best voice over talent

What Makes an Effective Commercial Voice Over

Doing an effective commercial voice over means being an influencer—and doesn’t everyone want to be that? A commercial voice over promotes a business or a brand and its products or services—it influences. In other words, it’s selling, and an effective commercial voice over can mean more sales.

Maybe you’re a client needing commercial voice over talent, or you’re a talent wanting to do more of them. Now the marketplace has expanded far beyond radio and television, more traditional mediums. Social media, including YouTube, along with podcasts and websites, mean more opportunities to promote a business, and more need for great commercial voice over.

The voice of a commercial voice over must be many things to many people but needs to sound like the most important person—and voice—to one person. The best commercial voice actors have finely honed the art of talking to a person in a relatable way—and not as though it’s a stadium full of people.

The Right ‘Type’ of Commercial Voice Talent

The agency or script writer knows exactly who the target audience is for any commercial. It’s the group of people who’ll buy that product or service, usually heavily researched if it’s a major corporation or brand name. Creatives know for sure whether a millennial, GenX or mature adult will be buying, so it only makes sense to cast someone in that same age group. The target audience needs to hear a voice that “sounds like” them, at least age-wise.

Be Informed About That Script

If you’re auditioning, do your homework and think about the industry you’ll be talking about, the tone of past commercials and their target audience. What does the advertiser really want to happen here, and how can you finesse the way you deliver the words to accomplish that mission? You want to carefully analyze and interpret those words like a scientist, with thorough preparation and thought—not just jump into the booth and read whatever comes to mind.

You’re telling a story, connecting with the target audience, engaging, and massaging the words. And guess what: The client may listen to only the first 10 seconds of your audition, because after all, they’ve probably got at least 50 other auditions that also deserve their attention. That’s why thorough preparation is so important to a successful commercial read.

Types of Effective Commercial Reads

Hard Sell

You know that commercial that shouts at you from the radio or television, and maybe you turn it off. But maybe it’s selling the thing you’ve been considering buying, so now, it has your attention. And maybe there’s a timeline or deadline to get “this once-a-year price.” Maybe the read is really fast because of so many details considered “necessary” to fit in. And maybe it’s not only loud, but highly energetic and a big forceful.

Soft Sell

This type of commercial voice over predominates in the current marketplace. And that’s why so many voice talents see “not announcery” in the specs detailing what the client wants in a read. Miss that mark, and that voice talent’s audition won’t get through the gate. The read is subtle, non-aggressive, sensitive, realistic, and much more conversational. It may be delivered with very little inflection, almost flat, and may require the listener to use their imagination.

Stay ‘On Trend’

Before you dive into the words, think about what you’re hearing from other commercial spots. Successful commercial voice talents keep their ears open to trends. The voice of 10 or 20 years ago is certainly not the voice of the 2020’s. Like fashion, voice over styles change, too.

Be Truthful with Yourself

Don’t be afraid to practice sounding like someone whose commercial voice talent you admire. Record yourself in the booth and listen back. Then do it again, and although it can be painful, be your harshest critic and practice until you’re happy with that read.

The most successful commercial talents break the rule about “no comparison” to other voices. At the top levels, voice talents often audition for the same job, and then they hear “who got it” when the spot plays. If you can go back to your initial audition and compare notes with the actual booked spot, veterans say that’s a great way to learn what you did right—and wrong, especially if you kept the copy and specs.

Get Pro Help for Your Commercial Voice Over

The biggest money is always in commercials, so it’s no wonder the market is so competitive. There’s no shortage of great voice over coaches, so spend a few sessions brushing up if you’re seasoned, and plan to do that a few times a year. And if you’re new, getting excellent coaching out of the gate is absolutely critical. It can save you time and despair and help keep you on track. Sometimes, your favorite commercial voice talent also does coaching, so check out their websites to see if that’s the case.

You can learn to deliver effective commercial voice over every time.

The Conversational Read for Commercial Voice Over

Voice Over Blog

The conversational read for commercial voice over remains the “darling” of the voice over business. Let’s look at how this impacts both client and talent, both in pursuit of the perfect read.

