2019 Goal Setting Strategy

What To Do When You Second Guess Your Audition

April 22, 2019

We’ve all done it. Sometimes I still do it.

Especially on those long days when I have a bunch of auditions to do and am tired. Not only do I second guess my voice over audition but I can’t make decisions on which takes I like. More often than not, it’s these times that I end up with a couple takes that sound the same. They may be slightly different but I just can’t seem to let one go.

So, what do I do, outside of getting a good night’s sleep and trying again the next day?

1| Take 5 or actually 10, maybe 20.
I just take a few minutes away from my studio and do something else. That way I can come back with fresh ears. I look back over the specs and the script and then I listen back.

2| Play the same sections back to back.
Play a section from the 1st take, now play that same section from the 2nd take. Do they sound exactly the same? If so, that’s probably not a good enough 2nd take.

3| Let it go.
On voiceover projects that would mean a lot to me, I tend to second guess myself more. I recently auditioned for a Michaels commercial and man did I spend some time on it. I REALLY would love to voice a Michaels commercial b/c I love Michaels. I looked at other Michaels spots, read up on their current branding, did all the script analysis…then I got to the audition part and I had so many takes that I couldn’t decide. So…I kept telling myself…”let it go.” Don’t hold any take too preciously. Listen like a casting director/ad agency would, try to ensure the first take fits what you think they want the best then the second take just choose the creative choice YOU like the best. Let the others go.

Hope this helps you next time you start second guessing your takes.

-Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew

Marketing Tip

March 25, 2019

For years, I have felt overwhelmed at how to develop my “marketing plan” for VO.

I’ve finally figured out a really simple plan for me and last year that helped me increase my income by $30,000. Anyways…I’ll share how I simplified it later but today I just wanted to share a really simple thing you can do this week and it will probably take you 30 minutes.

ACTION: Go through your stack of business cards you’ve collected over the years (if you’ve thrown them away…don’t stress, I’ll give you something alternate to do) and look for anyone you’ve met that may need a voiceover. Set these cards aside and pull out your calendar.

Now, write the contact info for one of those each week from now until you run out.

Each week, take 10 minutes to craft an email to that person. Make it personal and make it serve them. Let them know:
1| What you do – Voiceover + Style/Specs that you shine at and

2| How you can serve them – studio set-up or accessibility. Make that email more authentic than sales-y but just reconnect with them.

Last week, I did this and I reconnected with a recording studio owner in Nashville I met over 10 years ago! I didn’t even think he’d remember me but he did and we even got to catch up over the phone.

We forget sometimes to think about the people we know and how they may need what we do.

Have a wonderful week!

Who’s the Hero?

March 18, 2019

I’ll admit…I LOVE when people see WHAT I do and give me praise.

That feels crappy to admit but it’s true. If you are into the Enneagram personality test, I’m a 3 which is the performer. I just desire those “pats on the back” for a job well done. Which makes no sense that I’m in the industry I’m in because I do not get that very often.

I admit that to say that I totally understand your desire (if you have that desire) of being praised or told you did a great job, but if we can remember this thing we’ll always win the client.

WE ARE NOT THE HERO

The client, customer, audience…THAT’S the hero. We simply are the guides. We guide the hero to THEIR win…whether that’s being part of the puzzle of a great commercial, helping the customer find the solution to their problem or taking the audience on a journey.

My expectation of a job well done is praise but by shifting my perspective to the expectation of a job well done is guiding or helping someone…THAT makes the difference between a win and defeat (even if it’s just internal defeat).

Guide on! 🙂

March 11, 2019

Whether you LOVE goal setting or HATE it, this strategy will resonate with each perspective.

Now grab a sheet of paper (I usually write this in my planner because I know I’ll always have it with me). Write down these 4 headings…

1| WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH IN 2018?
2| DREAMS FOR 2019
3| ACTIONABLE GOALS
4| MANTRA/THEME

1| What did I accomplish in 2018? This is a way to not only reflect on the awesomeness you accomplished (giving you encouragement of what you can do in 2019) but also a way to see what you are most proud of. Sometimes we set out to accomplish things based on other’s expectations, our own fears, etc. Really thinking through what YOU were most proud of has a way of illuminating your own passion compass.

2| Dreams for 2019. This industry is so filled with things out of our control. Personally, it’s helped me to differentiate something like “book a national commercial VO” as a dream not a goal. I can do a million auditions, be on the top of my game and STILL not accomplish that goal. So much of accomplishing that is out of my control. Instead, I call things like that dreams. Coaching twice a month with my LA coach, THAT’S a goal. I can control that. I write out my dreams, then I say “What can I do to move towards these or be in a position to potentially book that national spot?” That’s how I create my actionable goals.

3| Actionable goals. These are actions you can take in a time frame that help you move in the direction you want to go. I’d recommend writing them out, then spacing them out time-wise. Sometimes I’ll just shoot for one small goal a month or a goal that should be accomplished over a couple months.

4| Mantra or a Theme for 2019. For me, this is something that is a guide. It’s something super short, easy to remember that as soon as I say it my mind shifts to the correct perspective. Last year it was “BETTER THAN BEFORE.” It helped remind me that if today I’m just a smidge better than before, I’m doing awesome. I set big expectations for myself which leads to feelings of big failure. I had to remind myself I’m doing just fine by taking a small step. For 2019, my mantra is DO LESS. KEEP IT SIMPLE. I’m at max capacity – mentally, time-wise, business-wise. I want to do MORE but I just can’t. The keep it simple part is because we have SO much knowledge and instruction at our fingertips. For VO, just attend one conference and your mind will be ready to explode with a zillion steps, more social media to-dos and 10 marketing things to do every day. Ah! I can’t deal with a zillion steps. I need to keep my marketing simple, my social media strategy simple, my audition process simple. No complicated orders (Any bon qui qui fans??!)

