British Voiceover: How To Stand Out As A UK Voice Artist
What Makes A Good Voice Artist ?
A good Voice Artist solves problems for creative people, often at short notice. Hello, I’m James Fowler and I’m a British Male Voice Artist.
Production schedules are murderous, so being able to help video producers, audiobook publishers, marketers game producers quickly is a golden offer. The trouble is though, this is what every Voice Artist says they can do.
How To Help Producers Select The Right Voiceover ?
Solving a problem in a hurry can get you hired again, which is great; but with so much choice, the challenge is to stand out as ‘the go to person for VoiceOver’. Well there’s a quality bar that has to be met first, but beyond that it’s all about your unique offer.
In this blog, I give my top tips to stand out as a professional UK VoiceOver. These tips have helped me thrive in a saturated market-place since 2019.
My Top Tip For Voice Artists: Have a Great Attitude
A great, ‘client focussed’ attitude is essential when providing a creative service, with the communication skills to support it. This makes the difference between building successful relationships or not.
Voice Artists should be the sort of people that always try to add value, listen to direction and put the needs of a client first. All creative businesses are built on reputations.
Specialise in Voiceover Styles
To be successful in Voice-over, it’s best for a Voice Artist to specialise in one or two areas you’re good at. If you don’t specialise and try to appeal to everyone, you might not appeal to anyone.
Being the ‘go to’ person for one genre of VoiceOver, like ‘medical narration’, ‘audiobook narration’ or ‘audioguides’ is a good place for a narrator to start.
Sub-Specialise
Better still, go further and sub-specialise: ‘medical education narration’, ‘self-help audiobook narration’, or ‘city walk audioguides’.
There’s a lot to be said for being a ‘big fish in a small pond’.
Great Voiceovers Offer Other Services
Video Producers are on tight dead-lines and need multiple areas of input to complete their projects. If you can be a one-stop-shop for them then this is really useful to them.
In addition to broadcast quality audio, I also offer clients music production and audio post production. They may have this in hand already, but it reflects positively if you’re offering to help with their needs.
What Other Services Can Voice Artists Provide ?
This is not an exhaustive list of course and not every Voice Artist is also a classically trained musician, but many have a wide variety of additional talents that can save a client time and money.
- Music Composition (Its a niche service that I provide)
- Audio Post production For Visual Media
- Producing Copy
- Proof-reading
- Audiobook Creation (Up-loading To Publishing Platforms)
- Voice Reel Production
- Audio Editing
- Audio Mixing
- Audio Studio Advice (Useful for new talent)
- Narrating Video-books
- Syncing Audio With Video – dubbing
- Voice Coaching
Voice Artists – Can You Describe Your Voice ?
When describing your tone and delivery style, do you stick to terms like ‘warm’, ‘authentic’ and ‘natural’. These are thrown about with abandon and whilst they are terms often sought by clients, they can be a bit cliche.
A favourite author of mine ‘James Victore’ wrote:
‘The things that used to make you weird are now your super-powers’.
Any idiosyncrasy in your tone or pitch, the sort of thing you hated as a kid, well thats what you should promote now as a VoiceOver – embrace the weirdness.
Can You Describe Your Vocal Range ?
A voiceover’s voice is a big part of their brand, but many are unable to describe their range, tone and vocal style.
Assess the full spectrum of your voice—its highs, lows, and everything in between. Professional voice artists can flex it to suit the client’s need, from corporate reads to high-energy commercial work.
Tone & Timbre
Whether you have a rich baritone or a bright tenor, identify what makes your tone special. This will help you know your strengths, allowing you to tailor your pitch when approaching new projects.
Pacing & Delivery
A professional VO can adapt vocal pacing to support the key messages. Whether you’re delivering a calm, measured narration or a rapid-fire commercial, pacing and delivery should align with the script’s intent.
Practice Narration
All successful Voice Artists continuously look to improve their skills. Every audition and job is another chance to refine one area or skill.
If you’re starting out, record yourself reading a variety of scripts and pay close attention to how your voice sounds in different contexts.
Voice Care: Maintaining Longevity and Quality
Your voice is a long-term investment and protecting it should be a priority for every professional. Vocal strain can affect your ability to perform at your best and regular maintenance is crucial.
Daily Vocal Warm-ups
Start each session with vocal exercises that focus on breath control, articulation, and resonance. These exercises prevent strain and ensure your voice is in peak condition.
Hydration and Rest
Staying hydrated is key to a smooth, clear sound. Additionally, vocal rest is just as important as physical rest to prevent burnout or damage to your vocal cords.
Breath Support
Use diaphragmatic breathing to control your voice and extend your range. Learning how to breathe correctly will help you deliver longer passages without tiring out.