Why Clients Want a Conversational Read

If you seek a conversational read for your next commercial voice over, you’re not alone among voice over clients. This perennially popular style involves no shouting or “pushing” that copy. For sure, it does not sound forced or stiff—quite the opposite. No yelling about that super sale on a car right now.

You want your next commercial to resonate, so you want a conversational read for commercial voice over when you produce that message. You’ve made it clear in the specs for your product or service that you don’t want anything to sound “announcery.” You want it to be real, informal, relaxed, relatable, and anything over the top just won’t cut it for this voice over project.

You know you’ve got that perfect conversational read when the voice sounds believable, and really connects with the listener, like you. It comes across like a good friend talking to another friend, and although it may not sound super-professional or “perfect,” that’s fine because we humans don’t always speak perfectly, do we?

This voice sounds smooth, delivering words at a pace that doesn’t include lots of pauses that shouldn’t be there anyway. It can be authoritative, and a voice of experience, but not preachy or bossy. the voice doesn’t “talk at” the person but “talks to” them without forcing it. It makes the listener think, “I want this person to tell me more.”

Voice Over Talent Delivers a Conversational Read

If you’re a voice over talent, the conversational read for commercial voice over keeps appearing on almost every script you audition these days. And it helps you so much if the script has been written well, enabling you to deliver that read.

You read the copy through a few times, but maybe you think, “I just don’t have this yet, and I need to get it NOW.”

Let’s ask a few questions and come up with the answers to help you master this conversational voice over read.

Who are you in the commercial read?

If you’ve taken acting or improv classes, good for you! You can apply some of the same principles you used in assessing a theatrical script or improv assignment. And yes, voice over acting is acting, so get yourself “into character.”

Start by thinking about “who” you should emulate in this script. Why is this person there and what should they do? What is their motivation? And what is their connection or relationship to the audience?

Although space is tight, use your hands as you would in a conversation. Just don’t bang the mic! Do what you need to do, including making noises a nd faces, to get into that character mode.

Who is your audience?

So, there you are, squished into a tight studio booth, and you’re alone, with no “Atta’ girl!” or applause. Turn on that active imagination and let it flow. Who’s listening and why do they care? Better yet, how do you, as a voice over talent, engage them and get them to care?

Who was the script writer thinking of as their target when the writer penned the masterpiece you get to voice? Can you envision a relative or friend as the one who will listen? Maybe it’s a celebrity or VIP or someone else who inspires you, or otherwise affects you.

Who do you know who feels like the target of the script? You will tell this person the story in the script and tell it like you mean it. If you get too “announcery,” this person would consider it a huge turn-off, right, and call you out?

How do you structure the read?

Put a pause, or put a breath, where it occurs naturally in the copy. You’d do this in a “normal conversation.” Maybe you want to add a contraction because the copy sounds too stilted. Most directors don’t mind this, but they don’t want you going too far off-script. That remains a no-no in any session as it seems disrespectful to the copy.

Show your magnetic personality, while adhering to that delivery that talks to your “person.” Don’t feel like you have to shout or use a loud voice. That can happen in front of the mic. Think “one-on-one,” sitting next to your “person” in their living room, talking intently and sincerely about something.

Where can you find help?

If developing a conversational read for commercial voice over feels like a high hurdle, get some help. Choose from the many experienced, talented voice over coaches available to help you, within your budget. But don’t rely on someone to do the work for you. Read, record, and listen. And do it again. Practice really does make perfect, and today’s super-successful voice over talents have read thousands of scripts.

You can do it. Just don’t over think it. And practice. More.

How to Choose a Medical Voice Over Talent

Voice Over Blog

Looking for a medical voice over talent? Maybe you work for one of the more than 6,000 hospitals in America. Maybe you aim for the future phenomenal success of your newest life-changing medical device, or a new pharmaceutical medication. And now you need the very best health or medical narration voice over talent you can find for a video that can help achieve your goals. You want a professional voice talent who’s done this before, many times, and for whom long or difficult words or terms aren’t a challenge.

