Category: Voice Over Artist

For years, the “announcer voice” was the go-to for commercials, televised events, radio ads, and of course movie trailers. You know the voice: deep, clear, almost inhuman, but authoritative. When an announcer voice showed up you knew to pay attention because, well, you didn’t have much of a choice with that booming voice going on.

Now, you don’t hear the announcer voice too much. It’s fallen to the wayside in favor of other types of voiceovers, particularly the conversational tone. If you’ve ever wondered why that might be, keep reading to find out!

How Did Announcer Voice Start?

Announcer voice makes a lot of sense on paper. If you’re trying to be heard, talking in a loud and overpowering voice ensures that people will listen and put some sort of priority on your voice. If we go way back to the days of town criers, newspaper boys, and circus announcers, the voice makes a lot of sense as the speaker is trying to get their message out over the sounds of a crowd.

The exact origins of announcer voice aren’t well known, but the trend seems to go a long way back. The Mid-Atlantic accent is one place to look. It is a blended English and American accent used by actors in the early 20th century for its mixture of poshness and accessibility.

This made up accent became the norm in many films, used by people such as Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. From there it became desirable and was taught to aspiring actors in schools. Now, it seems the industry wants nothing to do with it.

Move Aside, Announcer Voice

One problem with the announcer voice is its tone, often described as “parent-child” read. When someone talks in an announcer voice they’re placing themselves above you, telling you what you should think about something, and demanding that you listen to them. This worked fine in the beginning, but now it comes off as condescending and untrustable.

Nobody likes to be talked at, which is the main reason that announcer voice has died. Another reason is that the announcer voice saps all humanity out of the speaker.

If you’ve heard any number of movie trailers from the 90s and before, you’ll notice that all the announcers sound nearly identical. The voice ends up being cast in our minds as being “corporate” and “cold”, like some sort of company robot. Humans identify more with other human voices and respond better to a more conversational tone rather than one that’s not only telling us how to think but telling us how to think in a strange voice.

Some companies still choose to go with a more conventional narrator, such as car commercials, and even a lot of radio ads for things like furniture stores. These companies may be following an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality or may be paying homage to these old-school narrators that once dominated the field. There’s a certain nostalgic quality to hearing a booming narrator now that will work for some people.

The Rise of Conversational Speech

Nowadays, people want an announcer or narrator that they can relate to. People don’t want someone whose voice is stiff, overly-rehearsed, and booming like those radio announcers of old. Instead, they want someone they can imagine having a conversation with, and maybe a little jingle to top it all off.

These more approachable and conversational announcers are sometimes known as non-announcer announcers. They’re a lot easier for a listener to connect with, and much more approachable. When the announcer speaks like an actual human, it makes the listener feel less like they’re being advertised to or told what to do, and more like they’re being informed or spoken to by a person rather than some machine.

The two things a company should strive for in advertising is trustability and relatability, and a non-announcer voice makes this much easier.

How to Talk Conversationally

While the announcer voice is commonly referred to as parent-child read, the more conversational side can be referred to as peer-to-peer. The perfect voice-over actor will sound like they’re speaking to a peer and telling them about something. Keep the voice and tone relaxed, don’t use words that are too fancy or “industry deep”, and above all else don’t come across as condescending.

The conversational announcer is still able to speak loud and clear without sacrificing the conversational tone. They can use simple, relatable language and allow subjectivity into their delivery. As a voice-over actor, don’t tell the listener what they should be thinking, rather tell them what you think about a product you’re announcing, as if you’ve tried it yourself.

Put some emotion in your speech and try to relate with the listener, don’t try and sell to them so explicitly.

The last thing people want now is an announcer that sounds like they’re reading from a script. This is unavoidable at times, but the more the voice sounds like real human speech — being made up on the go — the more the listener will be able to relate. Script-read announcing just brings people back to the corporate robot and makes them all-too-aware they’re being advertised to.

Get Conversational

The announcer voice is dead, and it probably won’t be coming back any time soon. Times change and so do peoples’ preferences. Nobody wants to be talked at by their television sets or radios anymore.

People want deeper connections and trustable announcers behind their products. Using a conversational tone is the best way to achieve this.

If you’re looking to hire a voice actor, check out our product page and find out how you can do just that. Feel free to contact us with any comments or concerns.

Got a good script and a clear idea of your radio ads? That’s good and all but you won’t get anywhere without a voice artist.

However, hiring the right voice over talent isn’t a quick and easy process. They play an essential role in a successful radio campaign.

