Here's My New Book on Voiceover Success

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TCS29CB/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_lWpeDb3FQ93AP …

Dan Balestrero Voiceover Studio Profile in The Signal Magazine

The Signal Newspaper in Santa Clarita was kind enough to interview me about my Voiceover Class.

Dan Balestrero: The Voice Maestro of the SCV – Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Revelations Come From Allowing Process

Someone in class asked a great question last night. A talented voiceover artist had just finished a great read, and the new person asked a simple but important question. The question was this. What made his read so perfect. There are of course many things that could be said in answer to this question and they would all be correct in their own way. However, I felt at that moment that there was a need to explain in a more global way, a more practical way that would help everyone in class understand that they can achieve their own great reading ability using their own gifts to do just as well. The answer begins with these five words. Patience, Process, Familiarity, Realization, Revelation.

It is perfectly natural to say things like, “why can’t I do that,” “I wonder how to do that”, oh I could never do that.”

Learning to allow time for process is the single most important thing that we can learn in this life. Process is how the earth was made. Process is how math, science and art achieve all their great accomplishments and inspirations. 

Some will simply say, “well you have to have patience to learn any skill and of course that is true. But it goes far beyond that simple true statement. Becoming good at anything, developing a high level of skill always follows a series of events and processes.

When we are starting out on a new path to learn some new skill….we must use our patience to allow time for process. Notice I didn’t say allow process, but allow time for process. People work on a new skill for a bit and then say, I don’t know why I can’t do this. The brutal answer is, you can’t do it as well as you want yet because you haven’t taken the time to become familiar enough so you can see how to do it. We must allow process to continue so that we can build up familiarity with the task. As we become familiar with the task, we see more clearly. We sometimes unconsciously have no regard for the time it takes to learn. We make a generic judgement... I have put in SOME time so why aren’t I better. The question isn’t have you put in SOME time... The question is have you put in ENOUGH time. It’s so obvious it’s funny and yet this is exactly what goes on in peoples minds all the time.

If we don’t allow process because of impatience we are literally making the choice to NOT understand because we have interrupted the process of building up familiarity.

When we practice Patience, we allow Process. That helps us build up Familiarity, and then we start to Realize what’s going on, and then we start having Revelations... about how to do things.

t is far more important to have in depth experiences with how to read a few pieces of copy than it is to have perfunctory experiences reading dozens of pieces of copy. Now of course, perusing vast quantities of copy helps you get a certain overview. But learning how to read a piece of copy requires delving deeply, playing with the cadence, the tone of voice. If a person works on a complicated piece of copy that is, say one page long and they read it 20 times and it sounds really good, then that is a great start.

But all the learning takes place after you get it about right. If you continue to work on it and read it a hundred times after you’ve gotten it down pretty well, you will hear it completely differently than you did when you had first, “gotten it right”. People simply usually stop when something is pretty good AND THEN wonder why it isn’t BETTER!!!!!

Once you realize how to read it, you don’t want to stop there, for heaven's sake. Realization is the last stage before REVELATION. If you stop at realization you have just made the decision to prevent revelation and that is why you can’t do it. It’s not that you couldn’t do it, you just quit the process before you had gotten to the revelation of what would have been brilliant instead of merely good.

Many people have an awful lot of talent and don’t go as far as they might have. And a great many people seem to have less talent and go way beyond what we might have thought possible for them. They, through their persistence and determination build up their familiarity to the point that they have greater and greater revelations from their realizations.

Sometimes people who have a lot of up front talent are too convinced of the superficiality of the task, so they never get beyond their natural talent that makes it easy for them in the beginning.

So when you find yourself saying I wish I could understand... I have one thing to say to you…snap out of it!!!!!!!!! You will understand if you stay with it.

Not understanding is most often a product of interrupting the process that , if allowed to continue, would always result in understanding. It is rarely about can you do it, it’s almost always about…will you stay with it long enough to achieve what you want.

Lets examine some of these elements and specify what is meant. We'll take them in order:

Patience-Patience is NOT working on something while you roll your eyes….patience is NOT tolerating something while you work on it… Patience has nothing to do with begrudgingly working on something….. patience is clearing your mind of these negative traits and dialogues so you can concentrate on the process of learning. This process should not involve self critical dialogue in your mind while you’re working. It’s important to remain observant but neutral while you are working. You just can’t have whiney distracting thoughts going on in your head and expect your mind to learn anything. Patience is: detached participation. You are completely focused on what you’re attempting and observing whether you are succeeding or not, but you are not saying negative things to yourself WHILE you’re making corrections. You are making an effort without the anxiety of fear coloring the attempt.

