A couple of days back one of my friends visited me just to express his agony on how his explainer video ended up as a disaster. The production house had charged him an arm and leg for the video. Skip it! That’s a different story. We explored the video to understand what had went wrong. The script, storyline, story boarding, colour selection, character style, animation,…. Frankly speaking, everything was in place. We later realized that the video had fallen short due to the choice of an incorrect voiceover talent.
Make it count! You are not choosing the voice for the video but a voice to sell your business ……..a voice that can make a SALE. Then, it’s extremely important. Isn’t it? Get the picture! The voiceover you choose could have a significant impact on the engagement and the effectiveness of your video as a whole.
Here are some worthwhile voice over tips that we’ve learned along the way that might make your process easier.
Know your Target Audience
Well begun is half done. Begin by understanding your target audience. The voice over artist should address the script in the perspective of the target audience.
To achieve this, it is essential that you become a part of the market you’re speaking to. The more time you spend understanding the people you’re talking to, the better choice you can make.
Ascertain the Accent
Recognise to which region your audience belong to. And hence ascertain the type of accent your audience will be able to relate to. A familiar accent goes a long way to establish an acquaintance with the audience and will make our job of convincing much easier. The artist should possess a disciplined voice control and perfect pronunciation. So make a smarter choice.
The Tone Matters!
The tonality of the voiceover has the potential to deliver the underlying meaning of your video. It conveys the nature of your business. For instance, whether your company is easygoing or serious and corporate.
The right voice sets the pace for the video. The tone can also add emotion and connect with your target audience. The way you say something can shout out the message. For instance, at the outset you can determine what do you want your audience to think when they hear the voice over? excited, dramatic, or neutral. So, the tone of the voice over matters a lot to affirm the message of the video.
Get what you want
Share some reference videos with a similar tonality, accent and modulation for the artist to get a feel of it. Don’t hesitate to ask for a few more takes to make sure that it’s exactly what you want and work towards perfection, if need be. Precisely, you need to extract the effort and get what you want.
Ensure the script is read at a reasonable speed and pace that your audience can follow.This helps in a better and faster understanding of the message by the audience. Voice over actors must sound educated even if they have no understanding of the business. So, Instruct and educate your voice over artist before the recording. Advise them on how to speak.
In an assumption that I had covered all the aspects of the voice over selection, I end here. Thanks for reading. Feel free to site in other tips that might have been missed out.
Wishes to pick the right voice!
