VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #681 – Be True To Yourself
[00:00:00] Voice coaches radio, everything voiceover.
Marissa: Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Coaches Radio. Hot, fresh on a Friday afternoon here in the middle of summer. And so finally, the, the humidity has broken here in upstate New York. Whew. I, I mean, it's crazy to think that. Not too long ago, we were over here kind of like complaining about the fact that we had had about 32 weekends, I think it was like from November till mid-June or something like that.
We had nothing but rain every single weekend. And it was, I mean, definitely causing some seasonal depression long after that. It should have been. But um, you know, now summer is here. It is full force. And, uh, she didn't seem like she was gonna slow down at all, and I don't think she really is. However, you know, I had a softball game on Wednesday and while today, [00:01:00] you know, we're like 77, sun is shining, like 40% humidity.
Wednesday it was 95 degrees without the heat index. You know, you throw that involved in there and we're triple digits, right? And my game was at six 30 right in the sun. And, uh, you know, you throw in a good, like 90% humidity or whatever the heck it was. I thought I wore breathable clothing. I was clearly mistaken.
And my goodness, I, I mean, I was sweating my butt off. Um, in, in fact, like typically I would wear a hat because. When I wanna keep my hair where it needs to be and outta my face. And then also I wanna like really block the sun. I had sunglasses on, but you know, I like to have both. And I had to take the hat off because I needed heat to leave my body and it just was not so that's when, you know, when I'm that overheated, you know, it's bad 'cause I will gladly take a hot day.
And the hottest day you can think of over any [00:02:00] time in the winter, but. I don't know. That day was something else. Um, and somehow, here's the thing, you know, the heat was getting to our team right away because we instantly were down by eight runs. It was eight, nothing. Somehow we won that game. 15, nine, we just had to get adjusted.
That's all it was, you know? Uh, but nonetheless, uh, I hope that you're enjoying yourself. I got a party happening here at the house tomorrow. I don't know how to be prepared for that, but I'm doing my best. And, uh, just ready to have, have some fun as the summer continues and. You know, I had a day full of classes today and I just, I was feeling like there is something that I've noticed and, you know, I'm not gonna tell any coach that they shouldn't do this.
'cause I just feel like you do wanna play to people, people's, um, wants and, and needs and stuff. But God, we gotta pay attention real good to where your strengths are. And play to the things that you do so incredibly well, naturally, [00:03:00] and like I just don't want anybody holding themselves back. I had a student a little while ago who it, I don't know if she was told to hold back or that she was too much or whatever, but, but she was trying to be something that was a little bit not her.
And here is. The number one thing that you, you want to do if you are especially just starting out, you play to what you do well all on your own. It's the stuff you don't even have to, you know, think about those, those natural character traits of your own. You just naturally bring to the table that helps bring something to life.
Now this woman that I had this afternoon, we were going over her pieces that she's gonna be recording on her demo day and this is the first time I had her. So, you know, we were just kinda like having some fun and getting to know each other a little bit and going through all these [00:04:00] pieces and right away, like I could tell, 'cause I had already talked to her for a good 10, 15 minutes, right?
So I knew enough about her to know how she is in life when she speaks. That you're gonna try to tell me that you're gonna get up there and you're gonna do a piece about a recording studio and Elvis and whatever else, and you're gonna hold back on how, like, energetic and animated and bubbly that you are.
Mm-hmm. No. Why? Why? Uh, you know, I, I always love to look at the variety of pieces, um, you know, look at. The, the vibe that should be there. Right? And like a piece about Elvis of all people. I mean, he was not like a super serious kind of human. I'm sure he had his times right? But like, if you were gonna go see Elvis in concert, or Elvis in the [00:05:00] studio, or Elvis had a TV appearance, do you know what came along with Elvis energy?
You know what came also along with Elvis is a lot of girls screaming their heads off and ready to have so much fun. There was so much excitement. Do you know why? I feel like you shouldn't hold back on a piece about Elvis? 'cause nobody did when he was around. I mean, they were not holding back at all. So I don't want anybody to be like wildly over the top right.