Familiarity-As these multiple attempts pile up in our minds we find that we are becoming familiar with the results and the reasons why things work. This familiarity is the beginning of control…the development of skill. The ability to steer our efforts and control the result. We only start to get the idea so to speak after we have been immersed in any skill for a while. People often question themselves and wonder why they can’t do something correctly when in fact they simply haven’t invested the time to be able to do it correctly

Realization-Always happens when we are immersed in activities that are producing familiarity. If you keep at something you will always start to understand what is going on. Perception is a by product of familiarity. It’s how our minds analyze things and come to conclusions and develop skills that enable us to progress in our training. As we get familiar with things, and techniques, we stat to realize the relationship between tasks, and that’s when we start to understand the causal relationship between skills and tasks.

Revelations-Only occur if we don’t interrupt this process. As you keep reflecting on your realizations..that very process will produce revelations that are far beyond your current realizations. The main characteristics and differences between realization and revelations are simply the depth of understanding. A realization may reveal how to do something but a revelation will tell you why, and how and take your skill level to a much higher level because you have connected your intuition to your physical skills in a much more profound way.

You can be excited about your voiceover future, because there has never been a time when there are so many opportunities to do voiceover work, and so many new ways to find them.

- Developing Your Voiceover Abilities

I had some one email me and the person said that they had taken two voiceover coaching's  and understood what was going and wanted to make a voiceover demo. I declined and mentioned they're are lots of recording studios that a person can hire where they can go in and record what they want.
Sometimes there are natural geniuses that can do that and succeed.
More often than not it doesn't work that way. It's important to develop and A-list set of reading skills in order to be able to compete with that large group of very talented voiceover professionals that are out there.
In any profession, successful people are always working on improving their skill level and it should be the same for us. Client loyalty depends on providing the highest level of skill and service possible.

If Not Now, When?

We all have to deal with the timing of events in our lives. Sometimes the timing is great and sometimes it is not. We know the saying that we use when we're stuck; "There's never a perfect time to start, just start".

The main issue however, is feeling motivated to start. We don't start something because we don't feel motivated. But, the way it usually works is, if we start we will feel the motivation kick in as a reward for our commitment. We feel better when we take action. We feel better when we are proactive. Finding ways to be responsible for pursuing our dreams is obviously an elusive business sometimes, and yet it can be great fun solving the mysteries of how to engage in activities that will help us realize our goals.
We often think very deeply about thinking deeply and it becomes a substitute activity for actual engagement. Keeping a sense of humor and looking at the adventure side of accomplishing goals can make us bolder and more successful participants  in our lives and in our dreams:)

- Don't Give Up - Don't Stop Improving

There are many questions that come in asking how to "make it" when the voiceover field is so competitive. There are lots of stories of people trying and not succeeding.

What is the key? What is the secret? The secret is to never, ever give up and to always keep trying different approaches. It is a mistake to try the same approach or market when it is not producing results. The voiceover industry is not just about talking. Certain voices have traits that work much better in certain voiceovers. None of us can do everything. It takes endless experimentation to find the copy  and the areas where we can do our best work and where people will respond by hiring us.

One has to be a crazy insane scientist to discover one's personal path to success and greater skills. Sometimes people want to just focus on the approach they have always used, perhaps because of moderate success. The reality is the voiceover business is always changing pretty dramatically and we have to change and reinvent with it or be left out. It can be done, you can succeed. It takes imagination, tremendous persistence, and skill. Turn on the media and notice that the good, the bad and the ugly are all working...so why not you:)

- Voiceover Coaching Styles and Topics

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.

- Follow Us On Twitter:)

So you can follow us on Titter at:

@masteringVO

- We Have a New Video Testimonials Page on Our Website

Many thanks to our students/clients that have contributed some very kind and amazingly creative, funny and outrageous testimonials for mastering voiceover classes.
 Enjoy

and follow us on Twitter @masteringVO

Video Testimonials

Very Real Sounding Is Often Very Dull. It Still Has to be Compelling.

People will rightfully tell you that you have to sound more real, more like the person next door. Well of course that makes sense. The person directing the project wants the voiceover artist to sound sincere and honest and authentic. But there is a funny flip side to all of this. I hear a complaint from many pros that I coach, that people will say to them... “No its gotta sound more real!” and then they tell me about their frustration that when they try and sound more real, they then often get criticized for sounding lackadaisical or uninspired, or unenthusiastic about the topic.

So what the heck is going on? On the one hand a director says be more real, more conversational, on the other hand they then seem to be complaining about the tone of voice when the person follows the directions that are given.

The answer is this: Often when a person backs off to become more conversational or more real, the energy drops so much that the pace is a little too slow... the cadence looses its bounce... and the melody a little too flat...

Because it’s a wholesale drop in energy it really just does sound unenthusiastic. So it seems like the read has lost all of its life.

