As you might know as a regular follower at [1] HealingMindN, a new site went up a few months ago. I am also providing my talents as a [2] Male Voice Over Producer to the creative industry.

Before the talking heads, NLP videos, I did a few years of market research interviewing.  I would start out with a promo type voice wherein people would think I was just a recording. Then I would surprise them by letting them know they were talking with a “real person.”  Every person who I interviewed would tell me I have a great voice. After being told the same thing 1000 times, I believed what they were telling me.

From top level executives in Fortune 500 companies to your next door neighbor, they would tell me that I have a great voice, so I believe them.  I had also learned how to “speak the lingo” of my recipients. Between 1000 and 1500 interviews later, I learned how to speak with people in their regular conversational tone using their vernacular and accent specific their industry and region.

I was given a solo project to speak with psychiatrists in Australia (about anti-psychotics and anti-depressants) for a [3] certain client wherein 90% of my target recipients responded to all of my questions - and that high of a response rate is unheard of in market research.

Australians happen to be some of the nicest people in the world, but the nurses and head shrinks I was calling were also very busy people; it probably helped that they knew I was calling them from the U.S. so late at night, but it also helped that they heard a slightly Australian accent from a person who understood their needs.

What I learned about 2000 interviews later is that it’s more important to relate to people rather than get complimented on my “great voice.”  Now, I’m no where near being a Don La Fontaine. I know there are some producers who simply crave a great voice and couldn’t care less about anything else.

The thing is, I know there are creative producers out there who appreciate more than just a great voice. What creative producers really want is to help their clients identify their products with their target audience; that’s where I come in handy.

After those fifty odd interviews I had with Australian Psychiatrists, I became interested in hypnosis, psychology, NLP, mind control and other strange subjects within neuroscience.

Only recently did I discover that voice over talents could work from any part of the world. The reason I looked into it recently is because a rep with Safeway Corporate told me I have a great voice that sounds like it should be on a promo. (Yes, Safeway will be one of my clients.)

At the same time, I discovered a market very crowded with talent and fierce competition through out many voice over job board websites. I discovered there are far more VO talents out there than there are jobs.

The difference is, most VO Talents are passive in that they wait for jobs to come up through these websites rather than directly contact something like an ad agency with their demos.  From what I’ve learned about the veteran VO Pros is that creative producers prefer them over anyone else because they know what to expect.

It’s a catch 22: Creative producers prefer established talent; that would be a veteran VO Pro who has worked for them or a similar agency. Creative producers tend to ignore unestablished talent; that would be someone like me who has not worked for them or a similar agency.

Therefore, it’s also a game of WHO you know to get ahead in the VO industry. For this reason, I joined the Voice Registry. You can see my VR page at [4] Voice Over Actors Bridge to Voice Bank.

At Voice Bank, we get “weekend workouts” from industry professionals who have us do demos, then they explain to us how to make adjustments, so we can be trendy with the industry.

I’ve only recently started doing Voice Bank work, therefore, I don’t have much material to share from my [5] voice over critiques page right now, but it is growing.

For those of you interested in the connection to the HealingMindN Theme, I have established a [6] Guided Meditation and Hypnosis Voice Over Producer page for your convenience.

As a word of advice to those of you starting out in VO, there are some people who are too nice in their individual critiques. For this reason, you need to listen to their individual critiques of different talents to really get a big picture of where you are within the industry and what adjustments you should make.

There are also people who will absolutely piss all over your demos while kissing the ass of established pros. I recall one VO pro who absolutely pissed all over my [7] Guided Meditation and Hypnosis audios.

I must admit: I wasn’t sure what to think because this VO had never done any such work himself, yet he provided no example of how he would do guided meditation and hypnosis.

We have to realize that there are jerks hiding in dark corners of every industry who say they are being “constructive.” In fact, they’re constantly finding ways to kick rocks down upon their competition; this is the way it is in crowded job markets like voice over.

Why did I get into Voice Over? Because when I DO get established, it will be lucrative. I will continue my education in psychology, neuroscience, and audio engineering, so I can keep offering more services and fill more shoes for creative producers than any ordinary voice over talent who simply think they can get by with a “great voice.”

Please visit my [8] Voice Over Producer and listen to my latest demo mix, which I promise to change as soon as I get more demos done.

Also listen to the demo mix on your smart phone by scanning the quick response code.

There’s a special for self growth listeners too. Learn about the special for self growth members or read this: Self Growth Members get their first minute of fully produced Voice Over for free. Learn more by scanning the quick response code with your smart phone.

I hope to hear from you.

Healing Thoughts,

Randolph Directo