However, there is a long standing conundrum that plagues the definitive aspect of talent.  The degree of ability to act from an intuitive base is sometimes challenged by the assertion that intuitive performance can be readily replicated by employing a skill set that can be acquired by the mere application of discipline.

Talent and skill should not be thought of as being one and the same thing.  Natural talent is a numinous substance that enables an individual to surpass others in skill acquisition.  The greater the ability that an artist has to master a particular aspect of the art, the more it is generally conceded that the individual is endowed with a gift.

There are coaches operating in the industry that promote mechanical pathways to acquiring skill as a viable alternative to possessing inherent talent.  They allege that the skills necessary to act in a professional role can be readily acquired by anyone who is willing to apply themselves to their systematic methods.

In the arts, it is commonly held that there are four levels of natural talent.

The first and primary of these levels is said to be the unconsciously unskilled state, where an individual is ignorant of their inability due to not having explored their hand at performing.

The secondary level of talent is held to be where an individual reaches a stage of awareness regarding their state of ignorance in a particular art.   This comes about when someone challenges their ability by attempting to perform.  At this point the individual is said to be consciously unskilled.  This consciousness forms a platform for further development.

The third tier of talent is where an artist has developed the range of skills necessary to execute performance to an admirable standard.  This standard of performance may climb to the point where it is technically correct and accurate in every regard.   Accordingly, the individual becomes aware of the advancements they have made and of the significance of their contribution to the art.  At this point the artist is said to have become consciously skilled.  Further advancement is limited to the range of technical skills that are apparent for the execution of that particular art.  For most artists, it stops right there.

The fourth and ultimate level of talent is where an artist’s performance becomes so elevated that it transcends technical perfection.  The artist’s performance moves the very soul.  It is arguably an inherent trait, one that defines mastery at a whole new level.  This is where the artist is said to be unconsciously skilled, so gifted that they are totally present within their performance and ignorant of their extraordinary ability.

To place this into a voice artist’s context, talent is best realized when the voice artist is moved by the spirit that actuated the script author whilst they were composing the script.

A particular voice profile can be just as much a talent.  There’s a maxim that often gets voiced around industry circles that states, “Voice has nothing to do ith it – It’s not the voice but what you can do with it.”  To a large extent, that’s true.  There’s no particular voice profile that is necessary or advantageous to gaining employment in most voiceover work.

And having a mellifluous voice won’t get you anywhere if you don’t have the necessary skill set to accompany it.  Having a great sounding voice but being devoid of the essential vocal skills could be likened to a novice being in possession of a bag of tradesman’s tools without having the knowledge or skill to know how to work them.

But contrary to the notion that voice doesn’t matter, animation and promos are both genres of voiceover that provide exceptions to the rule.

Animation is often structured around particular imagery that requires a very specific sound to convey it in the way that a producer has envisaged it to be.  For an artist to procure an appropriate voice for an animation role, they often need to be innovative in order to extend their voice outside of its normal range.  However, the sounds they can create will be reliant on and somewhat limited by their underlying voice profile.

Promos fall into an area of voiceover that bears the principal purpose of being attention grabbing, so it’s a corner of the industry where the profile of the voice can literally make or break the deal.  Promo departments of Television Networks typically employ artists with prominent voices that can captivate audiences through a sense of command and authority; however, a promo specialist also needs to have an understating of the extensive styles that are called for in order to secure regular bookings for a variety of promo gigs.

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I was fortunate enough to pursue such an education while developing a home-based voiceover business.  The business afforded me the opportunity to put what I was learning into practice and that all helped in the developing of technique, however, it dawned on me that my education has become somewhat indiscriminate, a merry-go-round of tuition that was failing me of finding my specific niche’ in the market place.  You can be a general all rounder in this industry, or you can become a specialist.  To specialise in a genre or range of genres, makes you the ‘go-to-person’ for that particular area of voiceover and in turn, wins you respect that equates to business.  To find your niche,’ you have to be astutely aware of your strengths and how they correspond to the demands of the market place.

Settling on a good coach isn’t just about locating a prominent artist to train under but about determining the one that’s right for your particular voice profile.  The combination of an artist’s vocal range and unique skill set is what defines their ability to perform particularly well within a specific genre of voiceover.

A coach that’s worth their price should be as keen to assist you to identify your strengths as what they are to point out your weaknesses.

Mastering any genre can be duly facilitated by learning under someone who is recognised as a specialist in that field but ultimately, mastering the art is best learnt from a master.

Irrespective of how pedantic a coach may be about standards, their first responsibility is to instil confidence in their student by commending them on good performance, skill acquisitions and talent.  Confidence is the wind that billows the sails of every successful performer.

