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Voice Coaches Radio #605 – How Do You Use It?
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover.
Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Coaches Radio. My name is Marissa. We are definitely full on into spooky season. Mwahaha. And I know there are some people that are just like fully into Halloween. I'm not going to say that I'm not. I do like me a little bit of extra candy. Um, this, this is the time where it's okay to take it from strangers.
And, uh, this is the time where it's cool to dress up, like you typically wouldn't, I just have no idea what I'm gonna be for Halloween yet. Um, I have a neighbor, oh my god, like, so into it, right? I didn't realize, you know, you see those big 12 foot skeleton displays, you know, and, and I'm like, alright, cool. I didn't realize that there's like a whole bunch of 12 foot displays that you can get, it's not just the skeleton.
My neighbor, on the other hand, was well aware that there were additional ones. I'm pretty positive he went and bought all of them. Uh, and, uh, yeah, it makes, it makes the nighttime a little bit interesting around here. I wouldn't want to, like, walk the streets of my neighborhood because all of a sudden it's, like, extra...
Spooky, uh, and it's just because, did you know they all make noise? Like, every single one of them, you know? So, here I am, just like, late night watching TV. We've got, like, the lights out in the house. And, uh, there's like a pause between commercial and, like, show. And it's silent, and you just hear, Hey! And I'm like, what the hell is that?
And then I'm like, realizing, Okay, it's nothing that's spooky outside my window. I don't have anybody that's trying to, like, freak me out or break into the house. It's just my ridiculous neighbor and his gigantic display with things that make sounds way into the deep of the night. Why? Why at 10 o'clock is that thing still going?
I don't know. Uh, but here we are. So just interested to see what Christmas brings because you know there's gonna be more displays. There always is. Uh, but hoping this is finding you well and that your neighbors are maybe a little less crazy than mine. Um, you know, and as we kind of continue to keep pushing through and, and, and, you know, bring it up.
Um, maybe things that we've talked about in the past, but like, you know, recent questions that I've had kind of pop up, you know, I always get into this one specific class with students and it's, it's the one where you've got to figure out, okay, well, what are we going to focus on? What kind of work, what kind of work do I think I belong a part of in the voiceover industry?
What am I enjoying? Have I had the opportunity to even figure that out yet? And, you know, and. I'll admit, life gets in the way. Life can totally take things over. And next thing you know, it's like you wanted to really take this as seriously as possible. And in your heart of hearts, you're doing your best to do that.
And then all of a sudden, it's like time goes by, and you haven't had any time to really invest in understanding, you know, am I practicing enough to even know where I fit? And, uh, and that can be... That can be discouraging. Not, not for me. Not for me as a coach, just because it's like, listen, I get it. Life is crazy.
You know, for me, it's like, this can be my focus, because this is it. Like, this is what I do. And I, at this time, like, you know, my kids all have fur. So, like, whatever, you know, if anything, I got to deal with screaming chickens these days. That's it. Um, you know, because they're the, the hardest bunch of the, uh, The ten pets that are running around in the house.
Don't worry, there's six chickens, so that's where the ten comes in. Um, and I'm not that crazy, but, you know, I had a student recently, I think this is important, it's like, listen, you gotta deal with things that you've gotta deal with. And, and life will happen, and... If this is something that you truly care about, you will put the time in the moment that you can.
Family comes first, right? And if, if you've got something you've got to deal with, you've got to deal with it. You can't try to put way too much on your plate and try to just push through because, you know, that's when things can completely fall apart. And that's where You know, not enough care can be put into each thing because you're getting pulled too thin, um, you know, and I think that's what's always very important to have put into perspective is like you've got to be able to put that focus where it needs to be.
And in the moment, it might be whatever your family's dealing with, you know, and then it's like, okay, once that becomes less stress. Alright, well, now I've got this extra hour that I hadn't had. Let's go ahead. Let's put time into this voiceover stuff that I've been wanting so desperately to be a part of.
Uh, but, you don't want to stretch yourself too thin, because that is when... We get sloppy. That is when things fall through the cracks. That is when stress levels can be even higher unnecessarily. So I always like to suggest it's like take a breath, do what you can, and then move forward. Um, you know, so I had a student recently where we had it.
