8 Tips to Produce Your Best Voiceover Work Yet

My peers at QBurst asked me to do some voiceover work for one of their corporate videos and I agreed to give their voiceover project a whirl.

Not my first voiceover rodeo

While not my first voiceover project, it was my first time doing voiceovers following a script I myself did not author.

I made specific note of helpful observations -- 8 in total -- as I recorded my voiceovers while reading from third-party authored scripts.

The advice shared here will help guide those who’ve never done voiceover work previously to get a sense of what to expect if they, too, are asked to read out loud from a script they themselves did not author.

As a side note, my eight tips below are hardly all-inclusive but do provide introductory insight to help get someone started with voiceover work.

Diving in ...

TIP #1: Read the audio script aloud **MANY** times before recording anything.

I can’t say this enough: read your audio script out loud multiple times before you hit the record button.

As you do, you’ll often find the final audio script may need further, last-minute, and real-time edits.

Reading a script out loud helps you catch pesky words, identify vocally challenging phrases, or shorten sentences that may have looked great on paper but, in the end, don't sound as eloquent or as clear when spoken aloud.

TIP #2: Voice speed & tempo

Some words and phrases need to be spoken faster or slower than others.

And then there’s the issue of timing; how much time has been allotted for this or that sentence and so on?

Additionally, the script’s narrative will influence the speed and tempo of your voice as well.

There are a lot of factors when determining how fast, or not, to speak into your mic but as long as you’re aware of all the moving parts influencing your audio, you’ll have a better sense of when naturally to increase or decrease your voice’s speed.

TIP #3: “I dunno” vs. “I don’t know” vs. “I do not know”

In line with voice speed and tempo, then there’s the issue of clear punctuation.

How formally or casually should you punctuate or pronounce your words?

This is something most of us hardly think of or consider, except when you play your audio back and hear the results of your speaking. Only then do you become brutally aware of how softly you pronounce that “t” at the end of “don’t” or how much pep you add to the “z” when saying the word “realize.”

These small details tend to stand out when doing voiceover work and you should adjust your pronunciation in accordance with both the audio script and what makes you sound the most natural.

TIP #4: Transitions

Sometimes, the transition between a series of words or phrases requires extra attention or special emphasis. It’s hard to know when these instances will occur without reading the script out loud a few times (see Tip #1 above 👆) and making note of such points in the content.

Another helpful way to identify such transitions in your script is to view the corresponding visual storyboard for the script. This will also help you to weave in pauses, moments of silence, or transitional details in line with the intended narrative.

TIP #5: Avoiding mic "pops"

One thing that tends to overemphasize a certain word or syllable is the angle at which you've placed your mic. Generally, you should try not to speak into the mic too directly as this can result in a popping-like sound when certain letters are enunciated.

When you are knee-deep in recording mode and focused on articulating the script's message to the best of your ability, you don’t always notice this kind of mechanical detail. You don't hear how your voice is generating a subtle (but clearly audible upon playback) popping sound into the mic.

Yes, the popping sound can be edited out but it’s best if you can avoid it altogether.

TIP #6: Beef up the sentiment

If you’re supposed to connote excitement, pump up your enthusiasm. 

And if you’re to convey joy, then double up the glee in your delivery.

Why pump up one's emotion for audio?

Simply, to avoid sounding flat.

We don’t realize how flat we can sound while we're recording. In fact, we think we sound great while speaking out loud. But then you stop recording, play the audio back and realize that despite our best intentions and efforts, we sounded kind of flat and unexciting.

So remember, when you're recording a voiceover, you'll have to gently over-exaggerate your emotions or sentiment a bit here and a bit there to liven things up, as appropriate.

TIP #7: Receive brutally honest feedback (BHF)

 Constructive criticism is not always easy to hear or receive.

Yet, when doing audio work, you need to work with someone who'll proof your audio files and give you a healthy dosage of honest feedback. And not the sugarcoated kind of feedback that spares your feelings; rather what's needed is real, brutally honest feedback (BHF) such as:

• “Hey, that last sentence was low energy. Sounds terrible. Let’s do that over.”
• “OK, so you know when you said this or that, your voice sounded like sandpaper.”
• “Mayra, did you just wake up or something?!? Because you sound half-asleep in Scene 5.”

:)

Don’t worry, any sting from any BHF you're given is temporary. The most important thing to keep in mind is that BHF is intended to correct you, motivate you, and greatly improve your delivery on your next take.

TIP #8: Take a deep breath and smile

Since we're talking about a corporate marketing video and not some dark drama where being upbeat or uplifting would sound out of place, it’s important to remind yourself to be happy when speaking.

Sounds simple enough, I know.

But I find it so helpful to take a deep breath and then smile nice and wide before hitting the record button.

Smiling truly does impact the tone of your voice and helps you start off the first sentence on a positive note.

In closing

During a time where audio and video content consumption is at an all-time high, and when podcasts are enjoying a steady comeback, quality voiceover work, and audio-based narration have become critical ingredients in storytelling success.

I hope these eight tips will get you to think about how to best deliver your voiceovers, be it for client work or for your own storytelling projects.