What Have You Done For Me Lately? That was the name of a Janet Jackson song from the 80s, long before many of us were even born.
I heard the song the other day and it got me thinking, could a voice over ever be asked that question?
Mostly likely not as people that use voiceovers recognise the value we can add. But what if you’ve never used a voiceover to help with your business or project? How could it benefit you?
Many of us love the sound of our own voice, but just not always when we hear it played back to us. This is the reason why many a business owner has told me they hate having to record their own phone messages or voicemail. And when I ask why the answer is often the same: “Because I’m not very good at it”…, or “It’s hard to say the right words”…, but most commonly “I just don’t like how I sound”.
And that there is the crux of the matter, if you already think you’re not good at it, or don’t like the way that you sound, then what do you think is going to happen when you get in front of the microphone? Exactly! It’s not going to sound pretty!
And if you think that’s bad, wait for the bit where they tell you they were once faced with the prospect of voicing their corporate or explainer video!! All I can say is good job the ambulance and paramedics got there in time otherwise they may not have been around to tell me the story.
First impressions last, so ask yourself what first impression do you want to give a potential client when they call into your service or hear about your product. Surely not an incoherent, unsure sounding voice bumbling through the details. Nope! You don’t want that.
This is where a voiceover can help you. Someone who knows how to lift words off the page, someone who can read without it sounding like they are reading, someone who is confident in front or behind the microphone. Someone like me!
Often when I tell people I’m a voiceover artist the first question they ask is how many accents or voices can you do? In other words, they’re thinking about animation or character work (popularly referred to as voice acting).
But many people are not aware that there are so many facets to this amazing industry called voiceover that have nothing to do with that. A large amount of the work I do for commercials, narration, voice of God announcements, and eLearning is just me being me. As in me talking in my normal voice just like I do when I talk to my friends.
And this is what your customers want to hear when they call your business, hear about your product/service, or watch your video. They want a friendly voice that they can relate to which grabs their attention so they can digest the information.
What have I done for you lately?? I can do a lot if you let me.
So hit me up and let’s roll.
