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How to Stay Positive and Feel Good in a Negatively Focused World

Staying positive during Covid-19

The average person has 46 thoughts per minute, which calculates to about 70,000 thoughts per day. With the current Coronavirus disruption and polarized political upheaval, it’s hard to stay positive. In fact, there’s a good chance that a high percentage of those thoughts may be driven by fear, anxiety, anger, or a slew of other uncomfortable emotions.

When our minds are filled with fear or anger-based thoughts, it can be challenging to work productively, interact kindly or even get a good night’s sleep. When you’re caught up in thoughts that don’t feel good, you also run the risk of lowering your energy levels and even weakening your immune system.

While you can certainly try to chase away those fearful thoughts the minute they arise, it is a losing battle. Fortunately, there is an easier way to get yourself thinking more positive thoughts, and even a way to change the types of thoughts that enter your head in the first place. That’s by paying attention to your state of being.

What is Your State of Being?

Your state of being refers to your overall emotional state at any given time. People generally slip into and out of different emotional states throughout the day without even consciously realizing it. Sometimes we may slide down into a lower emotional state and feel like we are stuck there. It can feel very hard to get out of that kind of rut and everything seems worse when looking at the world from that perspective.

Note that I am using the phrase “state of being” and the word “emotion” interchangeably. Another word you could use is “mood.” All point to basically the same idea for the purposes of this article.

The important thing to understand about the relationship between your state of being and your thoughts is this:

Your state of being will generally dictate the types of thoughts you’re going to have. Your state determines your thinking most of the time. There can always be exceptions to this but for the majority of the time as you go about your day, this is true.

When you’re in a happy, creative, grateful state of being, your thoughts will generally be in sync with the state and it will be easy for you to “think positively.” The same is true when you are in a frustrated, overwhelmed, discouraged emotional state. From that place, it will be virtually impossible to see things positively. You’ll tend to see the glass as half-empty wherever you focus your attention.

In case you’re wondering how I came to my understanding of this topic, my husband was trained as a personal and business coach with a successful coaching practice for many years. He made some key discoveries about the importance of state of being and how learning to “shift states” can have a dramatic impact on the quality of your life. Simply by changing the quality of the thoughts that you think.

We’ve all heard the mantra “just think positive,” as if that’s an easy thing to do. The most effective way to do this is to focus on your state of being (not your thoughts), and shift that first. This creates the environment for more positive thoughts to flow naturally.

It’s impossible to control all of your thoughts. There are too many of them. But you CAN learn to shift your state of being. Doing this will indirectly allow you to have much better control over the quality of your thoughts.

States of Being Scale

Below is a Scale of States of Being that my husband used in his coaching practice. It gives you a quick rundown on 19 different emotional states, along with where each falls in the overall scale. The words on each line are in resonance with the state of being, so they are examples of a few common emotions or states that are aligned at that level.

Emotions can largely dictate how we act and what we think. Emotional states ranked from one to seven tend to bring on positive thoughts, while those ranked eight to 19 tend to bring on negative thoughts. The way to get your mind to churn out mostly positive thoughts is to keep your state “averaging” in the top seven levels of this scale. Ideally, we personally shoot for averaging around level three.

  1. 1. Enlightenment / Peace / Bliss / Euphoria / Excitement
  2. 2. Joy / Gratitude / Appreciation / Empowerment
  3. 3. Passion / Reason / Love / Freedom / Wealthy / Healthy / Confidence
  4. 4. Forgiveness / Compassion / Transcendence / Acceptance
  5. 5. Optimism / Willingness / Hopefulness / Enthusiasm / Eagerness / Happiness / Productivity
  6. 6. Positive Expectation / Belief / Trust
  7. 7. Contentment / Neutrality / Courage / Affirmation

