Have you got what it takes to be the next Don LaFontaine? I bet your thinking “how hard 
can it be? All I’ve got to do is shout into a microphone”. Well, there are a few little tips that you need to follow in order to be a voice over artist.
Firstly let’s start with your tone. This is a pretty simply one but if you don’t have a good voice, then chances are you are going to struggle to find work in the industry. You may be able to understand scripts, read with perfect inflections and have excellent delivery, however if you are a 50 year old male who sounds like a chipmunk, then most of your reads might be for a kids’ cartoon.
If you think you have a great sounding voice, the next skill you need to learn is how to read, and I don’t mean just reading line by line off a piece of paper. You need to read the script like you understand every word, like you believe in what you are saying and with enough variation (light and shade) to keep the listener interested and not bored. A great way to learn how to do this is to tune into commercial radio and television, and instead of blocking out the commercial break, listen to what the voice over artist is saying and how they are saying it.
Lastly, there is not much point in being a great voice over artist if you record your voice over on your smartphone or webcam. If you want to make a living out of voice overs, then you need a proper voice recording booth. This booth should be acoustically treated, low on noise from computers or passing cars and have a reasonably good quality microphone with pre-amp. If you are not tech savvy then this may be the hardest part for you to get right, so we’ll cover this in more detail in a later blog.
So if you have a great sounding voice, can read scripts to a high standard, have a great vocal booth set-up and are eager to try getting started in the industry, then record a short demo (on your own equipment) and send through an example for us to have a listen to. Who knows, you could be well on your way to a career in voice overs.