How can I make my voiceovers sound more professional?

Coaching it the most important thing a professional voiceover will need. Even the most accomplished voice actor will be receiving regular training. Good quality training from an experienced coach will enable a voiceover to be up to date with current trends, be to analyse a script correctly and deliver the appropriate performance for the client. 

Gone are the days when voiceovers only needed to be able to deliver an authoritative style of performance. Todays client and customers prefer to be spoken to rather than spoken at. Although the authoritative read still has its place, sometimes a voiceover needs to be able to deliver a conversational read, soft sell, a compassionate read (popular during the lock downs) or evoke the specific emotion that a script requires is something that requires both practice and training.

Voiceover is an art form where the artist should always be looking for ways to improve upon their last performance in search of excellence. Although we may not get there. With good coaching and practice, one will always be getting a little bit closer day by day.

A quiet, acoustically treated recording space or room will have the biggest impact upon the sound quality of a recording. Not all voiceovers have the luxury of a recording booth. Some prefer to treat their recording space with acoustic panels, Blankets and or soft furnishing. When this is done correctly, the quality of the audio will sound as good as anything that comes out of a professional recording studio. A £5000 microphone in a badly treated space will not sound as good as a £100 microphone in a well treated, quiet space.

Performance

Consistently good performances only come with a lot of experience, vocal control and self-awareness. Just like everything in life, if you want to do something to a very high standard, developing true skill takes time and effort. 

EQ Tips

• If you have a nasal voice, you can use a gentle cut around 800 or 1500 Hz.
• If you have a muddy sounding voice, experiment with a gentle cut around 500 Hz.
• Almost everyone sounds better with a slight bass boost around 80 or 100 Hz, but don't go overboard.
• Harsh sounds are generally in the 3000 to 4000 Hz area.
• There are two spikes in most voices where sibilance builds up. For men it's generally 4000 and 7000 Hz. 

Equipment

There are some reasonable USB mics nowadays, but the most tried and tested route is to pair a great sounding XLR mic with a great sounding preamp. Large diaphragm condenser mics (e.g. Neumann U87, Neumann TLM-103), or high-end dynamic mics (e.g. Shure SM7B, Electrovoice RE20) are most common. A Rode NT1A or NT1 is a fairly decent starter mic, but it will require more processing to get the best from it. 

These points will definitely improve your sound.

• Coaching
• Training
• Invest
• Take your time
• Try new things

Coaching: everyone needs to do updates, courses, and everything they can to become better actors. Go to the best you can afford and try to learn at least ONE thing from them. Every teacher has its specialty, try to understand which one it is and "steal it!"

Training: Some time ago I was convinced that I was too good and needed no further training, I had learnt all that there was and had trained in the past... once you know how to do something you don't need to train it, right?

Wrong! If you are working everyday with your voice and acting then you don't need to train, but if you work only 1, 2, 3, or even 4 days out of 7... you should train yourself those 3 extra days. Exercises to focus on your weakness are the best. Also learn how to use your Softwares!

Invest: You need some decent equipment, it doesn't mean you need to spend 6k... but if you only spent 100€ in total, that is way too low to achieve professional results. Take a middle range priced microphone, adjust your booth or your recording studio sound, take a decent audio-card. Get some decent audio speaker or heaphones and try to listen to your audio on both devices. It should sound good in all devices, from 10USD speakers to 500USD ones.

Take your time: Sometimes wasting 15 extra minutes to CHECK if everything you recorded sound actually good, there are no noises, there are no mistakes, it sounds smooth and works great, will make the difference on your audience. 

Try new things: Get out of the boxex! Do you always record at 20 cm from your microphone? Try to record at 10 cm or at 30. It might work better sometimes. Try a different volume, try a different breathing technique, try to use different voice techniques (if you have no idea what these are... check point 1).

Keep doing all of them and you will reach the best possible results!

To sound professional you have to achieve two targets: quality of your audio and quality of your interpretation.

The quality of your audio depends of some factors: The most important is the quality of your environment acoustically speaking. Preferably to have a treated room or studio, if that is not possible, a vocal booth, if yet not possible, to record at the most appropriate place at a time when the noise is not so loud; Second is the equipment that today it is not a huge problem because of the evolution of the technology and some really affordable USB mics. You need to guarantee the best quality possible without using any noise plugin, etc.

The other factor is the quality of your interpretation. To achieve that you need to train and train and train a lot and never stop studying, listening to references and practice.

An incredible interpretation may leave an average quality gear go on unnoticed, but an average interpretation, even with an incredible gear, the best of the best, will still sound average!

Coaching. Coaching. Coaching. And more coaching. Despite the fact that people may have told you that you have a wonderful voice, or that you should be on the radio, it's rare that someone just has the gift of sounding professional right from the get-go. You need to work with a coach - someone who will give you honest feedback and the tips, tricks, and strategies to sound more professional. 

In today's market, the "conversational" read is still what most clients are looking for. And despite sounding like that would be easy to do (conversational means just talking normally, right?), it's NOT. When I first got into voice over, I worked for over a year with a well-known coach. She also helped me get ready to produce professional demos in corporate narration, e-learning, and medical narration, which I eventually produced with her. Not only did my demos sound professional, but I knew I would be able to actually deliver professional quality because of my training with my coach.

If you're just starting out, or looking to enhance your craft, spending the money on a good coach is well worth the money. In fact, it's more important that spending money on expensive gear like microphones, etc. If you need recommendations of good voice over coaches, reach out to any voice actor. They'll let you know who coaches them, and why they like them.