————————————————————————————————–

  1. 8. Pessimism / Boredom
  2. 9. Frustration / Irritation / Impatience / Dissatisfaction
  3. 10. Overwhelm / Confusion / Annoyance
  4. 11. Doubt / Skepticism / Procrastination / Indecisiveness
  5. 12. Pride / Scorn / Contempt
  6. 13. Anger / Hate / Revenge
  7. 14. Desire / Craving / Discouragement / Disappointment
  8. 15. Fear / Anxiety / Worry
  9. 16. Grief / Regret
  10. 17. Apathy / Despair / Powerlessness / Hopelessness / Judgmentalism / Ridicule / Embarrassment
  11. 18. Guilt / Blame / Resentment / Jealousy / Competitive / Depression / Rage / Racism
  12. 19. Shame / Humiliation / Insecurity / Unworthiness / Bitterness

Negative states of being can cause a spiral downward into negative thoughts

How to Attain and Maintain a Higher State of Being

I believe some people are just more optimistic by nature. For the most part, that has been true for me personally. Yet I can still get drawn into a negative thinking if I spend too much time exposed to or dwelling on things that put me into negative states.

My husband used to be more prone to falling into a pessimistic or even depressed state on an occasional basis. By learning and regularly applying these concepts over time he was able to shift out of that completely and now easily maintains a very positive, light-hearted outlook and demeanor.

My favorite way to get out of the negative and into a positive state of being is by engaging in uplifting activities and cutting out things that tend to bring me down. Here are some of things that have worked over the years and especially lately.

  • Stop watching the news: Avoid news as much as possible and do not dwell on it because it is almost always negative. If you want to know what’s going on in the world, use a good-quality news site online, and scan the headlines to get a gist of what is happening. Dig into the details only when necessary. Neutral and non-emotional reporting is best, but it’s harder to find these days. Stay away from sources that are using the news to polarize, politicize and sensationalize the stories.
  • Don’t watch movies or TV shows that have negative themes: There’s way too much murder and mayhem on TV and in movies these days. Avoid it all and stick to more lighthearted types of entertainment.
  • Have some kind of daily spiritual connection: Whether you like to meditate, pray, or simply express gratitude daily for everything you have, this type of practice will bring you into a higher state. I try to stay in a overall state of gratitude throughout my day as much as possible. Even saying “Thank you” each time a new VO job request shows up in my email inbox helps keep me in that zone.
  • Listen to music with positive vibes: Listening to upbeat music, or any music that makes you happy, relaxed or energized is one of the quickest ways to boost your emotional state. Much of the popular music today is aligned with the lower levels of the states of being scale, so be careful what you listen to.
  • Exercise: Exercise can include traditional workouts, but it can also include anything that gets you up and moving. Play with your kids or your pets. Dance around the house. Take a daily walk or run through your neighborhood or a nearby park. Just get up and do some jumping jacks once in awhile. I got a new hula hoop for Christmas last year and I’ve been using that daily for some fun movement for a few minutes a day. Getting your body moving and energy flowing will naturally raise your state of being.
  • Get out in nature: Getting into nature is a great way to raise your state of being. Vitamin D and sunshine definitely help lift your spirits. It’s also an ideal place to tap into a spiritual connection.
  • Laugh more: Laughter has been called the best medicine, and for good reason. It’s been shown to help decrease stress, soothe tension, relieve pain and enhance your immune system.
  • Get into The Flow: The Flow is a state where you’re fully engrossed in what you’re doing and nothing else seems to matter. You may lose track of time as the outside world melts away. If you have a job you love, getting into the Flow can happen automatically when working on a project. People find getting into the Flow happens when they’re creating art, gardening, playing sports or engaging in any type of activity that truly brings them joy.

Be Especially Aware of What You Consume on Screens

Just as “you are what you eat” refers to what influence good food can have on your physical well-being, “you are what you consume” can also apply to the types of things you read, watch or expose yourself to on a regular basis.

Consuming large quantities of panic-inducing headlines can drag even the most upbeat person into a downtrodden state. So can movies or books filled with violence, hatred and anger.

