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Today’s Quick Voiceover Tip: How to overcome bad habits as a voice actor
Voice acting is a unique and challenging profession that requires a great deal of skill and dedication. While there are many benefits to becoming a voice actor, it can also be difficult to break bad habits that can hinder your success. Here are some of the most common voice over bad habits and how you can overcome them.
Common Voice Over Delivery Bad Habits
One of the most common bad habits for voice actors is tailing off at the end of sentences. This occurs when you lose energy or enthusiasm as you read through your script, resulting in a flat or monotone delivery. To avoid this, make sure to practice your lines with enthusiasm and energy so that you can deliver each line with conviction. Additionally, focus on emphasizing key words in your script to ensure that your message comes across clearly and effectively.
Another common bad habit for voice actors is not using proper diction or pronunciation. When reading through scripts, it’s important to enunciate each word clearly so that your audience can understand what you’re saying (just don’t OVER enunciate!). Additionally, be sure to practice any unfamiliar words or phrases before recording so that you don’t stumble over them during the session.
Finally, another common bad habit among voice actors is not taking enough breaks during long recording sessions. It’s important to take regular breaks throughout the session in order to maintain focus and keep your energy levels up. Taking short breaks every 30 minutes or so will help keep you from getting fatigued and ensure that you deliver quality work throughout the session.
Tips for Overcoming Voice Over Bad Habits
The first step in overcoming any bad habit is recognizing it and understanding why it’s happening in the first place. Once you have identified the issue, take steps to correct it by practicing regularly and focusing on correcting the bad habit. Write the habits down on a piece of paper next to your recording space. Listen back to your recorded audio, focusing on the areas you wrote down. If you notice the habits creeping up again, record again if possible.
It’s also important to remember that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes from time to time – even professional voice actors! If you find yourself making mistakes while recording, don’t get discouraged; instead use these moments as an opportunity for growth by analyzing what went wrong and working on improving it for future recordings.
Finally, remember that practice makes perfect! The more time you spend practicing good habits, the better prepared you will be when it comes time for a real recording session.
M. Bruce Abbott is the Creative Director/Partner at Radio Lounge. Bruce has over 30 years experience as a voice actor, casting and production director, as well as extensive advertising, marketing, and podcasting experience.