Here’s to an awesome 2019!!
Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew

What we can learn from Superbowl Commercials

March 4, 2019

I love watching the Superbowl commercials but not just for the entertainment of them. I love watching them because they most often reflect the top trends in commercial VO. Here are some observations I made and then I’ll share how that affects us.

SUPERBOWL COMMERCIALS
* Over 20 commercials voiced by MEN. Only 3 were voiced by WOMEN. Based on some of the past years, this is actually less than before.
* A lot of character voices in this years commercials (Sharks, M&MSs, Mint Mobile, etc)
* Only TWO commercials were voiced by actors that had accents & ONE of those was voiced by a boy with a southern accent (that may have just been a GA shown one)
* 95% of the VOs were simple, subtle, intimate – the Rav4 & Weathertech were slightly more dramatic, one being a car commercial and the other with comedic undertones.

Another thing I noticed, since I am a female and I auditioned for the Xfinity & Norwegian spots, was that all the female voices were deeper, warmer.

So how does this impact us and our auditions? SIMPLE, SUBTLE, INTIMATE is the name of the game. Don’t push.

Did you notice anything that I didn’t catch? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Again…this is also during a huge sports game and targeted in certain ways, so it doesn’t necessarily reflect ALL commercials across the board but it’s a good way to observe the trends.

It’s the Little Things

February 18, 2019

In a sea of so many voice talent and actors, we constantly search for ways to set ourselves apart. The crazy thing is that it’s the little things that make the biggest impact. For example, I was sending files in to a producer I worked with. He had very specific instructions for how they were supposed to be labeled.
If I’m totally honest, I was a little frustrated at how particular he was.
However, when I checked in with him to make sure he had received the files and everything sounded good, he responded back saying it sounded great, he really enjoyed working with me and thanked me over and over for following his labeling instructions. He said I was the only person that had followed his instructions EVER.It’s something so small but set me apart (without even knowing it) from other people he had worked with.Just don’t forget how big little things can be!

Mike & Heidi

Animation Voiceover Tip

February 11, 2019

I was able to spend the weekend with Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron) for a voice over retreat and she taught us so much! I wanted to share one of those things with you.
HOW TO FIND A CHARACTER VOICE* AGE – What age range are they?*

VOICE PLACEMENT – Where is the voice coming from – your chest, throat, nose, head?* IMPEDIMENT – Is there an impediment this character has?*

ACCENT – Does the character have an accent & how does that inform the character?*

CHANNELING – Is there someone you know that you can channel?
Such a great starting point for developing your character!

Mike & Heidi

How to Maneuver Technical Direction in a Session

February 4, 2019

I recently had a session where there were 5 people between the client and agency giving me direction. My page was ALL marked up. We went section by section and I constantly heard, “Go up here, take a pause there, emphasize THIS but not too much, make this more heartfelt, then this more light…” What happens when we receive a lot of technical direction is we tend to lose the most critical part of our voiceover job – TO CONNECT! So, how do you take the technical direction, stay connected and make the copy fresh? Here’s what works for me…
1| Mark the technical direction on your script(ie go up on this word, down on that one, make sure we hear “anD” or go faster there but slower here, etc)

2| Take a moment before your next take and look over the section with the technical direction. Read through it like a map.

3| Now go into your read knowing WHO you’re talking to, WHAT you’re saying and WHY.
Going over the script in your mind before you begin allows your brain to register the technical map, but then allows the connection to take front stage.In this past week’s session (when I had multiple directors), I tried this and it worked like a charm! The connection was still there but my brain had logged in the technical direction as well.Remember…the best voice actors are direct able so the more we can learn how to take direction the better we become.

Mike & Heidi

Move over Siri…. New trends good for VO

January 28, 2019

I was reading an article about speech recognition…you know Siri’s main job, and the article shared this statistic that will be GREAT for US!
By 2020 Google expects that 50 % of all internet searches will be done by voice and approximately 30 % of searches will be done without the screen at all.
Guess what that means for us? That means that more companies will need voices for their speech recognition offerings. That’s where WE come in!This is a great reminder that though things change (greater competition, new media that confuses rate awareness, etc) BUT that change can also bring new opportunities!

Mike & Heidi

Tip from a Muppet

January 22, 2019

Last weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to spend a weekend outside of LA with a small group of voice over actors led by Randy Thomas (live announcer for the Oscars, Emmys, Tony Awards and Nightline to name a few). Randy brought some of the best in the business – Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron), David Alden (movie trailer & promo director), J. Michael Collins (voiceover actor & good with voiceover business tips) and Paul Liberti (previous Muppet, Professor Elm in Pokemon, broadway choreographer and voice actor). Paul gave us some great insight and I wanted to share it with you…
VOLUME IS THE WEAKEST THING YOU CAN USE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF
Sometimes we have the tendecy to increase our volume when emphasizing or increasing our energy. Don’t worry…the mic will pick you up. Our goal, as voice talent, is to make people lean in. They’ll lean in if the expression comes from within.

Mike & Heidi

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