My family and I have been trying to avoid watching any TV that can drag us down into a negative state. That drastically limits our TV viewing choices, but we’ve been able to find stimulating, positive entertainment. Here are some examples of what we watch now:

  • HGTV: Almost all of the shows on this network have an overall positive vibe and are about transformation and improvement. Notice how you feel as you watch to help you gauge what kind of impact it is having on you.
  • Streaming Favorite Sitcoms:  There are so many funny, well-written sitcoms that we still love to watch to make us laugh out loud. Favorites include: “Frasier,” “Seinfeld,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Office” and “Mad About You.” With streaming options, you can find many of your favorites for free or very low cost.
  • Sports: It’s been amazing to find out that watching great games from the past is still a great way to pass the time. “The Last Dance” documentary has been must-see TV for us every Sunday night for the past few weeks. We’ve also been watching many of the ESPN “30 for 30” episodes which are always fascinating.
  • Game Shows: Fun to watch and good for your brain in terms of learning and recalling information. Favorites include “Jeopardy,” “Deal or No Deal,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and even “Wheel of Fortune.”
  • Certain Reality Shows: You have to be careful with this category, but a couple of our favorites are “Shark Tank” and “The Profit” (both on CNBC network). Many reality shows are all about the drama, and that can actually take you into lower states. So look for shows that are interesting and uplifting.

When you create an environment and habits that help you attain and easily maintain a positive state of being, you’ll find your thoughts become more positive automatically. It’s something I’ve found very useful for keeping me happier, healthier and more serene, no matter what’s going on in the outside world.

I understand that many people are suffering greatly right now and experiencing very real challenges, problems and setbacks. The whole world is going through a situation that is completely uncharted territory. Huge uncertainties lie ahead for all of us and it truly seems that life will never be the same.

But, my response to all of that is to roll with it. To focus on what is working and what is good. To improve in the areas where I can make improvement. To look for new opportunities that are showing up.

I’m sure there will be some who will read this article and conclude that I am avoiding reality or just sticking my head in the sand. That is not the case. I am very much aware of what is going on in the world. But the difference is, I do not dwell on it. I put very minimal attention on the bad news and focus on the positive aspects of my situation. This is a choice and a discipline that I have cultivated over my entire life. It is an intentional way to respond to hardship and adversity and I have found it to be a very successful strategy time and time again. It is arguably one of the key secrets to my success in my profession as well as in relationships and my overall life in general.

I hope this information is useful in some way to you. Please share your comments and questions below.

How Our Voice Over Business is Taking a Positive Approach to COVID-19

Today we are talking about COVID-19, voice over and how your business can deal with the current uncertainty in the world. With all the craziness going on due to the coronavirus, it may be easy to fall into the trap of negative thinking, even for those who usually dwell in a fairly resilient mind set. Our lives are shifting every day and there’s plenty of uncertainty right now. Our hearts go out to all those on the front lines; the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, first responders, police and fire personnel, bus drivers, truckers, janitors, post office staff, fast food workers, grocery clerks and more who are taking care of those most ill and providing some normalcy for the rest of us by keeping essential services up and running. You are all heros.

We realize that everyone has a different story and situation, so if you are struggling with the current circumstance in ways that we aren’t addressing here, we send our prayers and wishes for the highest and best outcome for all. Faith is a fantastic tool.

With so much uncertainty and fear pervading our world today, my family and I have decided to do what we can to take a positive approach to COVID-19 by consciously focusing on the things for which we are grateful and the help we can provide. We are truly blessed with good health and prosperity, even in challenging times, and have found opportunities to try some new things that may lead to even better situations after we get past this crisis. Here are a few examples.

Home and Family

Our health and safety comes first, as does yours. If you and your family are healthy and safe, you have the top item on the list covered. Having a roof over your head is another positive, as is the ability to take the recommended precautions and remain home as much as possible.  We are blessed that our business was already set up to do this, so that is an unexpected bonus.

Since moving from Southern California to Michigan back in 2004, we have enjoyed the opportunities that go along with having a fairly large home in the Midwest. That’s part of the trade from moving from metropolis to Midwest…there’s more social distancing, naturally. We have plenty of living space for practical comfort in home and work life, (since home also includes the family business), and that extra space makes it easy to stay stocked up and prepared for a long quarantine. It also provides enough room to give every family member plenty of personal space – a great blessing when things get a bit stressful. Since we were already home-schooling our youngest (who is now fifteen years old), we didn’t even have to deal with the transition of no public schools in session. So, for our family, this was a pretty seamless transition.

