I get many questions asking
what should voiceover coaching be like. What topics should great voiceover
coaching cover? How do I pick someone who is good at voiceover coaching?
These are natural good
questions for some one who is starting out. There isn’t one simple answer, of
course, but I’m going to list some guidelines that in my opinion are very
important qualities that good voiceover coaching should have.
Lets start by saying that
there are many different approaches to voiceover coaching, different strokes
for different folks is the rule in all education. Different people require
different approaches because of how they learn. One size never fits all.
Some people need a very
structured approach, while others need to be free to achieve in an open ended
setting.
Regardless of the structure
of the lessons, it’s important that the voiceover coaching explains:
The various voiceover
styles, cold reading techniques, the radically ever changing nature of the
voiceover business, voice and breath development, marketing, getting jobs, how
to behave in a recording session, working the microphone, editing and mastering
your recordings, and how to set up a home studio.
That’s a good list of topics
to start and they are interdependent on each other. They require each other to
have a clear view of the voiceover business and talent required to succeed. Those
are the subjects that in my opinion are very important.
The next and equally
important topic is the nature and manner that the voiceover coaching is
presented with. Some instructors are, in my view, artificially rigid and or condescending.
They are gruff to prepare a person for how tuff the industry can be. They
explain how you have to be tuff to succeed.
I am not sympathetic to this
approach. I’ve always associated it with a lack of knowledge or skill on the
instructor’s part.
It is my opinion that the
most successful way to train any student in any skill is always to provide
accurate feed back in an atmosphere of safety, respect and fun. Discovery and learning
is a fun activity and can produce miracles if students are lead by kindness and
also never patronized.
I don’t believe in having beginners,
intermediate and advanced series of classes. That of course works for some
people and there is nothing wrong with it. I personally find it remedial when
dealing with most adults. I put new students in my class with people who are
great so they are surrounded by A List talent. I just limit the length of the reads
the new people do so they don’t get over whelmed. That way the ear training
that they are receiving in the group class has professional examples that helps
them jump to the pro standard more quickly.
The important thing is that
a student starting out should always follow their own intuition regarding how
they want to be trained and pick the teacher or classes that they are the most
comfortable with.
There are really a lot of
terrific teachers in the world who are very skilled and fun that provide great
voiceover coaching. Go out there and find the one that works for you.
Becoming a successful
voiceover artist requires developing ones own intuition and awareness. The
first place to exercise that awareness and intuition is in the choosing of the
voiceover coach who will introduce you to the wonderful world of voiceovers.
