It's Not About the Voice

This is all about me...something I allow myself at the end of every year.

I don't have the best voice in the world...I have a nice voice, a voice some find easy to listen to, a voice that is sincere, but it's far from the best voice available. But I contend, it's not about the voice.

There has always been a schism between those who consider themselves "artists," and those who, like me, consider our job to interpret what the client desires in a manner to which the ultimate consumer will respond. This is a purely personal position, but I believe the "artists" are worried about how their performance will reflect upon themselves and their talent. Talents like myself, however, are concerned with giving the client what they want and, ultimately, making the client's cash register ring.

It's a "hired gun" sort of mentality that doesn't get involved with what listeners think of me...it's not about me. I will make suggestions when my input is requested, or if I believe I can suggest something that will either reduce the cost of the project or increase the efficacy of the material.

Artists, on the other hand, make suggestions to bend the material to better display their talent, their voice, their skills. This is not to say their suggestions may not be valid, often they may be. The issue is the motivation for the suggestion; is the suggestion for the benefit of the client or is it to improve how the voiceover will be received...perhaps by potential new clients? Every job is an audition for the next rather than an end in itself.

At http://www.smooth-male-voiceover-talent.com/, the client is our only consideration.

I'm a craftsman, proud of my work...not so proud of myself. Whether I'm creating copy or interpreting someone's words, the client's success is the only goal. In fact, it's in my mission statement (yea, I got one of those): I help successful people be more successful and have fun doing it. It's a position that has served me well for more than thirty years.

Nope, I don't have the best voice...and I recognize my voice is not the best voice for every product or service. This realization has saved me a lot of agonizing over jobs not won. And I think I'm happier than those who can't understand why everyone isn't using his/her voice...after all, it's not about the voice.