I’m sure for other families and businesses there are different sets of challenges, and everyone has to start from a point where they are, and move forward. My wish is that using a spirit of gratefulness for the things you can be thankful for, will lead in a positive direction, for more good to flow.

The Business End of Things

Working remotely may be a big change for some, but it’s been a part of our routine for the last twenty-five years. So, we’ve been able to take this adjustment in stride and continue working without a hitch. Speaking as someone who is accustomed to working from home, I would encourage anyone new to the concept to focus on the positive aspects (of which there are many). Think of the commuting time you’re saving, lower fuel costs and reduced carbon footprint, home-cooked lunches and the ability to work in your slippers. Of course, there’s also the additional time you get to spend with your family. We’ve been enjoying the extra time we’re getting to spend with our daughter, now home from college for several more weeks due to the closure. That is an added bonus for us, though not what she had hoped for.

Being a business owner comes with a lot of risk, but because of that, in our current situation, we fortunately don’t have to worry about the possibility of being laid off or downsized. Even though some activity may be slowing, many of our clients still have voice-over needs and we’re continuing to provide the high-quality services that we always have. Much of our business is in the telephony and  narration genres, so even if there is some slowdown in retail advertising for awhile, there are still plenty of projects in the works. We are thankful for our loyal and long-term clients who continue to send business our way.

I’m assuring my clients, it’s basically business as usual in my home studio, which is equipped with everything I need to do my job. We also have ISDN/Source Connect/phone patch capability, which makes it easy to connect for live, remote session work with clients anywhere in the world. Most of the live TV world is now using the technology we’ve been accustomed to for years.

Covid -19
Positive Voice Over Business during Covid -19

 New Opportunities – Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Voice Over

In addition to the usual types of projects that come in, we’re also seeing opportunities to help businesses and organizations deal with COVID-19. A couple recent examples include:

  • Company Phone messages regarding COVID-19, which are urgently needed by many businesses and organizations
  • Revised messaging about changing schedules, for hotels, showrooms and other large venues
  • Advertising messages and PSAs including the “we’re all in this together” common assurance to customers
  • Science and Medical VO regarding PPE and Clinical Trial work

Our daughter (and teen VO talent), Natalie, is now home from college for the rest of the semester. That makes her more available than she was when living on campus. This has actually simplified our work flow quite a bit, so it’s a welcome change.

Make This a Positive Change

Even if your own work has taken a downturn, you may find new opportunities to customize your services, products or offerings to help fill a need that didn’t exist before. Creative thinking can go a long way toward finding solutions, new streams of income and innovative ideas that otherwise may have never been born.

Many great discoveries and innovations happened by accident or when someone “took a detour” or “got off the beaten path.” That is exactly where we find ourselves right now. Outside of our comfort zone, outside the box and off of our usual path. Take time to look around and notice what you may never have noticed if this situation hadn’t happened. You may find something that is life-changing or transforms your business.

Once you get into the groove of thinking positive and counting your blessings, the days are suddenly lighter and brighter than they were before. We can and will get through these trying times, and a positive attitude will make it that much easier. Here’s hoping you get into that positive mindset – and that you and your family stay safe. Let’s all get to the other side of this thing as soon as possible so life can begin to get back to normal, even if it is a new normal.

Please also check out my followup post to this one, “How to Feel Good and Stay Positive in a Negatively Focused World.”

Contact me if you need any messaging or other voice-over work related to COVID-19 or any other projects you have brewing. I’m open to meeting tight deadlines and always happy to help.

Top Tips for Effective E-Learning Videos

From PowerPoint presentations to spreadsheets and online quizzes, e-learning can use a variety of different content types. Yet one of the most popular and engaging continues to be the e-learning video.

As a voice over artist with more than 22 years in the industry, e-learning video narration has come to make up a good portion of the consistent work I do. This has allowed me to see what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to effective e-learning videos. Here are the top tips I’ve picked up along the way.