But I do feel like the excitement needs to be there. The brightness needs to be there. And this woman that I had earlier, she naturally came with all that, but she was holding back and it's just, you know, whether part of her was just thinking about maybe feedback she had had in life in general, or maybe it was, you know, prior feedback from, uh, one of us, or maybe it was, um, you know, her partner, whoever, I don't know.
[00:06:00] But, um. You know, I just, I really think sometimes we need to allow ourselves that freedom to, to just be and be true to us and, and ourselves and, and don't hold back with what we can provide. Uh, and the moment that I let her go ahead and do what felt good, do what felt natural, the world of difference, oh my gosh.
All of a sudden I felt like I could feel. The music, I could feel the excitement. And I said to her, I'm like, I want you to almost imagine you can hear the drums of the intro of Hound Dog, you know, over this beginning portion of what you're about to say and, and meet that, like, meet that excitement. And uh, and she did it.
She knocked it outta the park. I can't wait to hear this demo. I think it's gonna be fantastic. You know, here's the other thing, right? On the other flip side of all this. You wanna go ahead and you don't wanna hold [00:07:00] yourself back in any kind of way, but you also want to like utilize your own personal feelings, your own personal experiences to bring stuff to each piece.
We've talked about audio books before. I've talked about the, you know, the fact that I feel like there's a number of ways that you can do them, but one of the most, I think, um. Productive ways, uh, you know, accomplishing ways of, of doing and bringing an audiobook to life is looking at the piece that you have.
And even if it's just like one section of it, it's like, what's happening here? What is the vibe? You know, what, what room are they in? What's the lighting like, you know, if I was in that room, what kind of feelings would I be having, you know? And. This might just be the actor in me to go ahead and and think this way, but so many times it's just like, [00:08:00] oh, well I'm going to read this story, and that can work.
It totally can. But if you're able to explore and be true to the feelings that you yourself have had in life, and you can kind of put yourself in those shoes for just a moment and bring some of that to your piece. It's amazing the level steps that it takes for you to go from just reading it to, to bringing, you know, that, that much more authenticity to, to your read.
Um, you know, like, think about who you are in life. You know, when I say we go back to the very beginning of this episode and, and what I was talking about and like. Being true to yourself, like, you know, and, and allowing to play onto those strengths. A lot of people think that maybe they don't have. Certain qualities that are necessary for this and that they have to grow into them.
And [00:09:00] sure, I mean, in some cases maybe that is the case. Maybe you don't have all the acting shops and you know, you don't have, uh, you know, the ability to, you know, speak or I should just say, read, you know, rather conversationally in this moment that that's okay. You know, it's good to test yourself a little bit and it's good.
To, to educate and to practice and to grow and to get there. But we all come with some natural characteristics that we bring to the table that God, we might not even be fully aware of at first, but we really need to play into them because you know, that might be how we get our first gig. Or our first round of work.
Um, so, you know, I, if anything, it's like, maybe you're gonna be around some people this weekend. Maybe you're at a cookout or whatever, like, I'm gonna have tomorrow. It might be beneficial for you. You're around some people that know you ask them, what, what are some characteristics of me when I'm having a conversation with people?
Like what, what kind [00:10:00] of things do you notice about my personality that might be helpful and, and a strength? When going to do any of this kinda work that you think would allow me to be engaging in, in any voiceover that I might do and, you know, really let people think about that. You know, because I, it might be surprising to you, you know, thankfully, coming into this class that I had earlier today, this woman was well aware that, you know, she is a more animated person.
She, she does have a lot of energy to bring. But she was also very accustomed to having like a group of students in front of her, uh, whether it be in, in a library setting or, or in a college course. So she was used to a group and, and trying to engage that group. But that's much different than what we do.
We're not trying to necessarily engage a group when we go ahead and do any of this work. You know, we wanna pay attention to [00:11:00] just that one human who happened to. Put this audio on and sure, it might be a whole bunch of people who end up listening to it, but in that moment you wanna have that one-on-one connection with them.