Just, I'm like, listen, let's put this aside right now. Take a breath. You know, I want you to go ahead. You can reschedule this class. We'll get you situated. You're dealing with emergencies right now, and that's acceptable. Um, you know, I want you to feel good about what you're doing. You can't feel good right now about what you're doing.
You can't. So you've got to put this aside for just a second and take that breath. Take that beat. Fix the things that you, that, Are most important right now and then come back to this and we'll get you rescheduled. We'll push back the demo. It's okay You know because this will happen in time But the other thing is when you do have that time you do have that time you're diving into Different material you've been practicing like crazy whether it's It's just, you know, reading books themselves or you're diving into a lot of different material.
You know, you start to realize some things about yourself. You start to build an ear for how you're sounding, right? And you're starting to work out some kinks, you know, you're starting to sound even more conversational and more like you and your personality is getting brought into things. And it's a beautiful thing when you start to feel the connection of all of the different people.
Pieces of this puzzle, you know, and as you're, you know, with us, you know, maybe you're diving through our script library and you're getting into different forms of work. You very well could have started this journey thinking, Man, I'm gonna love audiobooks. I'm gonna have so much fun doing that. I could do it so much better than that person I heard on Audible.
And then guess what? You start playing around with it and you're like, Oh crap, I hate this. This is not where I want to be. But, huh, guess what? You know, you, you go and you start trying a different type of work, something you thought, I'm never going to want to do that. And it just feels right. That is a magical moment.
When you start doing something in this field, and it feels natural, it feels good. That means it's connecting. Like, I am very firm in believing that if you're doing something and And maybe even all of the basics are not a hundred percent, but if you're doing something and it feels good and you, you think it might actually be coming out well done and like you're having fun doing it, chances are it is reflecting in the audio that you've done, you know, and, and like, then it's like taking some feedback and working out some kinks, but it's like, that tells me, boom, that is where we should start and it very well could come down to you.
What your background falls in in line with, you know, we got a lot of people that they want to get out of the industry They've been in whether it's accounting or it's you know office work or it's in the medical field or whatever and it's like, okay That's great education. Maybe it's a former teacher.
You're another retired now I get that maybe you don't want that to be your focus, but but guess what you've been in the medical field What do you think is gonna flow very easily for you right now medical stuff? You've been an educator for years. Instructionals and educational material, probably going to be a good start.
You know, this is why it is very important to notice your voice. Notice who you are. Notice your background. What are you passionate about? Where do you feel like, you know, you naturally gravitate towards? These are things that You know, when we're trying to find what we would like to call our voice personality, uh, you know, like, we have to start taking it into consideration.
And as much as you might not want to stay in that, that spot, nobody's telling you that you have to, but it is a really great place to begin and then grow from there. So, you want to really see and, and, you know, take notice of... Yourself and the feelings that you're having as you're going through and you're practicing Anything that you're doing, you know, if it feels like a struggle you're getting really, you know discouraged You're very frustrated with the process of whatever the material might be That might just be a genre of voiceover that It needs to be something that you put aside and potentially go back to later once you've had some additional growth And it might be a matter of thinking like okay.
Well What kind of stuff do I know a lot about or what kind of fields have I been in and then investigating You know in that kind of territory and you know, that is a great way to kind of figure out Okay, this is where i'm at right now voice personality wise and this is where i'm going to start And this is where my focus is going to be but this is not my be all end all, you know I'm going to keep practicing.
I'm going to keep taking feedback. I'm going to keep bugging people for feedback I'm going to you know, smooth some Some things out and I'm going to keep growing and then next thing you know, yeah, you're able to potentially do. Audiobooks the way you've always wanted you're able to do some character work like you've always wanted But it takes a little bit sometimes to get yourself to that level But where do you start is key and that I think is just being having that heightened awareness of varying things about yourself So hopefully that has come in handy for you this week as you're starting your voiceover journey Or maybe you've been like kind of focused on things for a while and it just doesn't seem to be working out Maybe this is why Maybe you're focusing on the wrong stuff.
Switch it up a bit, you know, and see what happens. But we'll, uh, tackle another topic next week. [email protected] if you've got anything that you'd like us to discuss and, uh, hey, enjoy your weekend. All right, stay safe, everybody.
Visit voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.
Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Coaches Radio. My name is Marissa. We are definitely full on into spooky season. Mwahaha. And I know there are some people that are just like fully into Halloween. I'm not going to say that I'm not. I do like me a little bit of extra candy. Um, this, this is the time where it's okay to take it from strangers.
And, uh, this is the time where it's cool to dress up, like you typically wouldn't, I just have no idea what I'm gonna be for Halloween yet. Um, I have a neighbor, oh my god, like, so into it, right? I didn't realize, you know, you see those big 12 foot skeleton displays, you know, and, and I'm like, alright, cool. I didn't realize that there's like a whole bunch of 12 foot displays that you can get, it's not just the skeleton.
My neighbor, on the other hand, was well aware that there were additional ones. I'm pretty positive he went and bought all of them. Uh, and, uh, yeah, it makes, it makes the nighttime a little bit interesting around here. I wouldn't want to, like, walk the streets of my neighborhood because all of a sudden it's, like, extra...
Spooky, uh, and it's just because, did you know they all make noise? Like, every single one of them, you know? So, here I am, just like, late night watching TV. We've got, like, the lights out in the house. And, uh, there's like a pause between commercial and, like, show. And it's silent, and you just hear, Hey! And I'm like, what the hell is that?
And then I'm like, realizing, Okay, it's nothing that's spooky outside my window. I don't have anybody that's trying to, like, freak me out or break into the house. It's just my ridiculous neighbor and his gigantic display with things that make sounds way into the deep of the night. Why? Why at 10 o'clock is that thing still going?
I don't know. Uh, but here we are. So just interested to see what Christmas brings because you know there's gonna be more displays. There always is. Uh, but hoping this is finding you well and that your neighbors are maybe a little less crazy than mine. Um, you know, and as we kind of continue to keep pushing through and, and, and, you know, bring it up.
Um, maybe things that we've talked about in the past, but like, you know, recent questions that I've had kind of pop up, you know, I always get into this one specific class with students and it's, it's the one where you've got to figure out, okay, well, what are we going to focus on? What kind of work, what kind of work do I think I belong a part of in the voiceover industry?
What am I enjoying? Have I had the opportunity to even figure that out yet? And, you know, and. I'll admit, life gets in the way. Life can totally take things over. And next thing you know, it's like you wanted to really take this as seriously as possible. And in your heart of hearts, you're doing your best to do that.
And then all of a sudden, it's like time goes by, and you haven't had any time to really invest in understanding, you know, am I practicing enough to even know where I fit? And, uh, and that can be... That can be discouraging. Not, not for me. Not for me as a coach, just because it's like, listen, I get it. Life is crazy.
You know, for me, it's like, this can be my focus, because this is it. Like, this is what I do. And I, at this time, like, you know, my kids all have fur. So, like, whatever, you know, if anything, I got to deal with screaming chickens these days. That's it. Um, you know, because they're the, the hardest bunch of the, uh, The ten pets that are running around in the house.
Don't worry, there's six chickens, so that's where the ten comes in. Um, and I'm not that crazy, but, you know, I had a student recently, I think this is important, it's like, listen, you gotta deal with things that you've gotta deal with. And, and life will happen, and... If this is something that you truly care about, you will put the time in the moment that you can.
Family comes first, right? And if, if you've got something you've got to deal with, you've got to deal with it. You can't try to put way too much on your plate and try to just push through because, you know, that's when things can completely fall apart. And that's where You know, not enough care can be put into each thing because you're getting pulled too thin, um, you know, and I think that's what's always very important to have put into perspective is like you've got to be able to put that focus where it needs to be.
And in the moment, it might be whatever your family's dealing with, you know, and then it's like, okay, once that becomes less stress. Alright, well, now I've got this extra hour that I hadn't had. Let's go ahead. Let's put time into this voiceover stuff that I've been wanting so desperately to be a part of.
Uh, but, you don't want to stretch yourself too thin, because that is when... We get sloppy. That is when things fall through the cracks. That is when stress levels can be even higher unnecessarily. So I always like to suggest it's like take a breath, do what you can, and then move forward. Um, you know, so I had a student recently where we had it.
Just, I'm like, listen, let's put this aside right now. Take a breath. You know, I want you to go ahead. You can reschedule this class. We'll get you situated. You're dealing with emergencies right now, and that's acceptable. Um, you know, I want you to feel good about what you're doing. You can't feel good right now about what you're doing.