Set the Video Foundation

The first step in any effective e-learning video is to set the foundation. That means writing a script and creating a storyboard. Storyboards let you map out each scene’s audio and video to ensure they work together as a whole. Having the entire video outlined on a storyboard saves you tons of time and makes production much easier.

Tell a Story

People love stories. They’re intriguing and memorable, which makes them ideal format for learning. Telling a story with an e-learning video can involve creating different characters to carry out the action, but it doesn’t have to. The main goal is to use the traditional story arc formula to attain and then retain the viewers’ attention. The formula can be condensed into three parts:

  • Exposition, or story beginning
  • Conflict, or climax
  • Conflict resolution

In an e-learning video that explains a product, for example, the story could break down into something like:

  • Introducing the product
  • Introducing a common problem that nothing seems to resolve
  • Resolving that problem by using the product

Choose the Optimum Video Length

While 60 to 90-second videos may work for quick explainer videos, the optimum video length for more extended e-learning content is seven minutes. A University of Rochester study provides strong evidence for this as well. The study looked at the average time students spent viewing video for their online courses. It found students watched the greatest amount of video content when the video length was nine minutes or less.

Students watched less of the video content when videos were more than 11 minutes long. Once videos hit an even longer length of 15 to 40 minutes, students ended up watching no more than three minutes of the video.

Make the Most of the Visuals

E-learning videos tend to most effective when they showcase what’s being explained. Static images can be a waste of valuable video space that could instead be used to demonstrate how to use or do something. This could be how to use a product or service, how to treat customers in difficult situations, or how to successfully complete a project or a task that’s part of the e-learning curriculum.

Use Videos Strategically

You can certainly use a longer video to cover an entire lesson on a specific topic. But you can also use videos in a variety of other ways throughout the e-learning experience. You can use shorter videos to break up text documents and emphasize a point. Or use a short video at the beginning of a lesson to grab attention, another in the middle to demonstrate a specific task, and a third at the end to sum up the points made throughout the lesson.

Videos likewise work well when paired with hands-on training exercises. Your video could be explaining a task while your viewers are actually attempting the same task in real life.

Invest in Quality Audio

Quality audio refers to several things. One is the actual quality of the recording, which needs to be crisp, clear and free of background noise. It also involves the voice over artist you hire to narrate the e-learning video. Because e-learning requires careful listening, you want a voice that is likable, pleasant and trustworthy.

Steer clear of voices with too much breathiness or other distracting qualities that could possibly detract from the learning process. You can find additional qualities to look for in e-learning voice over narration in a past blog post.

Keep these video tips in mind, and you’ll be well on your way to creating an e-learning video that’s engaging, intriguing and highly effective at meeting your goal. Check out samples of my e-learning, instructional and tutorial videos for a look at effective videos in action. Also feel free to reach out for a custom quote or audition if you need narration for your next e-learning project.

What If Presidential Candidates Were Voice Actors – Part 2

listening to voiceover actors

As a longtime voice over actor, I automatically pick up on different speech patterns, nuances and styles of speaking from those in the public eye. And you can’t get any more public than the lineup of candidates running for president in 2020. While some candidates may have solid experience in the political arena, I can’t help but ask how they’d fare as voiceover actors.

Our last post looked at our first three candidates on the list: Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg. This time we’re listening in the next three: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Tulsi Gabbard. Even though Clinton has not officially announced a run for president in 2020, she has spent enough time in the spotlight to earn her a place on our list (and many predict she will enter the race at some point).

Donald Trump

Loud, repetitive, and a master at commanding the stage, Donald Trump no doubt knows how to put on a performance. In fact, he’s been likened to a “modern-day P.T. Barnum” for his keen ability to capture people’s attention. He is also a master at spontaneity who reportedly does not script his speeches in advance.

