Well, we are all in voiceover business where there’s no limit to how we use our voice, Right?. With each new assignment done in front of that microphone, we improvise,learn,evolve and that’s the beauty of voiceover. A voiceover artist explores the range of his/her voice with every new assignment BUT .. are we doing it the right way?

There have been numerous instances where even the best voiceover artists have gone awry. This happens more often with the beginners. Over emphasis, over modulations, unnecessary animations in your voice can ruin your audio and bring much damage to the essence of the script. So what should be done to escape this circle of erratic improvisations?

Numero Uno… Be NATURAL!!! It’s your voice, you know the best how to use it, when and where to take pauses, when to speed up, slow down, raise the pitch.It’s good to hear what your client wants from you, but you are the best judge of your voice. Simply, following your recordist’s,client’s instructions many a times in the recording rooms damage the outcome. So be yourself.. convince them about your style of delivery..see if you could mix your style with client’s demand

STOP IMITATING!!! Its a good practice to listen to other voiceover narrations before going for the recording but mind it, this can totally skew your talent in another direction.You search youtube,vimeo,sound directories, to listen to a particular type of script and knowingly or unkowingly it creates an impression on your voice. You start to sound a “Me Too” voice. This is a dangerous situation for any voiceover artist. Listen, understand the basic principles, but do not copy. Do not try to be someone else. Your voice is totally different from them, and you will fail for sure if you copy them in your recordings. So stay ORIGINAL.

PRACTICE. When it comes to recording your voice for a script, there’s no substitute to doing a thorough homework on your script. Read .. understand .. again read .. understand .. understood the script? Yes? Okay then, read it again.Trust me this helps.The more you read your script, better would be the voiceover.Understand the nuances of the script, how long is it? How much modulation is required? What is the script trying to tell? Answer these questions and record your voice.You’ll see the difference.

So next time when you try something new as a voiceover artist, do not forget to be NATURAL,ORIGINAL and PRACTICE!!!