And once I started kind of putting these little nuggets back into her brain and and giving her that little bit of luxury to just listen, go ahead. Play to your strengths. Be true to you. Don't hold back. You know what? Go ahead. Let loose, let your gut guide you right now and gimme a smile and let's see what happens.
And then it's like she does the reading and I'm over here knowing exactly how it went. 'cause I'm like, yeah. And, but I'm like, how did it feel? Did you feel the difference when you feel it, you know, and it, it makes a world of difference overall. So, you know, like I said, it, it's, it's, if you're gonna be around some people this weekend, maybe in the next few days or whatever, or next time that you [00:12:00] are, and you're trying to think, well, what about me would be a, a good strength right away without me even having.
To really work on it, you know, what is a characteristic that I hold already naturally that is beneficial and, and just, you know, see what happens and see what people say. And you know what, if you're consistently getting the same kind of answers, you, you have your answer. You know, and, and just think of what kind of work falls in line with that and then run with it.
And anything is at your fingertips with growth and, and practice and education and feedback, and then more practice and, and you are going to always grow and you are going to be able to do a variety of work over the course of your career and voiceover. But where do you start? How do you know where to start?
How do you even know what your strengths are? [00:13:00] Unless you ask some questions, whether it's to yourself or to others, and I, I think, you know, that can set you up for success and, uh, set you up on the right path. So go ahead, do it this weekend. Go, uh, go and ask some questions, you know, and, and kiss some babies and shake some hands and stuff or something.
But, uh, if you've got a question, anything that you want tackled here on the pod, [email protected], M-A-R-I-S-S [email protected]. Enjoy the summer as it keeps on. Just making me sweat and, um, you know, I'll talk to you next week. I think we've got some interviews coming up too, so we'll talk to some former students and, and see how they're doing and, uh, what they're up to and, and how they got there and, and such.
So that is on the way. But, uh, enjoy your weekend and stay safe. Everybody.
Visit voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.
Marissa: Welcome to a brand new episode of Voice Coaches Radio. Hot, fresh on a Friday afternoon here in the middle of summer. And so finally, the, the humidity has broken here in upstate New York. Whew. I, I mean, it's crazy to think that. Not too long ago, we were over here kind of like complaining about the fact that we had had about 32 weekends, I think it was like from November till mid-June or something like that.
We had nothing but rain every single weekend. And it was, I mean, definitely causing some seasonal depression long after that. It should have been. But um, you know, now summer is here. It is full force. And, uh, she didn't seem like she was gonna slow down at all, and I don't think she really is. However, you know, I had a softball game on Wednesday and while today, [00:01:00] you know, we're like 77, sun is shining, like 40% humidity.
Wednesday it was 95 degrees without the heat index. You know, you throw that involved in there and we're triple digits, right? And my game was at six 30 right in the sun. And, uh, you know, you throw in a good, like 90% humidity or whatever the heck it was. I thought I wore breathable clothing. I was clearly mistaken.
And my goodness, I, I mean, I was sweating my butt off. Um, in, in fact, like typically I would wear a hat because. When I wanna keep my hair where it needs to be and outta my face. And then also I wanna like really block the sun. I had sunglasses on, but you know, I like to have both. And I had to take the hat off because I needed heat to leave my body and it just was not so that's when, you know, when I'm that overheated, you know, it's bad 'cause I will gladly take a hot day.
And the hottest day you can think of over any [00:02:00] time in the winter, but. I don't know. That day was something else. Um, and somehow, here's the thing, you know, the heat was getting to our team right away because we instantly were down by eight runs. It was eight, nothing. Somehow we won that game. 15, nine, we just had to get adjusted.
That's all it was, you know? Uh, but nonetheless, uh, I hope that you're enjoying yourself. I got a party happening here at the house tomorrow. I don't know how to be prepared for that, but I'm doing my best. And, uh, just ready to have, have some fun as the summer continues and. You know, I had a day full of classes today and I just, I was feeling like there is something that I've noticed and, you know, I'm not gonna tell any coach that they shouldn't do this.
