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TRAINING Afraid To Learn New Skills? Terrify Yourself To New Income
 By Jane Ingalls
Voice Actor Unless your voice over career is standing still, you will soon be called on to be uncomfortable. It's
one of the things I love about our business. It also secretly terrifies me! Voice over requires a shifting blend of creative and
technical skills. We have to be ready
every day to try on new characters, approach new clients, and increase our
technical range. The only way to grow and improve is to take the next
risk. In the process, we become more
versatile and flexible and, ultimately, more valuable to our clients. MY LEARNING CURVE Meeting new expectations is never easy. Recently, a new client wanted something I did
not yet know how to do. The deadline for
the project was tight and I had several overlapping issues to solve. Ultimately, success or failure rested on
whether I was "willing to be willing" to be uncomfortable. I had much to learn to get the job done. HELP FROM MY FRIENDS Fortunately, our industry is generous, and help is often a
phone call or email away. I got advice
from trusted voice over friends and sent out an SOS for help to a local
technical group with an email listserve. I researched and bought new software and hired a local audio engineer to
help integrate the new process in my studio. In spite of a few hectic days, the files were delivered on
time and another script arrived soon after. The relationship with the client was off to a good start, and I had
several new skills to offer to the next person who might need them. PREPARE NOW ... How do you prepare for the unexpected? Before the next learning curve I plan to:
YOUR LEARNING CURVE When your next challenge looks like a good fit, don't be
afraid to say "yes" even when you don't have all the pieces in place. It could be just what your career needs to
take you to the next level. Although moving forward will always involve learning
something new, the skills you lack can soon be yours. Remember, help is at
hand. ACCEPT THE DISCOMFORT Lean into the learning curve and accept the discomfort that
comes with it. Before you know it, the
road will straighten out in front of you again; the discomfort will be replaced
with a fresh sense of accomplishment, and you'll have new options to offer
every past, present, and future client. ABOUT JANE ... Jane Ingalls lives near Washington, DC where she works as a bilingual voice actor (English and Spanish). She specializes in commercials, eLearning, and video narration. Among others, her clients include the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Museum, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Lowe's Home Improvement. Email: jane@janeingalls.com Web: www.janeingalls.com |
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Lynn
"When they ask you, 'Can you ride a horse?' your answer is 'Yes!' because you can then go take horse-riding lessons!"
So...when a client asks the VO artist, "Can you imitate the sound of a mouse farting?" your answer is....?
I am a firm believer that if you always do what you've always done....you'll not get what you've always gotten...you'll end up with LESS! Fantastic article. Thanks for sharing!
All The Best,
Bobbin Beam
blog.bobbinbeam.com
We do need to kick ourselves in the butt and step out of our comfort zone.... and learn something new. Getting stale in this business is not healthy. Sometimes I have more fun than I ever imagined!
And "getting a little help from our friends" is a comfort, too. Knowing "I got 'cher back" is always valuable and works both ways!
And... thank you for the mention!
Dan Friedman
www.sound4vo.com
www.procommvoices.com
I love pushing myself, or being pushed out of my comfort zone. It's become a habit for me...an enriching one at that.
Your next terrifying experience...riding with Kate and I to Ventura. :)
See ya in a few weeks!
Chuck D
Ken
Thank you for writing this article. It is all so true. The first VO gig I got using my home studio was for a message on hold for a cat clinic. I thought, "Cool, I can do this." It turns out they wanted someone not just to voice the project, but also to write the copy and to add background music. Talk about being thrown into the fire, but like you mentioned the VO community is so generous. Through asking questions and working with my equipment I was able to get the job done, and a few months later they had another project for me as well. It was a bit "scary" at first, but I am so grateful for the experience as my skill set has improved because of it.
I have always known that I need some sort of a phone patch set up. Before doing so, however, I was hired for a project where the director/producer wanted to listen in on the recording session. With little time to work before the session (and I must admit some jitters), I found a way to make the phone patch work. Due to this experience, I am now making improvements to my studio and upgrading my equipment to improve my phone patch set up.
There is always so much to learn, and this will always be the case. Sometimes the learning curve is bigger than others and sometimes the challenges are "scarier" than others, but in the long run it is certainly worth it. Not only do we learn new skills, but like you mentioned we are able to help our clients in more ways too.
Thanks,
Judy Fossum
Judy Fossum VoiceOvers
Cheyenne, WY
What a great reminder! :-)
Peace!
Liz