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5 Things you Should Never do as a New Voice Actor

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Getting yourself to begin a new journey is never easy, especially if it is a career. New voice actors may find it a bit difficult to navigate the curves of this industry, but we’ve been there, which is why we have compiled a list of things you must not do as a new voice actor.

  • Do not leap before you look. A professional should not need this advice, but it goes without saying for the new voice actor that you need to study the river before jumping into it. Here’s a scenario. You have decided to go on vacation or relocate to another city, I am very certain that after selecting a city in your mind, the first thing you do is open your browser and click “Google”. Then you begin to look for info about the weather, the people, the culture, and the food. The same applies to any career choice including voice-acting. You should consider studying the pros and cons of the industry, the major players, and their success stories, the best production equipment, studios, and producers, and how they all work together.
  • Another important piece of advice is that you should never make demos until you are truly ready.
    Many people jump straight into recording before they are ready. What do I mean by ready? A new voice actor should know their instrument, must have gone through the necessary training, is pretty good with sound mechanics, and is able to record and edit their work to perfection.
    Success in the voiceover industry is not only reliant on the aesthetics of your voice you must also learn and understand the technical and the business aspects of the art. The reason being that there will not always be someone to put you in line, as in a coach and neither will you always have a sound engineer at a snap. You will always have to multitask as a producer and actor most of the time. It is a no brainer that you train your voice, but you must also hone your skills in audio production and the business aspect of the industry.
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  • Since most newbies think Agency representation is a gold mine, I think I should burst the bubbles. Do not present yourself to an agency until you have had booked work. Putting yourself out to agencies when you do not have a portfolio can be more damaging for you because it sets you up for more rejection than is necessary. We hear stories of voice-actors who became big overnight, what we never hear is how much these voice talents have worked to build their portfolio overtime to get noticed by agencies. Agencies work with potential, true, but they are more likely to take on a voiceover artist who has a good portfolio. So, instead of pursuing agency representation this early into your career, why not channel all that energy into building a good portfolio.
  • Another thing you need to learn is that you cannot always say yes.
    In fact, you should not. Learn to say no at the right times because many times, especially for new voiceover artists, opportunities will arise that you may have to turn down due to some challenges even when you are tempted. Do not bite more than you can chew. If you think you are not skilled enough or you do not have the required equipment to handle a particular script, the best thing to do for yourself is to turn down such opportunities. Another will come. Do not overextend yourself.
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  • Last but not least on our list (a practice tongue twister there). Do not dwell. You cannot afford to dwell on what you think you know. No knowledge is ever enough. The voice acting industry is getting bigger and the competition is getting harder so you have to skill up. Learn as much as you can about industry trends as they evolve, this is how you stay relevant.

While this post is made for new voice actors, these tips are not only relevant to new voice actors; anyone could use them as it applies to their fields.
To be part of our growing community of African voice actors, join our Facebook Group. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram and should consider checking this post where I explained the meaning of voice over in detail.

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. Tara

    Kudos. Thank you

  2. Arafat

    Nice one??

  3. Gifr

    This is good and interesting keep it up.

  4. Doyin

    Awesome!!!!

  5. Precious

    Impeccable!!!
    Thanks for this piece

  6. Liz

    Such an eye opener for newbies and struggling voice actors. Thanks for sharing. We await more.

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