'cause I just feel like you do wanna play to people, people's, um, wants and, and needs and stuff. But God, we gotta pay attention real good to where your strengths are. And play to the things that you do so incredibly well, naturally, [00:03:00] and like I just don't want anybody holding themselves back. I had a student a little while ago who it, I don't know if she was told to hold back or that she was too much or whatever, but, but she was trying to be something that was a little bit not her.
And here is. The number one thing that you, you want to do if you are especially just starting out, you play to what you do well all on your own. It's the stuff you don't even have to, you know, think about those, those natural character traits of your own. You just naturally bring to the table that helps bring something to life.
Now this woman that I had this afternoon, we were going over her pieces that she's gonna be recording on her demo day and this is the first time I had her. So, you know, we were just kinda like having some fun and getting to know each other a little bit and going through all these [00:04:00] pieces and right away, like I could tell, 'cause I had already talked to her for a good 10, 15 minutes, right?
So I knew enough about her to know how she is in life when she speaks. That you're gonna try to tell me that you're gonna get up there and you're gonna do a piece about a recording studio and Elvis and whatever else, and you're gonna hold back on how, like, energetic and animated and bubbly that you are.
Mm-hmm. No. Why? Why? Uh, you know, I, I always love to look at the variety of pieces, um, you know, look at. The, the vibe that should be there. Right? And like a piece about Elvis of all people. I mean, he was not like a super serious kind of human. I'm sure he had his times right? But like, if you were gonna go see Elvis in concert, or Elvis in the [00:05:00] studio, or Elvis had a TV appearance, do you know what came along with Elvis energy?
You know what came also along with Elvis is a lot of girls screaming their heads off and ready to have so much fun. There was so much excitement. Do you know why? I feel like you shouldn't hold back on a piece about Elvis? 'cause nobody did when he was around. I mean, they were not holding back at all. So I don't want anybody to be like wildly over the top right.
But I do feel like the excitement needs to be there. The brightness needs to be there. And this woman that I had earlier, she naturally came with all that, but she was holding back and it's just, you know, whether part of her was just thinking about maybe feedback she had had in life in general, or maybe it was, you know, prior feedback from, uh, one of us, or maybe it was, um, you know, her partner, whoever, I don't know.
[00:06:00] But, um. You know, I just, I really think sometimes we need to allow ourselves that freedom to, to just be and be true to us and, and ourselves and, and don't hold back with what we can provide. Uh, and the moment that I let her go ahead and do what felt good, do what felt natural, the world of difference, oh my gosh.
All of a sudden I felt like I could feel. The music, I could feel the excitement. And I said to her, I'm like, I want you to almost imagine you can hear the drums of the intro of Hound Dog, you know, over this beginning portion of what you're about to say and, and meet that, like, meet that excitement. And uh, and she did it.
She knocked it outta the park. I can't wait to hear this demo. I think it's gonna be fantastic. You know, here's the other thing, right? On the other flip side of all this. You wanna go ahead and you don't wanna hold [00:07:00] yourself back in any kind of way, but you also want to like utilize your own personal feelings, your own personal experiences to bring stuff to each piece.
We've talked about audio books before. I've talked about the, you know, the fact that I feel like there's a number of ways that you can do them, but one of the most, I think, um. Productive ways, uh, you know, accomplishing ways of, of doing and bringing an audiobook to life is looking at the piece that you have.
And even if it's just like one section of it, it's like, what's happening here? What is the vibe? You know, what, what room are they in? What's the lighting like, you know, if I was in that room, what kind of feelings would I be having, you know? And. This might just be the actor in me to go ahead and and think this way, but so many times it's just like, [00:08:00] oh, well I'm going to read this story, and that can work.
It totally can. But if you're able to explore and be true to the feelings that you yourself have had in life, and you can kind of put yourself in those shoes for just a moment and bring some of that to your piece. It's amazing the level steps that it takes for you to go from just reading it to, to bringing, you know, that, that much more authenticity to, to your read.
