You know when you hear a high octane, “announcery”-style voiceover on TV or radio and it can sometimes sound a bit forced or cheesy? Well, sometimes that might be perfectly in-keeping with the product, message or campaign and exactly what the director was after. Most of the time, however, it actually loses impact through a lack of authenticity and over-sell.
Remember that most effective teacher at school, who could get your attention with a low voice or even a whisper and who you ignored at your peril?! Or the low, authoritative parent voice- always far more effective than shouting, which just makes people/kids tune out! “Less is more” and there’s a big move towards clients seeking a relatable, authentic, natural,conversational style of delivery from their chosen voice.
That’s exactly what the clever folk at “Natural Sounding Voices” know all too well. As a long-standing, highly successful production company too, they have produced countless voice-over recordings for clients, yet have found real difficulty sourcing sufficient natural sounding voices without trawling through countless sites for hours. I’m chuffed to bits to be joining their wonderful voice-over family!
While I may have wondered in the past whether a lack of background in professional acting or broadcasting might make it difficult to succeed in voice-over land, in fact I’m increasingly finding that real life experience counts just as much, if not more. “Real” and “natural”, because I am! Having bagged many years’ experience in the corporate world as a family solicitor previously, as well as 15 years and counting as a Mum, that can only be a good thing when adding context and authenticity to a read!
People are always fascinated when they hear what I do! The question which inevitably follows after “what would I recognise you from?” is “Go on then, do your voice-over voice”. I think the lack of overt, booming, or overly hammed-up delivery is a surprise- but I’m all about under-stated, natural and relatable.
I highly recommend taking a little peek at the website “https://www.naturalsoundingvoices.com”, where you’ll find a comprehensive roster of beautifully natural sounding voices. They do what they say on the tin!
The team at Natural Sounding Voices really know their stuff, are very approachable and experienced. Their aim? To save you precious hours and a whole lot of hassle searching for that perfect, authentic voice for your project from scratch.Their very user-friendly site is a one-stop-shop, enabling you to create a shortlist of your favourite voices as you listen and, better still, you can then share your shortlist with colleagues/ others involved in the voice-choosing process!