Voice Coaching
Invest in vocal coaching, which is something that even seasoned professionals do. It helps you refine your voice craft and prevents bad habits creeping in.
Mastering Enunciation With Precision
Clear enunciation is vital in voiceover, especially in professional work where clients demand precision. Whether you’re narrating complex technical material or performing a character, your ability to pronounce words correctly and articulate clearly is crucial to success.
Diction and Accents
Consistently working on your diction and accent control can significantly improve your performances. Focus on articulating each word, even in fast-paced deliveries.
Articulation Exercises
Incorporate exercises like tongue twisters into your daily routine to keep your articulation sharp and precise. This will help you maintain clarity even in the most challenging scripts.
Practice reading scripts with intricate phrasing or tongue-twisters regularly to improve your agility in real-world recordings. The sharper your diction, the more versatile you become as a voiceover artist.
Have Emotion in Your Voiceover Performance
The ability to convey emotion through your voice is one of the hallmarks of a professional voiceover artist. Whether you’re narrating a serious documentary or performing a lively commercial, you’re trying to create an emotional connection with a listener.
Emotional Range
A good way to demonstrate this is with auditions, where you can interpret and re-interpret a script, delivering clients a range of options.
Being able to evoke a wide range of emotions, from joy to sorrow, excitement to calmness is a great skill that can set you apart.
Emotional Styles In Voiceover
I once recorded a project for a client that required a demonstration of 21 different emotional styles. This was challenging and I was struck by the subtle differences in vocal delivery.
How Would You Narrate These Emotions Differently ?
- Enthusiastic – Slightly Excited – Excited – Highly Excited
- Reflective – Sympathetic – Regretful
- Surprised – Worried – Anxious
Voice Clients will use specific words to describe what they want in a performance and having access to a broader range of emotional states can help you stand out.
Method Acting in Voiceover
Train yourself to inhabit the role or persona you are voicing. If you’re a trained actor you’ll understand the value this brings. Be it a drama or a corporate explainer video, full emotional immersion enhances the quality of a performance.
Create a Diverse Voiceover Portfolio and Demo Reel
As a professional Voice Artist your demo reel is your first impression, so make it count. A strong, well-rounded demo reel showcases your versatility and helps clients understand the range of work you can provide.
Tailored Voiceover Demos
Having a demo reel dedicated to accents is good practice as it shows you have performance range. Depending on your strengths, then have separate reels for genres like:
Having a demo reel dedicated to accents is good practice as it shows you have performance range. Depending on your strengths, then have separate reels for genres like: Commercials, Documentaries, Audiobooks, eLearning, Medical Narration and Corporate.
Examples of Specific Voice Demo Genres
1. Commercials
2. Documentaries
3. Audiobooks
4. eLearning
5. Medical Narration
6. Corporate
Studio Quality Voice Recording
Having your demos professionally produced is essential if you want to stand out and you should have the mind-set that nothing leaves your studio unless it’s the best version of you that it can be.
Keep your demo reels concise, ideally no longer than 2 mins. Focus on your strongest reads in all Voiceover demos. Update your VO Demos regularly to reflect new work and skills.
Expand Your Creative Network and Build Relationships
I’m not a fan of the term ‘Its a people business’, because every business is a people business. But when you provide a creative service, you’re in a very competitive space, so like-minded professionals help each other with support and guidance.
A healthy attitude towards wanting to help others without seeking reward is essential when building your brand reputation.
Industry Events and Workshops
I love attending voiceover conferences, workshops, and seminars that keep me informed on the latest trends and techniques; it’s also a great opportunity for networking.
What I try to avoid though is anything that has the title ‘Networking Event’. To me, these feel set up as cold, transactional arrangements.
Stay Current and Evolve Your Skills In Voice Narration
The voiceover industry is constantly evolving, and the most successful voiceover artists adapt to trends, new technologies, and shifting market demands. Stay on top of the latest industry developments by continuing your education and practice.
Conclusion: How to Make Your Voice Stand Out
Standing out in the competitive Voice Over Market requires a blend of technical expertise, performance skill, strategic marketing and most importantly – a client focussed attitude that serves their needs, with the communication skills to help them. Have these elements in your business and you can stand out.
Let Me Help Your Project Stand Out
My name is James and I’ve been a full time British Voice Artist for 7 years.If you enjoyed the content here, there’s more on my website here.
I’ve shouted instructions on the sinking Titanic, been an inter-dimensional being and a moody warlord in video games, sold everything from luxury apartments to Romanian Apple Pie and narrated over 50 audiobooks.
So reach out if you’d like to chat about a project and I’ll get back to you quickly.
Best regards
James