When a person tries to be more conversational, not hard sell or not announcery, the effort should focus on smoothing out the delivery and tumbling the speech more so it feels a bit more like a stream of ideas. 

This makes the energy in the vowels and consonants more even and that is exactly what makes us sound MORE REAL AND CONVERSATIONAL.

When we try and become more conversational we are often just backing off on the energy we are using. This usually flattens the amount of rise and fall in our voices, which is what happens when we aren’t passionate about something. 

So the proper approach is to talk at low levels but to maintain a slight urgency. There is a greater rise and fall in the melodies we use when we are excited about a product or story. This will usually restore the rise and fall of the voice.

- You Could Make Big Money With Your Voice

Advertisers and casting directors need a wide range of voice types in order to sell to all kinds of people. Sometimes there is a misconception that only dramatic or impressive voices can do voiceovers. That simply is not true. There was a time in the '50s and the '60s when the sound of the “announcer”, big, deep voice, was completely dominant, but not any longer. So, if you love speaking and playing with words, if you like language and expressing yourself, you could be part of this very lucrative industry.

Your own uniqueness could be the reason you make a lot of money. Often, people try to be like everyone else. In voiceovers, being different can make you rich. Of course you have to fit in to the various styles, but your individual sound can bring a richness to someone’s project that will be perfect for them. One type of voice might not be able to convey the ideas to a listener, that another person saying the exact same words can explain with perfect clarity. 

Many times a less dramatic voice is perceived as more accessible. Obviously this depends on the person who is listening, what is being talked about, and what they like. Having said that, if we are seeking assurance or affirmation, then we tend to prefer a more authoritative voice. On the other hand, if we are trying to learn new concepts, or instructions in a new field, a more gentle voice can often help us understand better. Why? Well we sometimes feel slow or foolish if we don’t understand something new right away. It’s a basic human tendency to want to understand right away and to be impatient about the learning process. Consequently a more gentle, less dramatic voice allows us to relax more and not feel as impatient or embarrassed if we are having trouble grasping a concept.

So, there is a need for all voice types. Making money with your voice is a great way to make a living.

- One Reason People Get Fired From Voiceover Jobs

This comes up way too often I'm sad to report. I have heard from people in the industry year after year that there are simply too many people who have great VO demos who don't read with the same competence in the booth that their demo displays. It is incredibly important to practice all the time as if you're in a booth doing a job. Go to a gig all warmed up and sharp. They aren't there to listen to you wake up or get rolling. If they greet you and chit chat fine, but don't start telling long stories. Be prepared. Be on time. The first read out of your mouth should demonstrate that you are a pro and ready to go. Time is money, and it's their money.
In order to really be able to take direction and deliver professional reads, you have to be able to vary cadence and melody to solve problems of articulation and or meaning. Have fun out there and practice like you're going to the olympics. You can do it, you can succeed.

- Learn What You're Doing Before Someone Wants You:)

I hear a lot of stories from people who have been interested in doing voiceovers but never pursued training of any kind, Then they are asked by someone to do a voiceover and want help. That is not the best time to develop your skill set. Prepare yourself before someone wants you to do VO work so you'll be asked back.
Here are some detailed thoughts on why VO classes are necessary from my web site free articles page.   Articles

- Breaking Into Voiceovers

The main question I get all the time is how does one break into voiceovers. Here are some thoughts about different ways that might work.
For starters, its' not a candy store thats locked at night so breaking in is maybe not the image you want.
There are many points of entry. On hold messaging for small companies is a simple way to start. You can do audio books for ACX (Audible.com) and hope they sell so you get your percentage. The experience of doing an audio book will hone your skills and then you can tell voiceover talent agencies that you have done a couple of audio books. You have to create a few projects because no one wants to go first when it comes to hiring.
HR departments use an endless stream or narrations explaining company policies. This can be for powerpoint presentations, videos or just audio.
There are media production companies that make their entire living just creating presentations that all have voiceovers.
You must have a really great voiceover demo that you can submit to people to keep in their files so when they need narrations they have examples of your work.
You will find a way to get work if your skills are professional, and you set out to explore. Keep in mind that no one will come to "Discover you" You have to prepare your skills and then take yourself into the market place and you will find work if you make the commitments needed.

- Studying Voiceover Skills Improves Success in Any Profession

The ability to persuade determines our financial success. In fact, everything in life is about vocal presentation. We connect with people, get hired, teach, and close deals based on the effective use and clarity of our voice. Whether you’re a teacher, receptionist, lawyer, salesperson, politician, program coordinator, CEO, team leader, doctor, negotiating or interviewing, it is our voice that carries our ideas to people. Success is a voice driven activity and studying voiceover skills can give you the vocal tools to achieve it.

