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Poker Face: Why You Always Have to Project Confidence in a Voiceover Session

by J. Michael Collins

Voice acting can be a struggle. Training, investment, hours and hours of auditioning and marketing. It’s tough. Eventually, though, it can start to pay off. Before you know it, there you are, face-to-face with paying clients from major corporations who are looking to you to bring their message to the masses. It’s intimidating. Like a professional athlete, singer, or stage actor, the spotlight is on you, it’s your voiceover session. It’s time to perform.

And then….suddenly….you have marbles in your mouth. Lots of marbles. It’s practically a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. And the butterflies in your stomach are flying in formation like insectoid Blue Angels threatening to cause the marbles to depart your mouth in a most inglorious fashion. You’re sweating. They’re looking at you. You start your first read and halfway through…..word salad.

How you react in that moment will define your client’s impression of you. Will you catch your breath and seamlessly hit a pickup? Will you show your fear and apologize? Will you run screaming from the studio in utter panic?

As a coach, demo producer, and commercial producer I have directed a lot of talent. Over time, I have come to see a pattern among the ones who make it versus the ones who don’t. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have as much to do with actual ability and hustle, (both of which are, of course, very important,) as it does with confidence, or at least the ability to project it.

When you are hired and find yourself in a live-directed environment, more and more of which take place with an on-camera component these days as clients are increasingly moving to Zoom and other video platforms to conduct sessions, even if the audio is going through SourceConnect, you are in both an enviable and vulnerable position. Most live-directed sessions pay well. Typically at least close to a thousand dollars, and frequently many thousands. Looking at you are people who would sell their beloved puppy to earn several thousand dollars in thirty or sixty minutes. Most people don’t understand the life of a voice actor…they just see someone with a $5,000 an hour price tag who better be freaking amazing. You’re gonna get a solid payday from your session, but you are now in the dangerous position of providing a high-priced service that is extremely subjective and intangible when it comes to defining quality. You have to own your value.

In a session, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. We have good days and bad days. There are good directors and bad directors. There’s good writing and bad writing. You are GOING TO fumble words, slur something, have mouth noise that sounds like Churchill’s bulldog, and otherwise suck from time to time. It’s normal. We aren’t machines.

How you handle these hiccups, however, will often determine whether or not you get hired again by that client.

There are two kinds of voice actors. Those who look at the mic and say, “I hope this goes well,” and those who look at the mic and say, “Wait ’til they see what I can do.” In my experience, the latter find themselves booking far more often than the former.

With your clients, you always want to be respectful, courteous, customer-service-oriented, and professional. With the mic? You need SWAGGER! Blew a word? No worries. Take a beat and hit that pickup like the star you are. On take 10 of a three word script? Make a joke in a cartoon voice and then hit that next ABC like it’s fresh. Client over-direction driving you nuts? Smile, and dance monkey dance. It’s their time. But whatever you do, DO NOT apologize. Do not ask if, “that was okay?” Do not say, “This doesn’t usually happen.” And do not ever show uncertainty on your face.

It’s your job to make the client comfortable that you’ve got things under control, even if you’re panicking inside. Put on your poker face. Project confidence. You can ask a question if you are unsure about their direction, but ask it clearly and concisely and without hesitation. When you screw up, instead of saying, “I’m sorry,” you say, “I’ll take that from the top,” then hit it again. Be the pro, at all times, and the client will respect you and see your value. Show fear, and you lose your credibility.

It doesn’t always take a straight flush to win the hand. Sometimes it’s enough to make the rest of the table BELIEVE you’re holding the winning cards.

Filed Under: Blog, Voiceover Coaching

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joshua Alexander says

    June 15, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    Boy did I need this article. Yesterday‘s session was punishing. The difference though is that I wasn’t feeling fear or panicking, I was just consumed by annoyance through them beating the script to death and wanting seven full readthrough‘s and 9 to 12 alts of every single blessed line. I’m used to doing ABCs and one or two readthrough‘s but this was merciless, and there were three directors, one of which just couldn’t decide on what she wanted. Super frustrating. I would love to hear your thoughts on holding steady and pushing through irritation someday! Overall though, you’re absolutely right: intention trumps hope every single time. I definitely went in there with the “wait till they see what I can do!“ attitude – it’s just that at the end, I left with the “get me out of here“ attitude, ha!

  2. Craig Williams says

    June 15, 2021 at 9:19 pm

    Wait…..did you have a live feed to my studio some time over the last 5 years???? Marbles, butterflies, cotton wool mouth. Had them all. But as you said, I had (and have) the confidence to get past it without the client noticing and nearly all have become regulars to this day! Great article again JMC!

  3. Sumara Meers says

    June 17, 2021 at 8:22 am

    Love this! Self-confidence is a super power! 😁

  4. Josee Clift says

    June 18, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    Great thoughts! I know that I don’t always have it together and I’m feeling anxious at times with upcoming jobs. Wearing a Poker Face and remembering your suggestions are good reminders. Its a’so nice to know that a Pro like you, needs to wear one on occasion!!! Lol
    Thanks for sharing : )

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