You can't. So you've got to put this aside for just a second and take that breath. Take that beat. Fix the things that you, that, Are most important right now and then come back to this and we'll get you rescheduled. We'll push back the demo. It's okay You know because this will happen in time But the other thing is when you do have that time you do have that time you're diving into Different material you've been practicing like crazy whether it's It's just, you know, reading books themselves or you're diving into a lot of different material.
You know, you start to realize some things about yourself. You start to build an ear for how you're sounding, right? And you're starting to work out some kinks, you know, you're starting to sound even more conversational and more like you and your personality is getting brought into things. And it's a beautiful thing when you start to feel the connection of all of the different people.
Pieces of this puzzle, you know, and as you're, you know, with us, you know, maybe you're diving through our script library and you're getting into different forms of work. You very well could have started this journey thinking, Man, I'm gonna love audiobooks. I'm gonna have so much fun doing that. I could do it so much better than that person I heard on Audible.
And then guess what? You start playing around with it and you're like, Oh crap, I hate this. This is not where I want to be. But, huh, guess what? You know, you, you go and you start trying a different type of work, something you thought, I'm never going to want to do that. And it just feels right. That is a magical moment.
When you start doing something in this field, and it feels natural, it feels good. That means it's connecting. Like, I am very firm in believing that if you're doing something and And maybe even all of the basics are not a hundred percent, but if you're doing something and it feels good and you, you think it might actually be coming out well done and like you're having fun doing it, chances are it is reflecting in the audio that you've done, you know, and, and like, then it's like taking some feedback and working out some kinks, but it's like, that tells me, boom, that is where we should start and it very well could come down to you.
What your background falls in in line with, you know, we got a lot of people that they want to get out of the industry They've been in whether it's accounting or it's you know office work or it's in the medical field or whatever and it's like, okay That's great education. Maybe it's a former teacher.
You're another retired now I get that maybe you don't want that to be your focus, but but guess what you've been in the medical field What do you think is gonna flow very easily for you right now medical stuff? You've been an educator for years. Instructionals and educational material, probably going to be a good start.
You know, this is why it is very important to notice your voice. Notice who you are. Notice your background. What are you passionate about? Where do you feel like, you know, you naturally gravitate towards? These are things that You know, when we're trying to find what we would like to call our voice personality, uh, you know, like, we have to start taking it into consideration.
And as much as you might not want to stay in that, that spot, nobody's telling you that you have to, but it is a really great place to begin and then grow from there. So, you want to really see and, and, you know, take notice of... Yourself and the feelings that you're having as you're going through and you're practicing Anything that you're doing, you know, if it feels like a struggle you're getting really, you know discouraged You're very frustrated with the process of whatever the material might be That might just be a genre of voiceover that It needs to be something that you put aside and potentially go back to later once you've had some additional growth And it might be a matter of thinking like okay.
Well What kind of stuff do I know a lot about or what kind of fields have I been in and then investigating You know in that kind of territory and you know, that is a great way to kind of figure out Okay, this is where i'm at right now voice personality wise and this is where i'm going to start And this is where my focus is going to be but this is not my be all end all, you know I'm going to keep practicing.
I'm going to keep taking feedback. I'm going to keep bugging people for feedback I'm going to you know, smooth some Some things out and I'm going to keep growing and then next thing you know, yeah, you're able to potentially do. Audiobooks the way you've always wanted you're able to do some character work like you've always wanted But it takes a little bit sometimes to get yourself to that level But where do you start is key and that I think is just being having that heightened awareness of varying things about yourself So hopefully that has come in handy for you this week as you're starting your voiceover journey Or maybe you've been like kind of focused on things for a while and it just doesn't seem to be working out Maybe this is why Maybe you're focusing on the wrong stuff.
Switch it up a bit, you know, and see what happens. But we'll, uh, tackle another topic next week. [email protected] if you've got anything that you'd like us to discuss and, uh, hey, enjoy your weekend. All right, stay safe, everybody.
Visit voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa dives into the things to pay attention to when starting or getting yourself to where you’re meant to start in voice over. It’s all about paying attention to how you use your voice…
