VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #637 – Pace Yourself
Voice coaches radio, everything voiceover. Hey, look at you making it through the month of May, and here we are on the final day, starting a brand new episode of Voice Coaches Radio. My name is Marissa and, uh. I'm scared for June. Uh, it, I say that simply 'cause I don't know what yours looks like, but mine, mine is so busy that I'm already tired.
Like, it, it's crazy. Like I've got a couple events in Syracuse that I gotta get to. I've, uh, I've got like. Couple different parties, like my own birthday's coming up. And then, like, my best friend from high school, she's getting married and uh, she's, she's doing it in, in Disney. So we've got a week away, uh, at the end of the month to go to Orlando.
And, um, yeah, like, again, I'm tired just thinking about it. It's gonna be a lot of fun things, don't get me wrong. But I'm just like anxious to sleep when it's all said and done. Uh, you know, it's crazy. But, uh, summer is basically here and that's where all the fun stuff starts to happen. But yeah, I hope this is finding you Well.
I hope that voiceover is treating you well. If you've been diving in and enjoying yourself. That's great. Um, you know, I'm gonna pat you on the back from here. Hopefully some of this nonsense that I do hear on our Voice Coaches Radio podcast helps. I've, I've heard it's helpful. I never really truly know when these things are coming out of my mouth.
I'm just kind of, you know, fingers crossed. Uh, but that being said, you know, if this is maybe the first time you're tuning in and, uh, you're just kind of getting yourself under underway and just starting and not really fully understanding every bit of what goes into this just yet, you know, I want this to be a little eyeopening.
I think today 'cause so many, what do we do? We come into voiceover or, you know. We go and we, we listen to an audio book or something, right? And we're like, I can do that. Like that. This person's awful. I can do that better. And then we go and try and what happens? It's not as easy as we think, you know? So many come in and they think, well, I can read, I can get the words outright.
Can you, can you though, like it doesn't always work as, as like fluidly as you would like it to believe me? Uh, I mean, without even reading, uh, you know, there's been plenty of times I've been live on the radio or something and things come outta my mouth and I'm like, that is not what I meant at all. Like what?
Sometimes your brain just goes ahead and does whatever it wants. And then the words just flow. Uh, but that being said, you know, there's, there's so many skills that you have to develop as, as we've spoken about before. But, uh, first and foremost, you know, the, the key factor that I have happened with so many students, whether they're mine off the bat or, or not, my student initially, you know, I'll look at notes from other producers and stuff here with us, and, and I'll be like, oh, somebody's going too fast.
You don't realize how important your pacing is. I'm telling you right now, pacing is key. Like if you're gonna do anything right in, in, you know, producing any kind of voiceover, you better train your face to smile and, and you better slow the heck down. Um, because it's like these two things. Wildly impact the product and, and what you are then providing.
And to that, that ear that can either be very tantalizing or very like, wait, what did they say? Uh, you know, and just not absorbed. So I had a student the other day, and I don't wanna like fully call him out, uh, but he knows who he is and he might be listening. Uh, but we were getting ready for his demo. Uh, so, you know, I, I had him a couple classes and.
Here I was, I was going through some scripts with 'em. And uh, you know, when when we do that, it's like they've picked stuff out. So I just go ahead and I let them read and I let them read and read and read and read and read. And I just listen because I've been doing this a long time. You know, I wanna hear what we're working with.
I wanna hear, I. What you're about, what I think that you're going to excel at. Things that like, maybe right now just need a little polishing, you know? But if somebody else heard it, they might be like, man, they better stay away from that. But in reality, I'm over here with my, my ear that I've built going, you know what?
They just need a, they just need a few more minutes with it. And they need some direction, they need some guidance. Uh, so. That's, that's what I do As I'm listening, I'm just like, what, what could they do with this piece? They're already doing this one. Well, uh, this one I think it just needs a little bit of extra stuff and care and I, I think, you know, we can get this to somewhere else and this can be really, really well done.
Um, so we're going through and as, as he's reading. I can't even tell you how many times he had to start over because he just felt like, oh man, I stumbled. I stumbled again. I stumbled again. Oh man, I'm tripping up on this. And sometimes it was because something was popping up on his monitor, but other times it was just him.
And I don't think he wanted to admit that at first. But, um. You know, we were going through what pieces I wanted him to be working with and, and focused on for his demo day. Uh, I said to him, I'm like, I know that you had some issues with, with an old laptop that's in front of you, and like stuff is popping up.
But the other thing that I am well aware of is that you were getting in your own way, uh, in, in a lot of this and. Unfamiliarity is a big factor in this way. Um, you know, it can definitely cause that, but also it's just 'cause like you're in that process of speeding through something because you just feel like I need to get these words out correctly and voiceover so much more than that.