Why not start—and end—your search with someone who “speaks medical” for the very specific audience that will consider your video? You may have heard a certain voice over artist’s medical narration demo. You like it, but you wonder about a few things, as you should.

Know Health and Medical Industry Categories

You need a strong, experienced, knowledgeable medical narration voice talent, whether you’re seeking it for a:

Hospital or health system
Pharmaceutical company
Medical device developer and manufacturer
Health insurance company
Research laboratory
Health or medical association or organization

Ask Questions of Your Medical Voice Over Talent

How much experience do they have?
Will the product they deliver to you sound as good as what’s on their demo?
Can they read pages (and pages) of long-form copy, or are they better suited to commercial reads?
Do they understand this audience? If you’re a hospital or health system, you’re targeting consumers, or maybe you’re producing a training video on safe handling of medical waste. If you’re a medical device company, you may be targeting investors, or buyers including hospitals and physicians’ practices.
Does your talent have a quality, professional home studio, or will they need to go elsewhere to record—and you’ll foot the bill?
Who will edit your medical voiceover?

Know Your Medical Voice Over Talent’s History

You want someone who shows up in the booth well prepared to do your job. Why not look at the list of clients your talent has shown on their website—they should have a website—and reach out to one of them. You can ask, “How was it to work with this talent?” or “Did they understand your directions well and follow through on them?” Or ask “How was their pricing—was it competitive?”

Consider their time in the voice over industry.

You’ll feel so much more confident with someone who’s been doing voice over—successfully—for a longer time. This is true if you’re giving them medical narration copy. It’s not for beginners. These types of projects can sometimes require updates or changes, several months or a few years from the time of original recording. You want to be sure the talent you work with today, will also be the talent you work with later. You need help now when you need something “right away.”

Pay attention to their preparation.

You don’t want someone who walks in and hasn’t taken time to evaluate and mark the copy. Medical narration is particularly challenging, with multisyllabic words, and often, longer sentences because, well, the terminology is just lengthier, often with repeated complex words in a row. That’s not copy that can easily be delivered perfectly in one take without preparation. Your medical narration voice talent will need to read through the copy several times and be sure of pronunciation and syntax. It’s better to learn the correct way to pronounce now, than to put everyone through frustrating repeated mistakes and edits. A professional medical voice talent won’t be embarrassed to ask about something they don’t know right off the bat.

Think about who’s going to be listening.

Does your audience expect a male or female, someone young, in-between, or mature? Do you want no accent at all, or would a local or regional accent help deliver a more effective read? Do you want a talent with a higher pitch, or someone with a deep, commanding timbre?

Meanwhile, a voice over artist known for comedic reads may not be the best delivery for an audience of MDs or PhDs, for example. Leave that casual style for commercials or animation.

Choose the Best Medical Voice Over Talent

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a seasoned medical voice over talent who also has years of writing for the nation’s top health and medical publications and websites, as well as for hospitals and health systems? Who’s written for pharmaceutical companies, medical device developers and manufacturers? And who’s crafted copy for health insurance companies, research laboratories, and health or medical associations and organizations?

Because she’s written so much about medical careers, as a result, Steph understands the structure of those organizations, who does what and why. Therefore, she understands the specific language that is so definitive of healthcare and medicine in the 21^st century. She’s interviewed hundreds of doctors and patients. Steph’s written so many of those longer and complex words and terms. Those may intimidate a less-experienced medical voice over talent.

Find a Medical Script Writer

In addition, while we’re on the subject, if you seek added value with your medical voice over talent, ask Stephanie to write your script because she’s done many. She’s a seasoned writer with 20 years’ experience in this art form, too.

Above all, for her, there’s just something about taking one of your most challenging health or medical scripts, and “knocking it out of the park.” She’ll do it efficiently, correctly, and sounding great, in her next recording session with you.

Stephanie Stephens

Voice Over Talent