Vocal Style 

  • Exceptionally informal, even informal arena and capacity as president
  • Lack of ums, ahhs, and filled pauses, which projects a sense of confidence
  • A habit of using anecdotes and stories over statistics, which connects to people’s emotions
  • Spontaneous responses create a further connection with the audience
  • Repetition serves to cement ideas into people’s minds

Impact of Vocal Style

Repetition is a hallmark of Trump’s speaking style, sometimes saying the same sentence multiple times. Other times, his sentences may trail off without officially ending, which some may interpret as an inability to finish a thought. Others, however, have attributed that trait to him being a New Yorker and expecting others to finish his sentences for him.

Still, others have said such ambiguity is created on purpose. This allows everyone in the audience to fill in the blank with their own thoughts to finish the sentence, thereby aligning their own thoughts with what Trump meant and further strengthening the connection.

Exaggeration and embellishments are also a regular part of his speaking habits, which supporters know are not to be taken literally. They don’t take him literally but do take him seriously. The media tends to do the opposite, taking him literally and not seriously.

Potential Success as a Voice Over Artist 

His media and business background would work in favor of voice over commercials, while his large and loud style aligns well with announcer-type roles.

Hillary Clinton

Hilary Clinton is certainly polished in her enunciation and delivery on the stage – although some have argued she’s too polished. Critics say the overly polished delivery makes her non-distinct and non-relatable, unlike her folksy, more casual way of speaking earlier in her career. Others argue she is very relatable, especially since she has been known to change her accent and speech patterns when she thinks it will make her more appealing to a specific audience.

Vocal Style

  • Raises her voice to emphasize points, but sometimes so much “that it was almost screaming”
  • Switches between personal stories and lecturing style, which adds interest
  • Motivational, positive messages, but rarely smiling during their delivery
  • Authoritative gestures, strong eye contact with the audience
  • Speaking from the throat, rather than from the diaphragm

Impact of Vocal Style

Clinton’s speaking style tends to have two camps: you either love it or you hate it. Those who are captivated say her delivery is simple, direct and competent. Those who are less than thrilled note she uses loud, from-the-throat speaking (as opposed to speaking more deeply from the diaphragm). The from-the-throat speaking can be uncomfortable to listen to, watch and, above all, produce.

The volume of her voice is another point that has come under fire. While she frequently uses a loud volume and high pitch to make her point, those points can become blunted when the entire speech is loud.

Potential Success as Voiceover Actors

Fantastic for voice over work that demands a range of accents. Not so great if hiring for audiobook narration for bedtime stories.

Tulsi Gabbard

At 38 years old, Tulsi Gabbard is said to bring both “youthful joy and grownup gravitas” to the stage. She also brings a style of speaking that is straightforward, confident and, as “The New Yorker” called it, “faintly hypnotic.”

Vocal Style

  • Clear and confident
  • Straightforward language, even using words like “crappy” and “suck”
  • Voice with agreeable pitch and tone
  • Slow, reassuring delivery
  • Poised, rehearsed, lacking spontaneity

Impact of Vocal Style

Despite being unusually shy as a child, Gabbard said she trained herself to talk to strangers to help her breakthrough her anxiety. The result is enough of a comfort level with the audience to share personal anecdotes and even a hint of emotion. Like when her eyes glistened with near tears during a personal tribute to service members who lost their lives.

She’s also not shy about getting her point across, even if it means continuing to speak over a debate moderator who is trying to close out her time at the mic. It appears if Gabbard means to speak, she will, and she’s done so to standing-room-only crowds which appear to listen intently to what she has to say.

Potential Success as a Voice Over Artist

The hypnotic quality of her voice would not fare well for longer voice over narrations where the audience is at risk of falling asleep. Her style could align with shorter projects that required a confident and believable tone.

One thing we can say for sure: no two candidates are alike when it comes to having a unique speaking style. That makes for an interesting race right off the bat, one that’s only made even more intriguing by the message they relay. What do you think? How much of an impact does a politician’s speaking style have on your opinion of their ability to lead the country?

What If Presidential Candidates Were Voice Actors – Part 1

Presidential Candidates voiceoverWhen it comes to picking our next president, it’s not just about what the candidates say. It’s also about how they say it. With speeches, debates, and other political performances gearing up for the 2020 election, we have a good sense of some of the strongest voices vying for president. But what if Presidential Candidates voiceover was part of the debate?

