Getting Out of My Head

Here are my top three strategies for getting out of my head as a voice actor.

1. Someone once told me that instead of asking, “why me?” ask, “why not me?” If I’m doing the work, continuously learning and honing my skills, then it stands to reason that I’m qualified to participate in this industry. I tell myself to assume that there is a place for me here.
   

2. Listen to playback…with discernment. I’m sure you’ve been there too, right? I’m ready to hit send on that audition, then decide to listen back one more time. One hour later, I’m on my 27th take because I got sucked into a vortex trying to get this one phrase to sound just right. Of course, it’s wise to listen back. Make sure there aren’t any weird noises or transposed words in there, but after that…I have to bless the audition and release it.
   

3. This kind of goes along with number two, but in my booth, my headphones only exist to connect me with clients during a session. Otherwise, I get way too distracted. Mouth noises…nose farts….a certain tone or pitch…all get a beeline to my brain when I’m wearing headphones while recording. I keep them off most of the time and embrace my humanity. It is, after all, a key element of that coveted “authentic conversational read.”