Say it sisters & brothers!
Verbal Communication
As a voice actor, it’s my job is to be an EXPERT at verbal communication. That’s right! A master at chatting. The queen of lip flapping. A maestro of spending my days talking to anyone who will listen!
Another way of saying it? It’s my job to be an expert at sharing information.
The word ‘communication’ evolved from the latin word communis, which means ‘to share.’ Sharing information is exactly what we voice actors do!
People communicate for the following reasons:
- Give information
- Seek information
- Express our feelings
- State opinions
- Establish and maintain relationships and/or
- Enjoy social interaction
If you want to be a better voice actor, you must pay attention to your delivery of the following:
1. Tone. Tone is the general character or attitude of a piece of writing.
What is the mood, flavor and feel of the text you are reading? Getting this right is essential to telling a great story.
2. Pitch. Pitch is the relative highness or lowness of a sound as perceived by the ear, which depends on the number of vibrations per second produced by the vocal cords.
Does your chosen delivery pitch match the target audience? Is it helpful in conveying the intended overall story?
3. Volume. Volume is the loudness of the speaker. It is the characteristic of amplitude.
Are you, as a voice talent, providing enough variation in volume to represent the script properly? You should use a lower volume to provide more intimacy and a higher volume to sound more powerful.
4. Rate of Speech. Normally, you speak about 125 words per minute. But, you may speak faster when delivering narration of a commercial, for example. The rate of speaking a voice actor will use in narrating audiobooks is often about 150 words per minute.
Is your rate of speech appropriate for the material you are voicing? Or, are you reading it too slow or fast? Try reading your script at different rates of speech and listen back. What feels and sounds like the right pacing?
Vocal qualities such as tone, pitch, volume and speed are important! Think about it. Your listener doesn’t have the ability to see your non-verbal cues. So, the work must all be done with good verbal communication.
Moral of the story?
Become a great VERBAL communicator. Watch your copy come to life!
Thanks for reading this. I hope it was helpful!
I’m a national voice talent who brings over 20 years of experience in voice acting to my clients and students. I’ve been heard on hundreds of narrations for clients such as Disney, Microsoft, The Rockefeller Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Schnucks and Alliance Residential.
I also provide private voice over training for voice acting students as well as for corporate communicators across the country. I’m a recommended voice acting coach of Voices.com and my studio is located near Boulder, Colorado.
Feel free to reach out to me directly regarding voice acting or voice talent coaching.
On-camera: Please contact my favorite Colorado talent agency at Big Fish Talent .
Music: Rachel and the Ruckus Good for your soul blues/rock music.
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Continuous effort-not strength or intelligence-is the key to unlocking our potential. ~Winston Churchill