What does your voice sound like? Are you comfortable with it? Would you listen to yourself for more than a few moments at a time? These are only a small sample size of the questions one might ask when thinking about voice acting. To be frank, these self-inquiring queries are barriers to success. Finding your voice may be the journey you set out on, but the lesson learned on that trek is realizing that it does not matter.
Finding Your Voice
Most self-searching questions are ego driven, let’s call a spade a spade here. Why would you care about the personal opinion of anyone else unless there is a shred of vulnerability and a desire to please others? There are some things in life you are born with, like your voice. It can be trained and developed professionally over time, techniques can refine your sound, and technology can alter/polish it, but at its core it is your unique sound. Finding your voice is more about accepting what is there and selling yourself.
The Voice Is Part of the Total Package
What we must realize is that the client is looking for a voice to fit their needs. They may be looking for a certain age, a certain gender, a certain ethnicity, a certain accent, etc. Though we can manipulate our voices or be able to mimic certain quirks, our base sound is our base sound and that may not be what the client wants. Is that a knock on you as a talent? Certainly NOT! Don’t get down on yourself because you are not what someone else has in mind for THEIR project. The focus should be on being the best YOU that YOU can be. Clean up YOUR audio. Fix your environment. Eliminate the noise in your recording area. Edit to the best of your ability. The QUALITY of the work that YOU can provide will affirm that right voice is attached to a PROFESSIONAL they’d like to have a long working relationship with.
What is My Niche?
Your Niche should be the things that YOU and only YOU can provide. Excellent customer service. Excellent communication. The intangibles that you possess beyond the audio. So, when you sit down to read that script for that audition, read it as YOU. Be comfortable and don’t stress the things you cannot control. Don’t feel inadequate because you haven’t landed that first job yet. Keep getting better every day because the time will come. Be ready for it and knock it out of the park when it comes. Be more than a voice. Make a lasting impression with all your skills. That is how you will carve out your niche.
