Anyone considering hiring someone for their vocal talent should consider exactly what their own needs are first. There are different types of voice talent and not all types are right for every project. One type of voiceover production may require more of a TV promo voice, while another may require more theatrical skills. And, specific skills aside, not every personality is right for every type of voiceover production.

One type of voice talent, which may be thought of as a TV promo voice, is good for short spots. These professional voice announcers work well in commercials, because time is limited and the object is to get a potential customer's attention quickly. This is not a soothing voice—it is the type of voice that can cut right through fantasies about what's for dinner or worries over what the boss will do when you tell him your computer ate your report. But, while it may be possible, even pleasant, to listen to a voice like this for a few minutes, it may not be desirable for longer periods of time. It may not be a good idea, for instance, to have someone with this type voice to read an entire audio book, if that book is, say, an atmospheric horror novel. For that type project, you may need more of a theatrical voiceover.

Vocal talent suitable for reading a novel has to be able to hold people's attention for long periods of time—hours and hours if need be. They have to be able to use their voices to create a certain type of atmosphere, to make narration sound different from dialogs, and distinguish slightly between characters without sounding silly. Unless, of course, they need to sound silly. Then they should be able to do that. They have to have the sort of voice that is not grating, yet not so soothing that it puts people to sleep. They should be able to evoke feelings of warmth, or of anger, or fear, or whatever comes up in the course of the tale, or radio drama podcast.

Of course, choosing voice talent is much more complex a thing than simply choosing between two types of voice over artists. It's not a simple case of saying, “Well it's a commercial for hinges, so I'll take any one of you four over there.” It's important to consider each voice actor's style and personality, because the project is going to sound completely different if one person does it than if another person does it, even if they have the same basic talents. But these are a few things that should be considered when looking for voice over talent. It is just like hiring someone for any type of job—two people are going to do the same thing a little bit differently.