While everyone may be aware that voice over artists are the ones who make commercials go, they may not be aware just how many times in the course of their day that they hear something done by professional voice talent. If it wasn’t for voice talent, there would be a lot of silence in places most people are used to hearing something. But sometimes it can be rather surprising to consider the sheer amount of professional voice talent is actually out there making our world what it is. In fact, you may have planned an entire project without once considering what a voice-over artist can do for you.
Of course, there are advertising jingles and TV promotions. Those things call attention to themselves. But what if you need to create a podcast to make an announcement about an event? Or to deliver information to the masses about your beautiful new website that is going to make you tons of money? You may want to consider hiring professional voice talent.
Voice over artists also work on audio books, narration projects—even corporate narration projects and e-learning narration. They read business audio books, and books that tell their readers how to make money. Those books don’t just read themselves, you know. Someone had to be chosen and subsequently hired for that.
Even video games like Duke Nukem require voice actors to bring the action to life. Anywhere there is a voice, there is a voice actor behind it. When you call your credit card company and a pleasant voice runs through your voice-tree options, those options were read by a voice actor. They’re everywhere. And if you have a project that requires the reading of information for the purpose of getting people to buy a product or vote for a candidate or just about anything else you can think of, try to avoid thinking you can just save some money and to it yourself. Just…don’t. It’s not as easy as it looks and you could ruin your project by trying to amateur your way through it.
The main thing, the thing above all other things, that a professional voice actor can do for you, is to lend an air of professionalism to your project. These guys have stage presence, which is important even if they’re not actually standing on a stage. They know how to evoke a variety of emotions simply by using their voices. They know about timing and they know how to remember lines, or find their place quickly if they are reading copy. That’s not as easy as it sounds. Because they know how to do all this, they will make sure that the audience’s attention is not on them, but on your message, on your product. The money you spend on hiring a professional could save you big in the long run.
