Work Better, Not Harder

Just because you can Google something doesn’t make you an expert. (I just love those Realtor ads!) That line is so true of anything that involves skill and talent. Recently I learned how true it is of audio recording and voice overs when I had the pleasure of a coaching session with voice actor Natasha Marchewka . I didn't think it would be too hard to make my little recording, but I was a bit nervous when I arrived at Natasha's place. We started by making a recording to use as a baseline. Then Natasha coached me about how to improve my delivery - posture, breathing, intonation and so on. Finally I did 3 more recordings. Those last recordings were so much more difficult than the first one. I was hyper aware of all the things I needed to be doing as I spoke, sounding ‘natural’ being one of them. Here are a few things I learned: Talking in person is way easier than talking into a microphone, at least for me. It’s hard to use my hands and get expressive when my mouth is...

*** Click to listen in rather than read Are you confident about your voice? Even an experienced and articulate business person can use help with their presentation skills and could be speaking and communicating in a way that may be hindering their professional image. As a follow-up to my “Adding Audio to Your Content” blogs, Part 1  and Part 2 , I had the privilege of offering Presentation Skills Coaching to Linda Daley of Daley Progress. We took our blog theme of producing audio content one step further to help Linda add audio to her own webpage. What needed to happen before recording her audio was coaching on the presentation of the script she had provided. To Linda’s credit, she easefully recorded the first take of her script as a starting point. You can hear in her opening attempt, that she is reading from a page and that she doesn’t sound as passionate about her script as she probably feels. Listen to the take without any voice coaching. During the initial recording, I...

Natasha working in her studio *** Click to listen in rather than read Creating and sharing audio content makes good business sense for me as a voice actor. In Adding Audio to your Content, Part 1 , I mentioned that ALL business owners and sales people could benefit from adding the element of audio, not just those of us who are selling our voice. What to say? Introduce your business, or yourself, with a recorded greeting. ( Here’s an example. ) An elevator pitch - a compelling 30-60 second story of what you do... A call to action - something you would like the listener/reader to do – sign up for your blog, call you, order your product... A summary, or explanation, of your services. But where and how do you add audio content? Your blog site will (likely) allow you to add an audio file anywhere in the body. Sharing your blog will then share your audio, too. Want to share it in your newsletter or on social media? Upload your audio to SoundCloud . You can share it dire...

Natasha in her studio (guest post by Natasha Marchewka) ***  Click to listen in rather than read Have you considered adding audio to your blog or eNewsletter? As a voice actor, someone who uses and sells their voice for a living, showcasing my voice and having an archive of recorded blogs is an obvious choice for me. Adding audio to marketing adds to the multimedia dimension, offering readers more engagement. Lucky for me, Linda Daley of Daley Progress has embraced my audio blogs as she is able to listen to it weekly while completing other tasks! But adding the element of an audio file isn't limited to voice actors. Including a voice in your content, be it a blog, newsletter, website, or social media is just smart.  When you want your client or customer to have the perception of a personal connection with you, offering more of yourself, like a photo, audio greeting, or even video is another step closer to making your way into their hearts and minds. Who might...