So you’ve decided you need a voiceover artist for your upcoming project – it could be a website video, commercial, TV promo, telephone on hold, e-learning film, the possibilities are endless. How do you choose the right Voiceover Artist? Here are some things to think about before making your final choice:

– Who is the voiceover artist talking to?
– What message are they conveying?
– How, where and when will they hear it?
– What do you want the listener to take from the recording?

Now you have a good starting point. Next you need to think about the specifics:

– Would the listener respond better to a male or female voice?
– Does the voice need to be a voice of authority or a friendly person next door voice?
– Do I want the voice to be energetic or calming, fast or slow etc.?

It would help to brainstorm all the words that you think your listener needs to feel and then you can translate that into the type of voice you need.

Now you know the sex, the rough age and the style of voice you’re looking for where do you find them?

There are a few places you can look. The most obvious is to get onto your favourite search engine and type in “voiceover artist”. This is a good way but it’s tricky to know who is good and who isn’t. You could also go to an agent. An agent’s job is to vet the talent first so you know you’re getting great voices from them. There are also a few voiceover websites where you can advertise a job then get people to audition and quote but you may end up being inundated and find it difficult to choose.

If you’re looking for a friendly female voice then be sure to add me to your list! Here’s a link to my audio showreels. You can send an e-mail to rachael@rachaelnaylor.com , or my agents at Babble voices will also be happy to help –Phone: +44 (0)20 7434 0002 E-mail: hello@babblevoices.com, website: www.babblevoices.com

Good luck with your project!