A good coach will be able to point a student to their appropriate niche’ in the marketplace and should be prepared to send them elsewhere for training should it become apparent that the student’s voice profile demands such specialist training.

While professional coaching comes at significant expense, one of the oldest and most proven training methods costs little more than the investment of some persistence and practice.  It involves you imitating other professionals and has long been recognised as one of the most effective methods of developing the art, however, if you’re going to pattern yourself on leading talents you should probably also be aware that it will be to your advantage if you develop something of your own unique style somewhere along the way.  Having something unique to offer gives you an advantage in this ever increasingly competitive business.

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Advertising agencies, production houses, television and radio networks, lean heavily on voiceovers to define their commercials and promotions for radio and television broadcast. As the term is industry specific, it appears to have become enveloped within the shadow of its own umbrella and closely mirrors the voiceover artist’s lot of being subject to an irony of occupational obscurity. That might not be so surprising considering that voiceover artists are often heard but rarely, if ever, seen.

When I entered the voiceover industry several years ago, I was initially under the impression that the term ‘voiceover’, referred to the voice artist’s skills to project their voice over and above competing influences. That was a semi-educated guess. The early history of the voiceover industry had been dominated by a liking for announcer-y read styles that were often notably pretentious, pompous, and assertively sales-like. Listeners were left feeling as if they were being spoken down to. It wasn’t too long before prospective consumers were learning to switch off to the perpetual ranting of the barrage of sales pitches that were being directed at them daily.

In more recent years, market players have determinedly veered away from employing this traditional announcer-y style delivery in favour of a natural read style that has come to be recognised as being more relevant, believable and compelling. This paradigm shift was certainly undertaken as an effort to make advertising more persuasive by circumnavigating growing consumer resistance.

The term voiceover was actually coined to describe the process of laying recorded voice over a background of picture frames, music or sound effects, not quite what I had originally imagined.

But to plunge the subject of voiceover into further obscurity, voiceover artists are also commonly referred to as voice artists, voice actors and voice talent. The terms are completely interchangeable. Then there are specialist titles such as ‘voice animator’ and ‘narrator.’ And if all that doesn’t add enough confusion to the matter, it remains equally grammatically correct to spell ‘voiceover’ as a single word or as its two separate component words juxtaposed as in, ‘voice over.’

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Voiceover is the fine art of interpreting and colouring a script according to its author’s intention and purpose. To accomplish this, an artist firstly needs to intimately familiarise with the script.

Once the author’s vision is perceived, the artist then chooses an appropriate method of execution from an acquired skill set – a skill set that comes from learning. Like with most areas of expertise, the best education ultimately comes from prominent professionals working within the industry.

The artist’s skill set is their bag of tricks that equips them to meet industry demands and expectations. Skills include the ability to act, to regulate vocal tension, the dynamics of accentuation, recognition of industry-specific grammatical patterns, the correct use of pause, rhythm, inflection, breathing, etc, etc. It’s surprisingly involved!

But a skill doesn’t infuse life into a read if it isn’t effectuated by some degree of natural talent. Talent is the magic that empowers the artist to perform within the spirit of the author’s imagination, the quintessential phenomenon that breathes life into copy.

Yet ironically, there remains a perpetual and often elusive challenge for the professional artist to bring something unique to the table, to every read. Such are the unrealistic demands of a highly competitive marketplace.

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Commercial voiceovers are used in the commercial advertisements we hear incessantly aired over our radio and television networks and the internet. This genre can be serviced by various read styles, one of which will usually be preselected by the author of the copy, according to the subject matter.

Corporate voiceovers are commonly used in video presentations for in-house training programs, instructional videos or pre-recorded directives for clientele.

Narration is typically used for voicing documentaries and e-books. Narrating for e-books can be challenging where it involves playing all character roles within a novel.

Promo is the genre employed for promotions of broadcasting networks or their forthcoming programs.

Trailer is a species of promo originating from the cinema industry. Its name depicts the traditional practice of trailing promotions for forthcoming films immediately after the viewing of a feature film. Ironically, trailers now typically precede the showing of the feature film and are often aired on television in promotion of cinema attendance.

Character is used within commercial advertising and involves acting out a specific character role. It may involve the use of acquired foreign accents.

Animation is specifically used for the voicing of a cartoons and video and computer games. It is a specialised form of voice acting not dissimilar in nature to the Character genre.

Artists entering the industry usually attempt to cover the entire gamut of genres as they search out their niche in the marketplace. But spreading oneself too broadly can eventually lead to an artist becoming seen as a Jack of all but master of none. Established artists will often specialise in a one or two genres in order to master the specific skill sets peculiar to that area of voiceover. Being a specialist raises the profile of the artist and furthers their likelihood of becoming known as the ‘go to’ person of choice within a particular field.

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