End of Sentence Energy Drop Hey Reader, When you listen back to a line you just recorded, how does the last word sound? A really common habit in voiceover—for both beginners and experienced talent—is letting your vocal support trail off right at the end of a sentence or tag line. Your brain naturally knows the thought is finishing, so as your breath runs low, your energy drops off. The sentence starts strong, grounded, and engaging, but the last word or two fizzles out into a weak exhale, a...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Auditioning Fast and Smart Hey Reader, Getting your files in quickly is important, but there's a fine line between being prompt and being reckless. Today, let’s talk about Auditioning Fast vs. Auditioning Smart, and why slowing down just a fraction can potentially increase your booking rate. The Danger of the "Fast-Only" Mindset When speed is your only metric, quality inevitably takes a hit. If you're rushing to hit record, you're more likely to miss crucial details in the specs: Missing the...
17 days ago • 2 min read
Cold Email Tips Hey Reader, Cold emailing can be an intimidating part of marketing yourself as a VO talent, but it can also be one of the most effective. Production companies, creative agencies, and corporate clients are always looking for reliable talent. They just don't want to read a novel about you. If you want your outreach to actually get opened, read, and replied to, keep it built on three simple rules: Short, Specific, and Selfless. 1. The 30-Second Rule (Keep it Short) Busy creative...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Quick Room Check Hey Reader, Sometimes you may encounter a strange sound or aspect of your recording environment that didn't seem to be there previously. Or maybe you've moved to a new place or new location in your home to set up a recording environment and need to dial it in and eliminate anything that can potentially degrade your audio quality. Before you spend hours trying to fix bad audio in post-production, try this quick, pre-record routine to protect your sound at the source (which is...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
2 Person Technique Hey Reader, Ever read a commercial script that feels stiff, corporate, or just kinda unnatural? When we sit in front of the mic, it's easy to accidentally slip into "announcer mode." We project, we enunciate perfectly, and suddenly... we sound like "Voice-Over Announcer Man/Woman". A good trick to break out of that habit is The Two-Person Dialogue Technique. How It Works Before you record your next audition, look at the copy and invent a specific person you are talking to....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Cleaning up Low-End Mud Hey Reader, When you're listening back to a voice-over recording, you want it to sound clean, clear, and present. But a lot of times—especially if you're recording in a home studio—you might notice a heavy, boomy, or muffled quality in the lower frequencies. In the audio world, we sometimes call this "mud." Low-end mud usually builds up in the 20 Hz to 250 Hz range. It can be caused by a lot of things: the natural resonance of your recording space, being a little too...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Ignoring the Punctuation Hey Reader, When you open up a new script for an audition or a gig, your natural instinct is probably to follow the punctuation exactly as it's written. You see a comma, you pause. You see a period, you drop your pitch and come to a full stop. But here’s the thing: copywriters don't always write for the ear. They write for the page. Oftentimes, the grammatical punctuation on a script will completely stiffen up your delivery, making you sound like you're reading a...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Intimate Reads Hey Reader, The "conversational" read is still the reigning king of the VO industry. Clients constantly want a delivery that sounds like a natural, continuous thought rather than a rigid script read. But sometimes a script calls for an ultra-intimate, authentic, "leaned-in" vibe. A good way to get yourself in that zone? Change your physical relationship with the microphone. For a standard commercial read, you’re probably standing a comfortable 6 to 8 inches away from your...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
De-Ess'ing Hey Reader, When you're editing voice-over, it is incredibly tempting to just throw a de-esser onto your track, dial in a preset, and call it a day. After all, harsh sibilance—those piercing "S" sounds—can ruin an otherwise perfect read. But relying too heavily on an automated de-esser can sometimes backfire, turning your clean performance into a lispy, muffled mess. Treat de-essing as a targeted correction, not a set-it-and-forget-it background tool. Before you let a plugin do all...
2 months ago • 1 min read