FREE Voice Over Tips & Insights – From a 25+ year Pro
Pick a Lane: Why Every New Voice Actor Needs to Focus Before They Diversify
I say this in almost every coaching session with a new voice actor. Usually about ten minutes in, after they've told me they want to do commercial AND animation AND audiobooks AND video games AND e-learning AND promo AND... "Pick a lane." Here's what I mean — and why it's actually the most exciting advice I give.
Half Empty or Half Full? How You Measure Your Progress Changes Everything
Even the most successful actors at the top of their game can feel like complete failures — while everyone around them looks up to them as role models. How is that possible? It comes down to one thing: how they're measuring their progress. Half Empty or Half Full. And here's the wild part — we can HEAR which one you're in. Every time.
You Are Not Who You Think You're Not.
"It's not who you are that holds you back. It's who you think you're not." That one hit me differently when I first read it. Because the box most voice actors are trapped in? They built it themselves. And they can dismantle it the same way.
Your Only Competition Is Who You Were Yesterday
Here's something I want every voice actor to hear — especially the ones scrolling through other people's booking announcements feeling that familiar twinge of... something. This post is for you. Your competition is not who you think it is. And understanding that changes everything about how you grow.
Confidence Is Silent. Insecurities Are Loud. (Your Mic Hears Both.)
Mae West didn't become one of Hollywood's golden age icons because she had the most conventional talent in the room. She became iconic because she walked into every room completely, unapologetically certain of her own worth. Confidence IS the draw. Always has been. And behind the microphone? It books jobs. Here's how to find yours.
How to Make a Casting Director Fall in Love With You
Mae West said it and I believe it completely: "We must fall in love with ourselves. I don't like myself, I'm crazy about myself." How does that apply to your voice acting auditions? In the most direct, practical, career-defining way possible. Here's how to make casting fall in love with you... by falling in love with yourself first.
Make the Bold Choice. (Casting Is Begging You To.)
I've worked alongside some of the most prominent casting directors in the industry. I've had them as guests in my studio workshop sessions. And when voice actors finally get to ask them THE question... "How do you choose?!"... the answer is always the same. Let me tell you what they say.
Keep Going. This One's For the Voice Actors Who Need to Hear It.
Abraham Lincoln said: "That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well." This post isn't about technique. It's not about mic placement or phrasing or slating in character. This one is just for the voice actors who are in the thick of it right now... wondering if it's worth it. It is. Keep reading.
Voice Acting Myth: "It's Easy." (A Pixar Director Would Like a Word.)
"Hey, can I be a voice in your movie?" Pixar director Andrew Stanton says if he had a dollar for every time someone asked him that, he wouldn't need to work anymore. Voice acting is the one area of filmmaking where everyone assumes they're already qualified. Today we dismantle that myth — with a little help from a legendary director AND an Italian word you're going to want to remember.
The Words Don't Matter. (You heard me.)
A while back I boldly told you that Voice Acting is NOT about your voice. I promised that the second thing I tell every new student would get its own post. That day has come. "The words don't matter." Go ahead — stare at me like a cow watching an oncoming train. I'll wait. Then let me explain.