And, and what happened, you know, he was going too fast and then the words weren't coming out correctly. They were all just like mashed together. So. I had to have him really just like take a deep breath, just focus on the slowdown and sometimes like you just really just have to focus on it. Other times it's a matter of.
Just like emphasizing things, you know, making sure that you're painting a picture, making sure you're paying attention to punctuation. As ridiculous as it sounds, those are natural moments of pause. Those are good places to sound. Really natural and conversational, but at first we don't really understand that.
And you know, at first we also don't really understand our own like natural speech patterns, which are different from each other by the way. And this is what can help allow us to stand out and, and be even more ourselves. And just like, you know, conversational overall. You learn that as you go and as you grow.
But you know, the most important thing. Is to just slow down for this guy, for this kid that I had, you know, what happened is all of a sudden the character that he was trying to be in this audio book came to life. You know, it was a suspenseful piece. His slow down and his emphasis on some of the stuff built the suspense.
It brought the entire piece to a different level That was just like. Wow. Uh, so my advice from there was like, you know what you need to do? You need to record yourself like today, right now, so you remember what it's like to slow down. So when you go to sit down and practice again tomorrow, and you start just like flying through it again, you understand the time difference and, and what the problem is, and then you need to breathe.
You need to just take a nice deep breath, relax, and just let yourself. Bring it to life. It's not always the easiest thing. And I know that, I mean, so many of us, we get these words on a page in front of us and it's just, let's go ahead, let's get the words out. And we just fly through it. I mean, we, we end up reading so much faster than we speak almost always.
So like the biggest factor as you are beginning in voiceover is, man will you just pay attention so you can slow down and, uh, you know, I. I was so impressed with him. By the end of this class, I was like, man, you got all the other elements, like great. And like he's not scared to be silly, you know? And so many people are.
So he's like, you know, bringing these characters to life and he's having a blast. But it was the pace that was holding him back and what could have really held him back on demo day, what could hold him back from getting any work, you know? So just keep that in mind as you are starting. If you are stumbling over things and you can't even understand in the moment why it, it might have absolutely nothing to do with your reading ability.
It might have absolutely nothing to do with the copy or just like anything like that. It could literally be that you are just. Going a lot faster than you think you are. So take that into consideration and, uh, yeah, let me know how the slow down works for you. Uh, you know, how, how drastically it can change the piece for you.
Uh, I would love to hear some of the stuff you've been working on or whatever, Marissa, at voice coaches.com. You can send questions my way as well. Things that we can discuss on the pod marissa@voicecoaches.com. A brand new episode is coming your way next week visit. Voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.
Like, it, it's crazy. Like I've got a couple events in Syracuse that I gotta get to. I've, uh, I've got like. Couple different parties, like my own birthday's coming up. And then, like, my best friend from high school, she's getting married and uh, she's, she's doing it in, in Disney. So we've got a week away, uh, at the end of the month to go to Orlando.
And, um, yeah, like, again, I'm tired just thinking about it. It's gonna be a lot of fun things, don't get me wrong. But I'm just like anxious to sleep when it's all said and done. Uh, you know, it's crazy. But, uh, summer is basically here and that's where all the fun stuff starts to happen. But yeah, I hope this is finding you Well.
I hope that voiceover is treating you well. If you've been diving in and enjoying yourself. That's great. Um, you know, I'm gonna pat you on the back from here. Hopefully some of this nonsense that I do hear on our Voice Coaches Radio podcast helps. I've, I've heard it's helpful. I never really truly know when these things are coming out of my mouth.
I'm just kind of, you know, fingers crossed. Uh, but that being said, you know, if this is maybe the first time you're tuning in and, uh, you're just kind of getting yourself under underway and just starting and not really fully understanding every bit of what goes into this just yet, you know, I want this to be a little eyeopening.
I think today 'cause so many, what do we do? We come into voiceover or, you know. We go and we, we listen to an audio book or something, right? And we're like, I can do that. Like that. This person's awful. I can do that better. And then we go and try and what happens? It's not as easy as we think, you know? So many come in and they think, well, I can read, I can get the words outright.
Can you, can you though, like it doesn't always work as, as like fluidly as you would like it to believe me? Uh, I mean, without even reading, uh, you know, there's been plenty of times I've been live on the radio or something and things come outta my mouth and I'm like, that is not what I meant at all. Like what?
Sometimes your brain just goes ahead and does whatever it wants. And then the words just flow. Uh, but that being said, you know, there's, there's so many skills that you have to develop as, as we've spoken about before. But, uh, first and foremost, you know, the, the key factor that I have happened with so many students, whether they're mine off the bat or, or not, my student initially, you know, I'll look at notes from other producers and stuff here with us, and, and I'll be like, oh, somebody's going too fast.
You don't realize how important your pacing is. I'm telling you right now, pacing is key. Like if you're gonna do anything right in, in, you know, producing any kind of voiceover, you better train your face to smile and, and you better slow the heck down. Um, because it's like these two things. Wildly impact the product and, and what you are then providing.