Rapport with people isn’t magic, it is composed of certain elements in a person’s presentation. Are you ever frustrated because the training you’ve had doesn’t give you the results you want? Whether the training works or not depends entirely on delivery. The secrets for achieving your ambitions are contained in your own voice. All of success in business and personal relationships depends on your tone of voice and your vocal presentation. 

- No One is Going To Tell You To Be a Voiceover Artist

I knew a famous singer when I was a guest artist at San Francisco Opera that I conducted Master Classes with. Singers would ask her if they should continue on and try and have a career as an opera singer. She would always say NO! I asked her over dinner why she always told everyone NO. She responded that a real singer would go ahead and sing no matter what. Any one who needed approval to have a career didn't belong in the business anyway. Have a happy New Year and follow your dreams, whatever they are:)

- Getting The Most out of Your Voice and Career

There are several related questions that people ask me: How do I make my voice authentic? How do I get everything out of my voice? How can I read any style of copy better than anyone. How can I get to a higher level in my career? How can I make more money? How can I have a successful voiceover career?
There are many more questions than these that come in all the time. Some of the questions are good ones and some maybe not as well thought out. Nevertheless, here are some related answers.
Even the questions that seem more superficial are inspired by legitimate worries and or concerns.
How does voiceover success work and whats  the relationship of YOUR voice to it?
First of all, you have to be easy company to be around. Learn to be casual and social in the studio. Don't talk too much!
Practice ALL the time. There are really a lot of great VoiceOver Artists, make sure your practice schedule will make you one of them. A part time or random effort will produce an incomplete set of skills. Remember that NO ONE person can read all the different kinds of copy. The compass of your voice and personality has range and flexibility but it has natural limits that must be obeyed in order to maintain authenticity.
You can take your career to a higher level by developing a higher standard for the work you send out. I'm not talking about perfectionism, that has nothing to do with great work. It has everything to do with endless self criticism, which is different. Make sure you deliver pristine clear natural vocal renderings of the copy.
You can have a successful voiceover career by doing what we all have done; work hard on your skills because you love it so much, network with many people, use good business practices in all your dealings, and do what you say your going to do. Always remember, you can do do it. We have and so can you!

- How To Get Rid of Mouth Clicks/Noise Before or After

This happens to all of us at some point. There are mouth clicks that we notice when we play back our recordings. Sometimes they're are none and sometimes we wonder what the heck is wrong with our mouth. Lets start with minimizing them to start with. Generally the clicks start appearing if our mouth is too dry. When you are speaking, you are loosing over a liter of water an hour because the humidity in the lungs is close to 100%. Keep taking sips of water while you're reading. By the time you feel dry it's too late for that moment because it takes time to re hydrate. The next issue is how to minimize the noise on the spot. Every body chemistry is different so you have to experiment with what works for you. Having said that. Apple juice is an amazing moisturizer for the mouth. Mixing some honey with water works for many. Some people I know swear that some molasses in water is a great cure.
If none of this helps then the post production fix that I love is made by iZotope. It is their RX4. It has a DeClick filter that is just magic. Scroll down to Declick and you'll see how specific it is.
iZotope RX 4: Features | Audio Enhancement & Repair Tool

You can by either the $349. version or the advanced $1199. version.

iZotope RX 4: Complete Audio Enhancement & Repair Toolkit

Om shorter pieces you can of course just do surgery and cut the clicks out, like we've all done but iZotope is magic.

- Success = Record and Play Back, Record and Play Back - A lot:)

One of the most important things you can do to improve your ability to read copy and create variations, is to be a maniac about recording yourself and listening to those takes. Try and listen to your takes as a director would. Is it authentic? ... or does it smack of "Hard Sell"?  Does your delivery have "The Most Reasonable Conclusion Sound"? There are many, many ways to do successful voiceovers. You will discover what's best for your voice and personality by recording and playing back your voice endlessly. The built up familiarity will bring you revelations about how to create more effective deliveries.

- If You Want To Make More than Most people You Need better Skills than Most People

Everything is relative to the context you're in, but generally if you can read better than most people you have a good chance of making more than most people. What does that mean actually? Here are some generalizations that have lots of exceptions, but are  useful to make a point. You have to work on all of your skills from reading to cold reading to marketing and networking. No one is simply going to "discover you". It rarely works like that. People are often "over night" successes after many years of training and personal development until they "break through". One example is that the people directing a voice over session may just ask you to give them a half dozen different reads with some direction, but not much. You have to be able to do subtle variations of cadence and melody to give them true variations of the copy that still sounds natural and still remain within the general directions they have given. This is harder than it sounds. I do know a number of working pros who don't work on that and wonder why they can't climb higher on the food chain. We are never done trying to improve our skills so we can have "fewer gigs and bigger checks" :)