information is, is a good way to, to go about things because I know that I'm rather engaging. Hi, that's why I'm on the podcast. I don't know if you realize that.
Uh, but, you know, it's It's, it's the animated side of me. I'm a little bit more, um, well, I'm a little bit more, uh, you know, so it's like, I, I can grab somebody's attention a little bit easier because of the way that I speak and because of the way that my pitch play is and, and those kinds of things. I'm energetic.
Um, so I was like, let's go for the straightforward information. And from there it was like, all right, well, what kind of straightforward information do I want? to talk about. I mean, it needs to be, I think, something relatable to me, you know, something that I can You know, kind of at least understand and have potentially a passion for, because if that's the case, then guess what?
I'm going to be connected to it and I'm going to bring it to life better. Right? So what did I do? I, I will be honest. I picked, well, the first one was like affirmations for women. And I was like, cool. Like. I'm a woman. This makes sense. Um, I didn't get that one, but I, I felt like the audition was pretty solid.
Um, another one was, oh, you're going to totally buy this one, right? How to, like, It was like life hacks for like adults with ADHD. I'm like, yeah, cool. I got that. All right, let's go You know what? It's funny just like sidebar here What I've realized like some people with 80 ADHD like they can't function in life It's the highly organized side of things.
That's me. And for life, I was always like the one that was buttoned up and like I could do a million things at once. And people were like, man, you're a fantastic multitasker. I'm like, yeah, it's a skill. Turns out, not really a skill. skill, just like something that requires medication. Uh, but that's besides the point.
Um, you know, but it's still, it's been, it's been helpful for my career. Uh, just, um, you know, now I know why. Uh, but yeah, I don't think I got that one actually, which, which actually, um, was, was, it hurt a little bit. Cause I'm like, but, but I, I have it. Um, but you know, the other one that I did that I have not heard anything about yet, and I'm just like, kind of keeping my fingers crossed because this was the one that I chose where I was like, you know what?
Kind of just want to see how this works out. I just want to have fun with this. It was actually a kid's piece and, you know, again, I'm high energy, right? So I'm like, let's go ahead. Let's do this. Let's just see. Because I help people understand how to bring these pieces to life on a regular basis. So I was like, let's, let's get into it and let's just see how I can do with this.
And it was a book about. Like how to be good with money as as a kid and there's different voices in it You know, there's the narrator but then there's the little kid and then there's the piggy bank and they give you a little idea Kind of as you're reading the story as to what the piggy bank sounds like it's a little squeaky and whatever and so yeah I did it I have no idea what's gonna come from it, but I, like, listened back to it, and I was like, Ooh, I'm, like, kind of surprised myself.
Isn't that fun when you do that? Like, you surprise yourself in the audition that you've done. Um, but, you know, these are just a couple of the ideas of what I, how I went about trying to find the work. Like, I know I'm good with money, and I like trying to help people in that way. So I was like, boom, this is perfect.
Let's try this one out. Now, It obviously is good to have a focus and narrow things down, but the other important key factor here is treat these auditions like they are the job itself, right? I know it can be very easy to be like, I just got to get it done. I got to get it done. I got to get it in so I can get hired.
Let's face it. If you do a, we'll say, half ass audition, what's going to happen? Nothing. You're not gonna get that gig. You know, so you want to make sure you're putting the same care into each and every audition that you would if you had the job. And I know that, that, that sounds like a duh moment right there.
You're like, Marissa, of course I'm gonna put the care in. Are you though? Are you? Like, I, I have had that habit where I'm like, I want to get ten auditions done today and I only have, you know, X amount of time. How do I make that done? Like, get that done? How do I get that accomplished? Well, it's going fast, right?
It's trying to get things done and then get it sent in. Uh, but when you have that mindset, what happens? You let things slip. Don't let things slip. Treat that audition. Like it is the job, so you can get that job. Now here's the other thing. Uh, I don't know if, like, maybe there is a special way that somebody wants you to go and label things.
But I'll tell you how I label things. And I, I think I'm doing it right. I would like to believe so. I'm making sure that the audition piece is mentioned. I'm making sure that my name is there. Sometimes. I put my phone number in it as well. So that way if they've lost my email, but they have my file, they know how to contact me.
And sometimes I'll put the date on there just so they know it's fresh. Um, but you know, it's, it's little things that allow you to, to stand out. You know, amongst the crowd, potentially, you know, it's, it's having things, it's the organization that is important, you know, and, and making sure that they know how to get back in contact with you.
That is also very important, you know, if it's. Something that you're auditioning through ACX, it might not be as big of an issue because I think that they can go right back to that page and boom, they can find you with some ease. But, you know, if you're auditioning for something completely different and you're just sending something in to some random company, that email could easily get lost.
But boom, they've got your phone number, they know how to reach out. You know, they want to hire you, they can. Um, so that is just a little idea. And then I just want you to always remember. Set your expectation level. Alright, you know, I, I've said this before, whether on the podcast or if you've had me in a demo or in a class, like, you know, the word audition scares people at first because they don't realize that they've already Done an audition process, you know, if you've interviewed for a job you have auditioned.
It's just a different thing It's a different way, you know, you're handing in a resume and you're answering some questions But here for for this, you know when you audition it's your voice, you know It's it's your skill that is selling you Um, and, and that's the only difference. It's just a matter of perspective.
I think what I want you to understand is the expectations need to be not low, but. understood because here's the thing, you know, you can audition for a hundred things in a week. If you've got the time and the ability and the capabilities and whatever, you're not going to get all those things. You know, you're not going on a hundred job interviews in a week, but you can audition for a hundred things here.
You're not going to get every single one of them. In fact, you may not get any of them. You may get one or two, but You want to set your expectation level to understand, like, listen, I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I love doing this. And with the hopes that, sure, maybe one or two of these will stick.
But I also need to understand I'm going to hear the word no quite a bit. And I can't let it knock me down. Instead, I need to take something away from each one of these things that I'm doing. The fun of it. You know, the, the fact that I love this, take that away from it. Maybe, maybe you're like me and like, you listen back to something.
You're like, holy crap. I can't believe I sound like that. That sounds so good. You know. Be impressed with yourself. That's okay. Yeah, like that's a good thing. That means you're growing, you know Also, like make sure that you're able to take some education away from each thing, you know Maybe it's a piece of you know, copy that you've never like tried to do before, you know a genre of audiobook or a style of work, you know, like Take education away from that.
What did I do well? What could I have done better? What do I need to work on? You know, everything is a learning process. If you allow it to be, it doesn't have to be, man, I didn't get that job. I hate myself. Uh, you know, we are very hard on ourselves. It can be a, okay, I didn't get that job, but what can I take away from this?
That's going to allow me to be better for the next audition or the next gig. So. It's good to have your expectation level set, but, uh, this is, I just figured, you know, I've been doing some auditioning. Let's talk about it a little bit, you know, because it is, uh, it's a tricky little world that we navigate sometimes.
Um, and, and a lot of the time, you know, I've built so many relationships. I don't have to go through the audition process. So it is always fun for me to, to look and see what's out there and be like, Hey, what? What do I want to do? I don't even know. Uh, but the world is our oyster, so we might as well go ahead and, I don't know, have a good seafood dinner.
Uh, but listen, if you've got something you want us to discuss, info at voicecoaches. com. Please feel free to reach out, and we'll have a brand new episode coming at you next week. Enjoy the remainder of your August, and I'll talk to you soon. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa has recently had some down time and started auditioning for some new work. When you’re in the heart of it, some things come back up that are easily forgotten.