Um, you know, like, think about who you are in life. You know, when I say we go back to the very beginning of this episode and, and what I was talking about and like. Being true to yourself, like, you know, and, and allowing to play onto those strengths. A lot of people think that maybe they don't have. Certain qualities that are necessary for this and that they have to grow into them.
And [00:09:00] sure, I mean, in some cases maybe that is the case. Maybe you don't have all the acting shops and you know, you don't have, uh, you know, the ability to, you know, speak or I should just say, read, you know, rather conversationally in this moment that that's okay. You know, it's good to test yourself a little bit and it's good.
To, to educate and to practice and to grow and to get there. But we all come with some natural characteristics that we bring to the table that God, we might not even be fully aware of at first, but we really need to play into them because you know, that might be how we get our first gig. Or our first round of work.
Um, so, you know, I, if anything, it's like, maybe you're gonna be around some people this weekend. Maybe you're at a cookout or whatever, like, I'm gonna have tomorrow. It might be beneficial for you. You're around some people that know you ask them, what, what are some characteristics of me when I'm having a conversation with people?
Like what, what kind [00:10:00] of things do you notice about my personality that might be helpful and, and a strength? When going to do any of this kinda work that you think would allow me to be engaging in, in any voiceover that I might do and, you know, really let people think about that. You know, because I, it might be surprising to you, you know, thankfully, coming into this class that I had earlier today, this woman was well aware that, you know, she is a more animated person.
She, she does have a lot of energy to bring. But she was also very accustomed to having like a group of students in front of her, uh, whether it be in, in a library setting or, or in a college course. So she was used to a group and, and trying to engage that group. But that's much different than what we do.
We're not trying to necessarily engage a group when we go ahead and do any of this work. You know, we wanna pay attention to [00:11:00] just that one human who happened to. Put this audio on and sure, it might be a whole bunch of people who end up listening to it, but in that moment you wanna have that one-on-one connection with them.
And once I started kind of putting these little nuggets back into her brain and and giving her that little bit of luxury to just listen, go ahead. Play to your strengths. Be true to you. Don't hold back. You know what? Go ahead. Let loose, let your gut guide you right now and gimme a smile and let's see what happens.
And then it's like she does the reading and I'm over here knowing exactly how it went. 'cause I'm like, yeah. And, but I'm like, how did it feel? Did you feel the difference when you feel it, you know, and it, it makes a world of difference overall. So, you know, like I said, it, it's, it's, if you're gonna be around some people this weekend, maybe in the next few days or whatever, or next time that you [00:12:00] are, and you're trying to think, well, what about me would be a, a good strength right away without me even having.
To really work on it, you know, what is a characteristic that I hold already naturally that is beneficial and, and just, you know, see what happens and see what people say. And you know what, if you're consistently getting the same kind of answers, you, you have your answer. You know, and, and just think of what kind of work falls in line with that and then run with it.
And anything is at your fingertips with growth and, and practice and education and feedback, and then more practice and, and you are going to always grow and you are going to be able to do a variety of work over the course of your career and voiceover. But where do you start? How do you know where to start?
How do you even know what your strengths are? [00:13:00] Unless you ask some questions, whether it's to yourself or to others, and I, I think, you know, that can set you up for success and, uh, set you up on the right path. So go ahead, do it this weekend. Go, uh, go and ask some questions, you know, and, and kiss some babies and shake some hands and stuff or something.
But, uh, if you've got a question, anything that you want tackled here on the pod, [email protected], M-A-R-I-S-S [email protected]. Enjoy the summer as it keeps on. Just making me sweat and, um, you know, I'll talk to you next week. I think we've got some interviews coming up too, so we'll talk to some former students and, and see how they're doing and, uh, what they're up to and, and how they got there and, and such.
So that is on the way. But, uh, enjoy your weekend and stay safe. Everybody.
Visit voice coaches.com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa expresses just how important it is to be true to YOU and play to your natural strengths.