As a longtime voice over artist, I can’t help but notice the speech patterns, vocal quirks, and other notable voice characteristics of politicians. Here’s a rundown on what I’ve heard from the first three candidates on our list: Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg.

Joe Biden

Folksy, choppy, and prone to mangling words, Joe Biden is the oldest presidential candidate in the running. Some have even questioned if his age plays a role in his speaking style, although those who have known him for years say he’s always been prone to misspeaking. He comes across as an average Joe, which often works in his favor.

Vocal Style

  • Folksy speaking style, using words like “malarkey”
  • Highly relatable, average-Joe type of delivery that puts the audience at ease
  • Apparent adoration of the word “folks,” which he once used more than 30 times in a single speech
  • A choppy style that often involves stopping or interrupting himself
  • Mangling and combining words in speeches. Examples include referring to Twitter as “Tritter” and making up words like “extredible,” which is a mishmash of the words “incredible” and “extraordinary.”
  • Frequent digressions, mix-ups, and gaffes, such as this one cited in The New York Times: “People are being killed in western, in eastern Afghan — excuse me, in eastern, uh, Ukraine,” Biden said.

Impact of Vocal Style

With a speaking style that’s largely disjointed, unpolished, and peppered with mangled words, you might think he’d be off the list of presidential candidates in a heartbeat. But that’s not the case. His folksy, unassuming speaking style has actually made him endearing to a notable number of supporters.

He has particularly strong support from working-class voters who find him relatable. Some see his informal style and penchant for storytelling as part of his charm.

Potential Success as a Voice Over Artist 

Very little, unless you were hiring for a folksy character that is supposed to frequently go off script or forget his lines.

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren has been hailed as an exuberant and captivating performer, and there’s no doubt she has the vocal power, extravagant gestures, and stage presence to command a room. While some are enchanted by her style, others are a bit less enthusiastic. The tone and delivery of her message have been compared to that of a domineering teacher scolding the class. Or as one recent meme put it, “She’s like the substitute teacher who assigns homework.”

Vocal Style

  • Lecturing style; lecturing the audience, sometimes even scolding them
  • Polished performance, as if she’s in a one-woman stage play
  • Rapid delivery likened to machine-gun fire or dodge ball
  • Speaks with her entire body, “vibrates with feeling,” many arm and hand gestures
  • Native Oklahoma twang

Impact of Vocal Style

Warren’s performances are polished and well-versed, particularly since she uses no notes or other prompting. Yet it’s been noted that such an exceptional level of polish may actually work as a barrier between her and the average American. It’s been said that her town hall meetings and more intimate gatherings are more personable and relatable than her more prominent performances. Yet they may still come across as performances during which the performer remains separate, on a stage high above the audience.

Potential Success as a Voice Over Artist 

Excellent if hiring for the teacher or no-nonsense professor type. Maybe some e-learning applications would be a good fit. Low if hiring for the conversational style of a trusted friend next door.

Pete Buttigieg 

Out of the three presidential candidates discussed here, Pete Buttigieg has the most straightforward speaking style. While Biden and Warren have several articles picking apart their speaking styles, the articles on Buttigieg refer to him as “cool,” “eloquent,” and someone who “excels at inspirational oratory.” This doesn’t mean, however, he would be a shoo-in for any voice-over job that came his way. He lacks the folksy connection enjoyed by Biden and certainly lacks the emotional charge Warren delivers.

Vocal Style

  • Voice with agreeable pitch and tone
  • Well-paced with generous pauses
  • Direct, calm, reserved
  • Perhaps too reserved at times, which may make him less relatable

Impact of Vocal Style

Buttigieg’s mom says he’s always been reserved, which is evident by the way he sticks with facts and figures rather than disclosing personal stories. Buttigieg himself admits he’s laidback, a trait that is often misinterpreted. “I’m misread as being bloodless,” he said in an AP story.

