I don't have to tell you how competitive the commercial voiceover world is.  And yet, despite the legions of amazing actors out there, most industry professionals will tell you it's rare to find even one who can interpret commercial copy correctly and consistently. Even many successful voice actors will report feeling confused, intimidated or defeated by the nonsense of it all.

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Well, no wonder.  Actors are rarely given anything close to useful direction during or prior to their  audition – unless you consider "conversational," "not announcer-y" or "talk like you're talking to a friend" good direction.  (Clue: it's not.)  Even talent agents and many casting directors are left out of the loop on what the right read is, forcing them to rely on sheer numbers of submissions rather than precise direction to ensure someone books the job.

The result is one big guessing game for both actors and casting professionals alike, where everyone's throwing spaghetti at the wall in hopes of "lucking out" and hitting whatever bullseye the ad agency apparently had in mind.  Even after the job is booked, CDs and agents will rarely ever learn why an actor booked a particular job (or why not).  Truth is, only someone at the ad agency whose job it is to review the casting and award the job would know such things.

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Someone like me, for instance. :)

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That's right, as an ad agency creative for New York powerhouses like Grey, Gotham, McCann and others for over 25 years, I was in charge of screening – and choosing – all voiceover and on-camera talent for every campaign I worked on, spanning a range of categories from consumer goods to automotive, from promos to retail.  And I can tell you firsthand, there is a universal "code" we all use  – a kind of industry-shared cipher for tone and attitude that most major ad agencies abide by and that voice actors would do well to learn.  Fortunately, because I'm also a theatre-trained actor myself, as well as a former DJ with over a hundred radio and TV voiceovers to my credit, I can teach it to you in a way you'll understand, actor to actor.

Once you learn how to "break the code,"  you'll be able to translate that vapid, confusing  or just plain silly sounding copy into reads that are truthful, purposeful and engaging– the way the copywriter  intended – and with confidence, not guesswork. In short, you can go back to being an actor again – more importantly, a working actor who's booking a lot more often!

To find out about my rates for private coaching, feel free to contact me.  To learn more about producing a professional voice demo, please visit my Production page.