Casting Voices

If you’ve ever heard a poorly performed or recorded voice-over, there’s no doubt that you noticed right away and lumped the product or service that the voice was trying to sell in the same category as the vocal performance.

Why are there bad voice-overs? You may be surprised, but most companies do it to themselves.

When you set out to have a voice-over recorded, be sure to avoid these 5 Critical Mistakes

Critical Mistake #1 Trying to Do it Yourself ( or getting a friend to help you )

Many bad voice-overs happen because a business owner attempts to record all by themselves. For reasons related to finances, pride, or a need for immediate gratification, an alarming number of companies think that recording a voice-over in-house will solve all of their problems.

It usually goes like this: Sally in Accounting has a nice voice. Somehow, the boss recruits Sally to be the company voice talent. This arrangement has its perks because Sally won’t need to be paid and her voice is pleasing, if not acceptable. There’s one thing that Sally doesn’t quite have in her favor or the company’s - Sally is lacking professionalism, experience, and voice acting skills.

What happens from here? The recording is tolerated, but only by customers who are already familiar with the company and the customer service received in the past. New customers are turned off by the voice-over and don’t take the company as seriously as they should be.

Critical Mistake #2 Using Low-Quality Equipment

What kind of recording software is available to you at work or home? If the answer is a desktop computer with an internal microphone, it’s all downhill from there. Do the recordings sound “tinny”? Is the voice “far away”?

Professional grade recording studios are equipped with state of the art technology including a very good microphone, mixing board, and recording software with editing capabilities. Without the proper equipment, any voice-over will sound amateur, turning your voice-over into an embarrassment instead of an asset.

Critical Mistake #3 Ad Lib Your Script

Ever heard someone ramble on, inadvertently contradicting themselves? There is nothing worse than an inconsistent message. If a script is not communicated clearly, the voice-over will be uncertain and confusing. A professional voice talent would know how to interpret the script properly, even tweak it a bit if necessary to convey a message successfully.

Critical Mistake #4 Go into a Studio Without a Rehearsal

Would you give a speech in front of thousands of people without rehearsing once? If you have a target market of several thousands if not tens of thousands for your ad campaign, the last thing you want to do is send in a novice to record.

Time to rehearse is often not a luxury for companies bent on recording themselves, and it shows. Not only is the voice-over questionable, it takes significantly longer to get the right take. Recording studio fees will also increase!

Critical Mistake #5 Saving the Data in the Wrong File Format

Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to make use of something. Typically, most businesses are not aware of how to format audio files. For example, a PBX telephone system needs specific file formats to operate properly, usually ULAW. These file extensions are often confusing and require special file conversion software and audio engineering to convert to the proper file format.

A Mistake-Free Voice-over Recording

Don’t make any of these business-killing mistakes when you are ready to record a voice-over. Your business is simply too important to risk! InteractiveVoices can help you find the perfect voice to record based upon the specific needs of your voice-over project. It takes only a few minutes to start receiving replies from talent... Take time to do it right and you’ll have a voice-over your customers will instantly recognize and positively respond to whenever they hear it.

As in any business, in order to receive quality work, you must be willing to pay a person what they are worth. The more talented, skilled and equipped the voice artist is, the better results. The image your voice-over portrays is ultimately up to you. A professionally produced finished work is worth the extra money.