But don’t fret. We’ve got a few voice over tips you should follow when looking for the right talent. Read on below and fine-tune your hiring process:

1. Know Your Target Audience

Before and during the hiring process, make sure you keep your target audience in mind. Voice over work for a political campaign, for example, is vastly different compared to the work intended for an explainer video or an Instagram ad. 

Identifying your audience can narrow down the type of voice, accent, and style you need. You can immediately cut out the applicants that don’t fit the bill. 

For example, a good radio campaign needs a strong, clear voice. You might also want to stick with a flat tone instead of something emotional, riddled with too many high and low pitches. 

2. Check Voice Samples

Even when you have a good idea of what you want, don’t hesitate to listen to a few samples.  You might hear voice quality you weren’t necessarily looking for but it might click with your campaign needs. 

Once you got a list of potential candidates, listen to as many samples as possible. Get their full portfolio and take time to listen.

You might like a voice actor during the interview only to discover they struggle pronouncing certain words or names. One of the voice actors you weren’t too keen on may have a sample showcasing their full potential, turning them into top candidates for the job. 

Remember that the bigger the portfolio, the more experience and training a voice actor has. Let’s dive deeper into the importance of experience.

3. Experience Matters

Did you know Tara Strong is 46 years old, as of the time of writing? Despite her age, she plays a myriad of young characters. She voiced characters like Bubbles in Powerpuff Girls, Timmy in Rugrats, Batgirl in the Batman Animated Series, and Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony. 

This doesn’t mean you have to hunt down older voice actors. Age isn’t a measurement of work experience. It’s often the case but you shouldn’t disregard young voice actors immediately.

You might find voice actors below the age of 25 already brimming with experience. Not all of their work might be official. There are many fan-dubbing projects for anime shows and foreign television shows that have no official English versions.

4. Try Different Emotions

Launching a radio campaign doesn’t always require a flat, monotone voice. Think about it this way: you’ll need to convey different emotions if you’re running a radio ad for products compared to a political ad. 

For the prior, you need an energetic voice. The latter demands more authority and certainty. Don’t hesitate to run tests with your applicants and see how they perform with different campaigns or scripts.

Keep in mind that with voice over work, the audience can’t see the speaker. They have to elicit emotions solely through their voice work and the eloquence of the script.

Have the voice actors read the same line in different ways.  Let them try to elicit excitement in one take and a tone of dread or authority in another.

5. Different Mediums, Different Talents

Gone are the days when the term “radio” simply meant broadcasting on a radio station. Nowadays, the term can also refer to podcasts or streaming projects. Make sure you know the kind of medium you’re hiring voice talent for.

Don’t always assume that you can use one kind of voice talent for different mediums. Different mediums demand different kinds of talents.

Going for a traditional radio broadcast ad? You might do better with someone who can speak quickly but clearly. Traditional radio ads cost a lot and they charge you per second, after all.

Looking to make an ad for a podcast commercial? These give you more leeway so you might want someone with more energy and better annunciation. You can also get playful with different accents and intonation variations too. 

6. Long-Term Considerations

One of the most crucial voice over tips when hunting for talent is to have long-term considerations. Look at the long game instead of hiring solely for a one-and-done project.

If you were around in the 1980s to the early 2000s, movie trailers always had a voice-over narration. More often than not, the voice work was by the same talent, providing consistency. When people heard that voice, they knew it was for a movie trailer.

Emulate this practice and consider the long-term reliability of your voice talents.

This builds trust and comfort. You need both if you want your radio ad campaign to become a success. Set expectations early by planning and hiring voice talent you know you can rely on for multiple projects.

7. Get a Few Recommendations

Sure, you’re bound to get a few cold applications. That said, you’ll need to conduct a few auditions to sort out the talents and narrow down the ones you like. You can simplify this process by getting a few recommendations.

Why are recommendations often good hires? 

They come from people who already worked with them. There’s already a sense of trust and reliability. You also get the guarantee that they have some training and experience, otherwise, no one would recommend them to you. 

It’s always a good idea to take the recommended talents and give them a try. Audition them like everybody else. They might end up easier to work with, even as early as the hiring phase.

Follow These Voice Over Tips When Hiring!

Hiring the right talent isn’t too monumental a task with these voice over tips. Don’t rush the process and go over things like their portfolio, different samples, and style to find the talent you need.

But getting the most out of your campaign doesn’t end here. Why not read our other guides to get one step ahead of the competition? You can start with our post about the reach of radio right here.