And to that, that ear that can either be very tantalizing or very like, wait, what did they say? Uh, you know, and just not absorbed. So I had a student the other day, and I don't wanna like fully call him out, uh, but he knows who he is and he might be listening. Uh, but we were getting ready for his demo. Uh, so, you know, I, I had him a couple classes and.
Here I was, I was going through some scripts with 'em. And uh, you know, when when we do that, it's like they've picked stuff out. So I just go ahead and I let them read and I let them read and read and read and read and read. And I just listen because I've been doing this a long time. You know, I wanna hear what we're working with.
I wanna hear, I. What you're about, what I think that you're going to excel at. Things that like, maybe right now just need a little polishing, you know? But if somebody else heard it, they might be like, man, they better stay away from that. But in reality, I'm over here with my, my ear that I've built going, you know what?
They just need a, they just need a few more minutes with it. And they need some direction, they need some guidance. Uh, so. That's, that's what I do As I'm listening, I'm just like, what, what could they do with this piece? They're already doing this one. Well, uh, this one I think it just needs a little bit of extra stuff and care and I, I think, you know, we can get this to somewhere else and this can be really, really well done.
Um, so we're going through and as, as he's reading. I can't even tell you how many times he had to start over because he just felt like, oh man, I stumbled. I stumbled again. I stumbled again. Oh man, I'm tripping up on this. And sometimes it was because something was popping up on his monitor, but other times it was just him.
And I don't think he wanted to admit that at first. But, um. You know, we were going through what pieces I wanted him to be working with and, and focused on for his demo day. Uh, I said to him, I'm like, I know that you had some issues with, with an old laptop that's in front of you, and like stuff is popping up.
But the other thing that I am well aware of is that you were getting in your own way, uh, in, in a lot of this and. Unfamiliarity is a big factor in this way. Um, you know, it can definitely cause that, but also it's just 'cause like you're in that process of speeding through something because you just feel like I need to get these words out correctly and voiceover so much more than that.
And, and what happened, you know, he was going too fast and then the words weren't coming out correctly. They were all just like mashed together. So. I had to have him really just like take a deep breath, just focus on the slowdown and sometimes like you just really just have to focus on it. Other times it's a matter of.
Just like emphasizing things, you know, making sure that you're painting a picture, making sure you're paying attention to punctuation. As ridiculous as it sounds, those are natural moments of pause. Those are good places to sound. Really natural and conversational, but at first we don't really understand that.
And you know, at first we also don't really understand our own like natural speech patterns, which are different from each other by the way. And this is what can help allow us to stand out and, and be even more ourselves. And just like, you know, conversational overall. You learn that as you go and as you grow.
But you know, the most important thing. Is to just slow down for this guy, for this kid that I had, you know, what happened is all of a sudden the character that he was trying to be in this audio book came to life. You know, it was a suspenseful piece. His slow down and his emphasis on some of the stuff built the suspense.
It brought the entire piece to a different level That was just like. Wow. Uh, so my advice from there was like, you know what you need to do? You need to record yourself like today, right now, so you remember what it's like to slow down. So when you go to sit down and practice again tomorrow, and you start just like flying through it again, you understand the time difference and, and what the problem is, and then you need to breathe.
You need to just take a nice deep breath, relax, and just let yourself. Bring it to life. It's not always the easiest thing. And I know that, I mean, so many of us, we get these words on a page in front of us and it's just, let's go ahead, let's get the words out. And we just fly through it. I mean, we, we end up reading so much faster than we speak almost always.
So like the biggest factor as you are beginning in voiceover is, man will you just pay attention so you can slow down and, uh, you know, I. I was so impressed with him. By the end of this class, I was like, man, you got all the other elements, like great. And like he's not scared to be silly, you know? And so many people are.
So he's like, you know, bringing these characters to life and he's having a blast. But it was the pace that was holding him back and what could have really held him back on demo day, what could hold him back from getting any work, you know? So just keep that in mind as you are starting. If you are stumbling over things and you can't even understand in the moment why it, it might have absolutely nothing to do with your reading ability.
It might have absolutely nothing to do with the copy or just like anything like that. It could literally be that you are just. Going a lot faster than you think you are. So take that into consideration and, uh, yeah, let me know how the slow down works for you. Uh, you know, how, how drastically it can change the piece for you.
Uh, I would love to hear some of the stuff you've been working on or whatever, Marissa, at voice coaches.com. You can send questions my way as well. Things that we can discuss on the pod marissa@voicecoaches.com. A brand new episode is coming your way next week visit. Voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.
This week with Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa discusses pacing and its importance. More than a handful of students will have pacing issues from the beginning but continue to have that issue for various reasons. So, how do you fix it?
