Most newbies to voice over seem to fret a lot about “the competition”.
In these times, in any professional environment, one will encounter countless others out there trolling for clients. The voice over world is no exception. When I was in college, if you wanted to teach in a public or private school when you got out, you were almost guaranteed a position somewhere. In the first quarter of the 21st Century, this is no longer the case – in teaching, or almost any other endeavor.
There are literally thousands of people out there looking for voice over gigs. The good news is that most of them aren’t that good. In fact, if I were doing the hiring, I would only consider fewer than 5% to be worthy of doing the work out there. Why? Because a vast majority have been lured into the business by voice over training mills or coaches that never should have encouraged them to get into this business in the first place. Others who initially showed potential didn’t get enough training before they did their demos, and went out into the job market with one hand tied behind them. They simply couldn’t ace the auditions.
Before venturing forth into the voice over world, you need to have a professional in-depth evaluation of your basic skills and instincts, as well as your grasp of English language dynamics. If the outcome is positive, you should embark on a training regimen that addresses the areas you need to fix, and one that ultimately gives you the ability to nail down the real message of the script, and demonstrate to your client that you can put that message across to the listener in a natural, believable, meaningful way.
The ultimate goal is to teach you to become your own best director and critic. If you have done this diligently, you won’t have to worry about “the competition”. All of your focus has been trained on being the best you can be.
One last thought: Never, never rest on your laurels after you achieve some success. The best people with whom I have worked always want to get better, and they continue to work persistenty to that end.
