The Troublesome Truth about a Voice-Over Career

[j971224]

that was helpful. thanks for posting it up, mister! :)

[nethervoice]

@j971224 You're very welcome, mister!

[allvox13]

Paul you are like my Male twin!x Ik met je eens :)

[ultravoice2011]

I Heart You Paul! xxx

[nethervoice]

But without effort, no victory can ever be achieved.

[AnubisEye009]

Effort doesn't equal victory

[nethervoice]

Hi Paul, thanks for your comments. Perception is always in the ear of the beholder. My list of 16 reasons is based on my own experience, having been in this business for over 25 years. Henry Perez wrote a book called "Outliers: The Story of Success". It mentions the 10,000 Hour Rule. In short, no one becomes an expert at something without having invested 10,000 hours in it. Now, that's commitment!

[paulvoices]

Hi Paul. Thanks for your honest approach to this biz. I didn't take it as discouraging or negative, but felt you were trying to show the reality of the business and the misconceptions people can have towards it. My first coaches told me if you really want to do this, you have to do it for the right reason's and commit to it. Some talent and skill doesn't hurt either.

[nethervoice]

Hi Rick, this slide show started as something I was going to use for the same reason. I'm tickled that other colleagues are referring to it, too! Bettye Zoller has used it in her trainings and James Alburger posted it on his coaching site. I'll tell you: it has saved me so much time!

Take care Rick, you truly are the voice, the heart and the soul of Americana!

[RickLance10]

Paul... You've made it easy for me with the work you did putting this piece together.

Very well done, by the way. Now when I'm contacted by someone asking how they get into to voice over, etc. I'm just going to send them this video link! And of course, along with a few words of my own.

See ya' round the net!

[nethervoice]

You're very welcome!

[Crabs4Sale]

Thank you very much for creating this video!

[nethervoice]

It never fails to amaze me what people profess to read into my voice. Another viewer told me that it was very obvious from my tonality that I was "suffering from a great deal of emotional pain."

Most of what is labeled as "observation" is, in fact, pure interpretation. Interpretation usually tells us more about the commentator than about what they're commenting on.

Whether you think this video is instructional or insulting, I welcome every comment and I thank you for watching!

[PileOPapers]

For some reason, it's hard for me to take Paul seriously because of his smug voice. He sounds like he was directed to have a permanent sarcastic smirk during the whole video, which I think would only really add insult to injury for the budding voice actor. I'm not a voice actor by any means, but even I find it a bit insulting when someone who is almost laughing at a novice behind a microphone talks down to someone who might not know the ropes of the business very well. Just an obvervation. :\

[GetJayneVlog]

This is all completely true. I will be forwarding this. I do occasionally get auditions from Voice123, not often though. I'm not spending money until I know it's worth the money. Some of those auditions have turned into paying gigs & fortunately those clients and I have exchanged contact info outside of voice123. However, the majority of my work came from clients I serviced at my old radio station and the voice pool that Clear Channel had. Once I left CC getting clients went from easy to hard.

[totallyfrozen]

"More and more people enter the voice-over field everyday"

That line right there tells you all you need to know about this video. The internet is FULL of voice-over people trying to scare and discourage other people from entering it. When I started as a radio DJ back in 1988, the guy who trained me tried to scare me--DAILY-- to the point that he was spending more time doing that than training me...I ended up being #1 in the Arbitron. This is more "scare away the competition" nonsense.

[nethervoice]

@totallyfrozen "More and more people enter the voice-over field everyday" is a nothing but a factual statement. It is even more true after the Ted Williams video went viral. I think that there's a huge difference between offering a reality check and trying to discourage people to enter the field. As I said in the presentation, it is up to the viewer what to do with the information presented. Some will be more determined and better prepared than ever, to pursue a career as a voice-over pro.

[totallyfrozen]

@nethervoice While I can't deny that there is a fair amount of truth in what you've said in the video, it came across (to me) in a negative--"don't bother; just walk away from it"--feel. Granted, you were certainly correct on the point that anyone who thinks that success and money will be easy and it will not cost much to get into the business is being foolish. That is true of EVERY business and career field that I can think of. Sadly, some people still think otherwise and take foolish risks.

[nethervoice]

@totallyfrozen Two people can eat the same meal and have a very different experience (even if it's totally frozen). Please regard my video as a prescription for shortsightedness. When admiring a great sculpture, it’s only human to overlook how much training, hard work and long hours it must have taken, to liberate that shape out of hard rock. All we see is the end result. As far as influence goes, I don't have the power to make people walk away from or pursue a voice-over career. Thank goodness!

[totallyfrozen]

@nethervoice Well, overall you do make some very good points. Perhaps I just needed to see the humor in your presentation.

[totallyfrozen]

@nethervoice @nethervoice Well, overall you do make some very good points. Perhaps I just needed to see the humor in your presentation.

[totallyfrozen]

@nethervoice BTW, I got a good chuckle out of your subtle Sarah Palin reference.

[bdeweesvoice]

While I agree with much of what you say (it's simple..in my opinion, but certainly not easy), I'm glad I didn't hear this before I started my career ;-) I do think anyone seriously considering a vo career should view this video to balance all of the "money for nothing and checks for free" banter. Thanks for balancing the scales a bit!

[nethervoice]

Many thanks to those of you who have taken the time to watch this video and thanks to those who are about to watch it.

To address KingCriticism's remark: confidence based on competence, experience and unique talent is a good thing to have. However, there's a big difference between being confident and cocky.

As I said in the video: let others sing your praises. People are much more inclined to believe accolades that come from satisfied clients or knowledgeable colleagues.

[KingCriticism]

I'd like to thank you greatly for this the pointer and cautions really inspired me even more to become a voice actor but theres only one thing i disagree with you on. The last tip partially I know having a big ego has it's cons but i don't think you should let it consume you nor get rid of it completely confidence is a good factor when auditioning (but hey i know you most likely will ignore this since your the professional and all , i just though i'd give my opinion) Thanks for reading everybody

[MilanTheVillain01]

Paul Strikwerda, you sound like a 50/50 balance between Keith David & Cam Clarke.

[xLunarxVolturix]

Thats good!

I like to be a youtube voicer for now (Not the best out there). But it is true. I will keep what you say in my mind. Thank you alot.

- Lunar.

[DavidSigmon]

This is THE BEST introduction to the voice-over field I have ever seen, read, or heard since I began my own VO adventure 3 1/2 years ago. Great job Paul.

DS