I’m a voice actor.
I’m a voice talent.
I’m a voiceover artist.
I’m an announcer.
I’m a narrator.
What the hell am I?
The nomenclature has bugged me for years. Which one is right? Are any of them right? What does ‘right’ even mean?
I think the nomenclature matters insofar as what it means to you. One thing that always struck me is how important titles are to people. Dwight Schrute from “The Office” called himself Assistant Regional Manager and would always be corrected immediately as Assistant TO THE Regional Manager.
Amazing what a difference those little words make.
With that in mind, how do each of those voice-talker titles make you feel? How well do they match up (or not match up) with how you want to be perceived?
I tend to refer to myself as a voice talent. It seems to work for me because I think actor, narrator, and announcer invoke more specific thoughts & images and I am a generalist. However, if I am marketing myself to say, an audio book publisher, I refer to myself as an audio book narrator in the correspondence.
Lately I’ve been asked why I’m a voice talent. I told them it’s because I love to tell stories. I think that’s also why I’m writing Agent 1.22. From now on, my new title is: Storyteller!
TIP OF THE WEEK
How you perceive & present yourself has a huge effect on how others perceive & interact with you. If you think & say you’re “just a this” or “only a that” then that is exactly what you are and others will treat you accordingly.
Take pride in who you are and what you do. If you’re not proud of it, change it!
HAPPY HAPPYS!
Happy Reptile Awareness Day and CAPS LOCK DAY!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Well, I don’t know why people insist on knowing themselves. It’s hard enough to know what to wear. John Leguizamo
From my village to yours; this is Tom Dheere, GKN News…
Tom Dheere is a 19-year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a coach at Edge Studio, voiceover business consultant known as the Voice Over Strategist, and is currently writing & producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.