JMC Voiceover Source Connect
jmichael@jmcvoiceover.com
202-738-1151
  • Home
  • My Demos
    • Commercial
    • Crisis Commercials
    • Medical
    • eLearning
    • Corporate
    • Automotive
    • TV Promo
    • TV Narration
    • Radio Imaging
    • Telephony
    • Political
  • Recent Work
  • Demo Production
    • Demo Production
    • Demo Production Guide
    • Commercial
    • Medical
    • eLearning
    • Corporate
    • Automotive
    • TV Promo
    • TV Narration
    • Radio Imaging
    • Telephony
    • Political
  • Coaching
    • Coaching
    • Voiceover Coaching Guide
  • Photo Gallery
  • Success Club
  • Podcast
  • Events
    • Euro Vo Retreat
    • VO Atlanta
    • One Voice Conference USA
  • Public Speaker Training
    • Public Speaker Training
    • Public Speaking Coach
  • Giving Back
  • Blog
  • Contact

Why I’m Not the Right Voiceover Coach or Demo Producer for You

by J. Michael Collins

stop-sign-to-caution-when-choosing-a-vo-coach

Strange title, right? Maybe, but it could very well be true, and if so you need to know why I may not be the right voiceover coach or demo producer. Everyone learns and communicates differently, and sometimes styles of communication and learning aren’t the most compatible. Just like love, opposites attract, but they can also repel and lead to unsatisfactory relationships. Before you choose a coach or demo producer, you need to learn more about their process and style.

Broadly speaking, coaches and demo producers fall into three distinct categories:

1.) The Didact

The didactic coach or producer is extremely detail-oriented. Often very type-A on a personal level, the didact will have you thumbing through workbooks as frequently as you are on-mic, will deconstruct scripts by diagramming sentences and infusing every word with meaning, and will expect you to be attentive, studious, and every bit as engaged with minute points of voiceover academia and philosophy as they are.

The didact is a teacher at heart, as are most coaches, but they aren’t afraid to rap your knuckles with a ruler when they deem it appropriate, and what is intended as constructive feedback can often seem harsh or cold to those who aren’t prepared to be held to rigid account for each decision and choice they make.

Didacts work very well with people who have backgrounds in academics, science, logistics, and senior-level corporate management. They sometimes struggle to connect with talent who are more right-brained and artistic. Didacts are efficient, effective, good at what they do, and they know it. They have little time for those who can’t keep up.

Didacts rarely let people into their inner sanctum, but once you have been allowed beyond their outer armor they can be a champion for life.

2.) The Technician

Technicians teach from an analytical perspective that incorporates the, “why,” of a piece of copy as much as the, “how.” Technically-minded coaches expect you to learn how to intuit what a scriptwriter was thinking as they crafted their work, how the buyer or client anticipates the audience receiving the piece, and how to adapt your read to that intent.

Technicians tend to be patient but will expect you to understand the fundamentals of grammar and broader industry trends, as well as the tastes and peculiarities of various target demographics.

Technicians work well with people who enjoy the adventure of learning and the thrill of the light-bulb going on when they start to, “see the Matrix,” as the messaging and purpose of scripts become apparent to them.

Technicians tend to work well with most talent as they blend elements of detail with creativity, but may struggle with talent who are rigidly on either extreme of the left-brain/right-brain divide.

3.) The Creative

The creative coach is all about the more ethereal and spiritual elements of a performance. They are far less concerned about the details than they are about your personal connection to the copy. Are you authentic? Are you real? Are you feeling the truth of your performance or that of your character? That’s what speaks to the creative coach or demo producer.

Creative coaches and producers tend to be very extroverted, extremely patient even with talent who are frequently late for sessions or somewhat disorganized and will be much more willing to hand-hold than Didacts and even Technicians, while still peppering their feedback and advice with a dose of reality, important truth about what the industry will expect from you, and the rare stern correction if needed.

Creative coaches and producers tend to work very well with right-brained artistic types who think in abstract and non-linear ways and sometimes struggle with Type-A personalities and rigid left-brain talent who expect them to sweat every single detail.

When choosing your coach or demo producer, you first need to do some self-analysis. Are you strongly right-brained, left-brained….somewhere in between? Are you super Type-A and sensitive to the slightest sibilance or click in your audio, or do you trust your performance to carry you through and focus on the art first? Then, do your research on the coaches and producers you want to work with. How would their students describe their style and methods? And you can always ask us directly as well.

Me? I think I’m a hybrid somewhere between a Creative and a Technician. To me, details and analysis have their place and inform the fundamentals of voiceover, but the thing that books is how connected your soul is to your performance.

Does that mean I’m the right coach or demo producer for you? Maybe….but also, maybe not.

Filed Under: Blog, Voiceover Coaching Tagged With: voiceover coach

Primary Sidebar

Archives

Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

Receive News & Updates
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

RECENT TWEETS

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 02:03:31

Breakfast. Vegas style. https://t.co/NismlGEQug

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 04:03:48

What an awesome night!

Thank you to my Celia Siegel Management team for helping me book the winning spot!

Now off… https://t.co/uIqOkSJAwp

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 02:03:38

Well, that doesn’t suck.

And congratulations to my co-winner Soraya Butler!!! https://t.co/XQ0gTBUn22

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 02:03:22

@KeaversVoice You won!