His speeches may not leave you warm and fuzzy, but they will leave you with a sense that he is intelligent and down to earth. Although his lack of emotion makes his speeches easy to transcribe, it may also make it tougher for voters to make a more personal connection with the man up on stage.

Potential Success as a Voice Over Artist

Ideal for medical narrations or other gigs where you need a straightforward, non-emotional delivery.

Of course, the substance of a candidates’ words are important — although it can be tough to concentrate on the substance if we’re too busy being distracted by the delivery. And if you think this lineup of politician vocal quirks is intriguing, just wait until you see who we have in store for the next one. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on the speaking styles of politicians.

Why Voice Over Actors Don’t Need to Lose Sleep over TTS

Technology is moving so fast it can make our heads spin, especially in the world of text to speech (TTS). As voice over actors, we’re certainly aware of TTS – and some of us may even fear the technology is advancing us right out of our careers. But it’s really not. Despite the rapid advances in the field, TTS remains unable to replace the real deal. Keep reading to find out why.

How TTS Has Advanced 

Text to speech (TTS) is a system that converts the written word into the spoken word. Simple enough, right? But it gets more complex from there. TTS systems store speech units that can include phones, diphones, words and entire sentences. It then puts those speech units together in specific combinations to create synthetic speech that says anything – all using the voice that initially recorded those speech units.

While the first talking machine was initially introduced back in 1939, advances in the world of TTS over the past several years have been more rapid and dramatic than over the past 75. Some of these advances include the ability to:

  • Incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics to sound more human.
  • Correct synthetic speech mispronunciations, adjust regional pronunciations, add emphasis, and other tricks through Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML).
  • Produce robo calls that stop and ask “Can you hear me?” or wait for a reply, like a human would, before continuing their spiel.
  • Copy lip-movements for dubbing.
  • Fix small errors in voice over recordings with synthetic edits.
  • Create a model, or “voice bank,” of a real person’s voice for later use as synthetic speech

Once TTS began to converge with machine learning, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), it became smarter, more realistic and, as mentioned earlier, a perceived threat to some in the voice over industry.

Potential TTS Threats to the VO Industry

There is no doubt the advances of TTS have aroused a number of concerns across the voice over industry, with some of the most common outlined below.

Losing Ongoing Royalties

The royalty structure keeps giving us a steady flow of money each time our voice is used, regularly paying us even though we’ve already done the work. If we are recording into a voice bank, are we going to get royalties every time our voice is used to create synthetic speech? Probably not. While we can likely expect to be paid a large amount for the initial recording session, we may lose out on royalties each time our voice is used down the line. After all, how can we be paid royalties for a future recording that uses our voice but we didn’t technically record?

No Control Where Your Voice is Used

Since technology allows for a pre-recorded voice to be used to create any type of message or project down the line, voice over artists may fear they won’t have a say in the type of work that will be attached to their voice. Some work may be unacceptable, but we may have no control or say over the matter.

Being Prohibited from Future Spots

If we offer buyouts on our voice banks, we could be limiting our careers without realizing it. For instance, let’s say our voice is used for a car company. We would then potentially be prohibited from doing all spots for all other companies in the future – even though we didn’t know we’d be associated with a car company at the time of the buyout.

Continuously Declining TTS Rates

Recording sessions for TTS are no longer in the $50K range. As the technology advances, the rates continue to decrease. Methods of capturing and synthesizing voice take far less recording time, which means far less pay for the voice over talent.

Why Voice Over Actors Don’t Need to Fret

While TTS concerns may feel valid for us voice over artists, we don’t have to lose sleep over them for several reasons. For starters, TTS still harbors many limitations – like the inability to spontaneously generate the infinite human range of emotions and vocal techniques.

Being able to create synthetic speech by simply typing in the words you want it to say is also not something that can yet be done. And synthetic speech, no matter how advanced or finely tuned, has still not shown it can match the multiple nuances and components associated with a real human voice.

Ongoing payments may still even exist. In addition to a recording fee, we could arrange licensing agreements that outline when and where our voices can be used down the line. Turning our TTS fears into the framework for a clear-cut contract can help ensure we have all bases covered – and continue to thrive in our profession.