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 01:03:18

Time for the Reed Awards for political media. Thrilled to be nominated with my colleagues from Celia Siegel Managem… https://t.co/SjehF6wYd8

@jmcvoiceover

March 29th 2023 12:03:44

RT @academiaavoz: J Michael Collins @jmcvoiceover en A Voz Academia
#Locución #VoiceOver #actordedoblaje #actrizdedoblaje #doblaje #inteli…

@jmcvoiceover

March 28th 2023 11:03:30

The Weird Little Car came to Las Vegas, and the waiter cut off half of Tre Mosley and Mike Hathcote’s heads, but th… https://t.co/fHVs2vXyYE

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 10:03:58

@WhatHeSaidVO @DustinEbaugh I wish I could but I have to get caught up on work tonight, workshop tomorrow, Reed Awa… https://t.co/Nsx7naL09X

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 05:03:31

No rest for the wicked.

Our illustrious CEO Anna is heading home, but I’m off to Las Vegas to see what these knuc… https://t.co/dbwxIczO9o

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 05:03:10

@CherieBTay @CarinGilfry Great job!!! Wouldn’t want to go against you in an audition!

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 03:03:49

Goofy, Donald Duck, and a lobster walk into bar…. https://t.co/pSu4ce2rSI

@jmcvoiceover

March 27th 2023 01:03:16

You talkin’ to us?

The Bad Boys of VO, 2023 Edition.

And fried lobster.

VO Atlanta. Out. https://t.co/Qx4jqC1F4g

@jmcvoiceover

March 26th 2023 07:03:13

This is what community looks like.
It might seem weird to some to see owners of what you could think of as competin… https://t.co/lQoTyl2jdD

@jmcvoiceover

March 26th 2023 07:03:36

RT @markwaynevoice: My friends - voice coach ⁦@HearBradHyland⁩ (left) and demos producer/⁦@VOATLANTA⁩ #2 (whose wife, Anna, is #1, right) ⁦…

@jmcvoiceover

March 25th 2023 10:03:21

What time is it? Champagne thirty at VO Atlanta, because this is how we roll in the A-T-L! https://t.co/YlHaFQWbrg

@jmcvoiceover

March 25th 2023 01:03:53

They kidnapped me, I swear! https://t.co/lWkFtTQ3Gb

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 07:03:30

Well, we wish we didn’t have to, but we are literally out of places to put chairs, so with the exception of X-sessi… https://t.co/55je9PATYh

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 10:03:28

Looking forward to thanking these incredible talent for their service both to our country and our industry! https://t.co/L7bKk2ZQmZ

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 03:03:55

I am so proud of this beautiful woman right here who brought the absolute house down in the standing-room-only open… https://t.co/iGPnYUt7Zd

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:08

RT @RayColeIII: Just finished @MarcScott x session at #voatlanta2023, I now feel much more confident about sending marketing emails. You r…

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:02

RT @ustalent_: @BevStanding @VOATLANTA
VO ATLANTA 🎙️@ustalent_
#voatlanta #voatlanta2023 #atlanta #ustalent #vo #voiceover #voiceacting #…

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:45

RT @MarcScott: Day one of @VOATLANTA delivers. Anna and JMC know how to put on a memorable event!

#voatlanta

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:31

RT @AllAgesofGeek: How fun! @diana_kennedy is covering @VOATLANTA this year! ✨🎙️ https://t.co/tPOBO2mRXw

@jmcvoiceover

March 24th 2023 01:03:26

RT @_buf: First day at @VOATLANTA

The @CloseCredits signage looking good! https://t.co/ngyVGoqFY3

@jmcvoiceover

March 23rd 2023 08:03:24

VO Atlanta Keynote Debra Wilson is in the house!!! https://t.co/QegqgVcLx7

@jmcvoiceover

March 23rd 2023 04:03:32

@robvo @VOATLANTA Maaaaaaybe

@jmcvoiceover

March 23rd 2023 04:03:58

A little pre-conference nuttiness. See you tomorrow VO Atlanta peeps! https://t.co/ujzqaYOnJD

@jmcvoiceover

March 22nd 2023 06:03:59

Might as well inaugurate the step and repeat with Gene Lupo! https://t.co/fBE3oiqSfR

@jmcvoiceover

March 22nd 2023 02:03:27

The arrivals begin!

Heard God talking, turned around and found Maurice Scott! https://t.co/eldnftYCUC

@jmcvoiceover

March 22nd 2023 01:03:54

The unpacking begins… https://t.co/IiN6fZU6SD

@jmcvoiceover

March 21st 2023 01:03:51

The Kitten dominated game one, but what would happen in game two?

Tonight, on an all new Duckpin VO! https://t.co/all44OoUfT

@jmcvoiceover

March 19th 2023 12:03:37

@DanielButtreyVO A call for entries is put out a few months in advance. Anyone may submit, and uniquely in the indu… https://t.co/HNUG9OgSQb

@jmcvoiceover

March 18th 2023 03:03:53

@DanielButtreyVO Cheese, fruit, half a snickers, a muffin and a cookie. 😝

CONTACT
202-738-1151
jmichael@jmcvoiceover.com
  • Home
  • My Demos
  • Recent Work
  • Demo Production
  • Coaching
  • Photo Gallery
  • Success Club
  • Podcast
  • Events
  • Public Speaker Training
  • Giving Back
  • Blog
  • Contact

Privacy Policy
©2023 J. Michael Collins // Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites