Everybody’s got a guy.

A plumber guy. A car guy. A guy who knows a guy.

For a lot of producers throughout my career, I’ve been their voiceover guy.

And every so often the phone rings:

“Peter, do you know a really good female voice talent for a corporate narration?”

As a matter of fact…I gotta guy.

Except she’s a woman.

Over the years, producers who know and trust my work have asked me to recommend female voice actors for all kinds of projects. Corporate narration is one of the most common.

And when I recommend someone, I’m putting my reputation on the line right along with hers.

So what am I listening for?

First, she has to sound like a person

That sounds obvious.

It isn’t.

Corporate narration has changed a lot over the years. Clients generally don’t want someone who sounds like she’s standing behind a podium reading the annual report.

They want someone who sounds natural, present and connected to the words — not computerized. Often, the voice becomes the personification of their brand, not simply a persona. That makes sounding like a real, trustworthy human person even more important.

And conversational doesn’t mean casual.

It means believable.

The best female corporate narrators understand the material well enough to sound like they’re communicating it, not simply reading it.

She has to understand the script

A good narrator sees more than words on a page.

She sees the thoughts behind them.

Where does the idea begin? Where does it change direction? Which word matters more? Where should the listener get half a second to absorb what was just said?

Those choices are what turn somebody reading copy into somebody communicating a message.

Producers can hear the difference. More importantly, so can the audience.

She has to take direction…and run with it

Sometimes the first read nails it.

Sometimes the producer says, “That was great. Can we do it again, but just a little warmer?”

Or faster.

Or less announcery.

Or more authoritative.

Or — one of those wonderfully precise pieces of voiceover direction — “Can you give me the same thing, only different?” (If I had a nickel for every time…)

A professional voice actor understands what the producer is trying to accomplish and can adjust without turning a directed session into an archaeological expedition.

That matters.

She has to make the producer’s job easier

This may be the biggest one for me.

Talent matters. Of course it does. It’s the foundation.

But when I recommend another voice actor, I also want to know what happens after she gets the job.

Does she respond?

Does she show up prepared?

Can she work efficiently in a directed session?

Does she deliver when she says she will?

If a pickup is needed, is it handled smoothly and professionally?

Producers have enough moving parts to deal with already. The voice talent shouldn’t become another one.

And yes, she needs a great voice

Of course.

But “great” doesn’t mean one particular kind of voice.

Warm. Authoritative. Friendly. Sophisticated. Conversational. Energetic. Reassuring. Technical. Approachable.

Different projects need different voices.

That’s one reason I’ve never tried to identify one woman as the female voice talent I recommend.

I know scores of excellent female voice actors, each with different strengths, styles and sounds.

The art is finding the right one for the project. Or at least giving my clients the very best choices to pick from.

When the Right Voice Isn’t Mine

What started years ago with producers asking, “Peter, do you know somebody?” eventually became something more useful.

I created a free online resource featuring professional female voice talents I know and trust.

audio’connell’s Female Voice Talents page (femalevoicetalents.com).

And noooooooo. I am not an agent.

There’s no booking fee. No middleman. And I don’t take a commission.

Listen to the demos. Find someone who sounds right for your corporate narration, commercial, explainer video, e-learning project or whatever else you’re producing.

Then contact her directly.

Simple, straightforward, helpful.

Three valuable words to run a business with…for almost 45 years.

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audio’connell Voiceover Talent offers producers a free, direct-to-talent resource for finding and hiring professional female voice talent. Browse audio’connell’s Female Voice Talent roster and contact the talent you choose directly.

Tags: commentary, female voice talent, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice // Add Comment »

Apparently the voiceover paparazzi have a very long memory.

CanvasRebel very kindly invited me for an online interview back in 2023. A few months ago, they asked me again. I’m not quite sure how I landed on their interview list a second time, but I was happy to answer a fresh set of questions.

The focus was a bit different this time—they asked about the people who have helped me build and run audio’connell Voiceover Talent and how those relationships came about.

That includes my graphic designer, Ann Hackett, who has put up with my design ideas for more than 20 years.

It also includes a recording studio in Chicago where I booked a session while traveling. The staff liked my work and suggested I contact Big Mouth Talent. I did, and within a few weeks, I had a new voiceover agent in Chicago. I went looking for a microphone and came home with an agent. That was a pretty good trip.

We also talked about the radio station visit that started my fascination with microphones at age five, what I learned at WVUD decades later, and two other lessons that took me considerably longer to learn.

If you’d like to learn all the details, you can read our new conversation here.

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By Peter K. O’Connell

When a producer asks me to help find female voice talent for a commercial or social media project, I have one basic rule:

**Don’t be boring.**

Consumers have gotten exceptionally good at ignoring advertising.

They skip it. Scroll past it. Mute it. Walk away from it. Talk over it.

So when I’m helping someone find a female voice actor for advertising, I’m not simply asking whether she has a “great voice.”

I’m asking whether the audience will listen to her.

I start with the audience

Great voice?

Great for whom?

A voice that works beautifully for a luxury brand may be completely wrong for a funny Instagram spot.

A warm, conversational read may be perfect for one campaign while another needs attitude, authority, humor, sophistication or genuine excitement.

So when I’m listening to demos, I’m thinking about the person the advertising is trying to reach.

Would *they* listen?

That’s the test.

I listen for conversation — not “conversational”

Clients have asked for “conversational” voiceover for years.

It’s a perfectly useful direction.

But I’ve also heard plenty of reads that were technically conversational and completely lifeless. Like…dead.

Real people emphasize things, sometimes awkwardly. They react. They think while they’re talking – which is not always smooth and well paced. They have opinions.

When I’m listening to female voice talent for a commercial, I want to hear somebody make carefully written advertising copy sound as though she’s saying it for the first time — straight out of her head with no sign of a script… (P.S. That’s what I aim for in my reads as well, mostly successfully).

Yeah, it’s harder than it sounds…hence the paycheck (voiceover is NOT just talking).

I consider where the commercial is going to be heard

Here’s a hard fact: a traditional television or radio commercial and a social media ad may be selling the same thing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they should sound the same.

Digital and social advertising moves fast.

The opening may have to grab attention immediately. The pacing may be different. The performance may need to feel less traditionally “announcery.”

And one campaign may require several versions, alternate reads or pickups for television, radio, streaming, pre-roll or different social platforms.

So I don’t just listen for the voice.

I think about where that voice is going to be heard.

I don’t cast by gender alone

If the creative calls for a female voice, fine.

Now the actual casting begins.

Age range. Energy. Attitude. Vocal texture. Authority. Warmth. Humor. Accent. Pacing. Character.

Those are the things I’m listening for.

“Female” narrows the field.

It doesn’t choose the voice.

I pay attention to the person behind the microphone

Just as I do whenever I recommend another voice actor, I’m putting some of my own reputation behind the recommendation.

I prefer recommending female voice talents I know and, in most cases, women I’ve actually worked with.

I want someone who is professional, prepared, responsive and easy for the producer to work with.

A great audition gets someone’s attention.

Being a great professional is what makes producers want to work with that person again.

Then I let the producer’s ears decide

When I’m recommending female voice talent, I don’t need to decide who the winner is.

That’s the producer’s job.

My job is to help put good choices in front of them.

That’s one of the reasons I created audio’connell’s Female Voice Talent page as a free audio production resource. Producers can listen to professional female voice actors working in commercial, digital, social and other styles and then contact the talent they think fits the project.

There’s no audio’connell booking fee and no commission on the voiceover project.

I just help make it easier to get from:

“We need a female voice.”

to

“That’s the voice.”

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audio’connell Voiceover Talent offers producers a free, direct-to-talent resource for finding and hiring professional female voice talent. Browse audio’connell’s Female Voice Talent roster and contact the talent you choose directly.

Tags: commentary, female voice talent, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice // Add Comment »

By Peter K. O’Connell

I’ve been a professional voice actor for a very long time.

One of the benefits of doing anything for a very long time — besides having stories nobody asked to hear — is that you get to know a lot of talented people.

That’s especially true in voiceover.

Over the years, producers and clients have regularly asked me some version of this question:

“Peter, do you know a good female voice talent?”

Yes. I know quite a few.

And when I’m helping someone find a female voice talent, I’m not simply looking for somebody with a nice voice. There are thousands of people with nice voices.

I’m looking for someone who understands what the script is trying to accomplish, takes direction well, has the right recording setup, delivers professional audio and — this is important — makes the producer’s job easier rather than harder.

Here’s how I approach it.

I start with the voiceover project, not the voice

Before I start thinking about talent, I want to understand what the voice actually needs to do.

Is this a commercial that needs energy without sounding like somebody is selling steak knives?

A corporate narration that needs authority without sounding like the principal just called you into her office?

An explainer that needs to make something complicated understandable?

Healthcare? E-learning? Character work? Social media? IVR?

“Female voice” isn’t a direction.

I want to understand what we’re communicating, who we’re communicating it to and what that audience should take away from it.

That’s where I start.

I listen for interpretation, not just sound

Obviously, I listen to demos.

But I’m listening for more than what somebody sounds like.

I’m listening for whether she understands what she’s saying.

Does she interpret the copy? Does she make choices? Does it sound like she’s communicating something rather than simply reading words nicely?

That’s acting.

Even when nobody gets chased by a dinosaur or dramatically dies in Act III.

I pay attention to professionalism

The best voice in the world isn’t especially useful if the deadline is tomorrow and the talent disappears.

I want to know that I’m recommending a professional.

Can she deliver broadcast-quality audio? Can she work in a directed session when necessary? Does she respond promptly? Can she handle pickups? Does she understand usage and the business side of professional voiceover?

None of that is glamorous.

All of it matters to the producer whose name is attached to the project.

I consider whether the voice actress is easy to work with

This one matters to me.

Talent is important.

So is being a good colleague.

I usually recommend people I know and, in most cases, people I’ve actually worked with. That’s important because when I recommend a voice talent to a producer (female OR male), I’m putting a little bit of my own reputation on the line, too.

I want to know that the woman or man I’m recommending is going to be prepared, professional and pleasant to work with — because I’ve seen them be those things.

The goal isn’t merely to get a good recording.

It’s to recommend someone I trust to help the producer get the job done without making things complicated.

Then I let the producer decide

This is important too.

I’m not interested in becoming the middleman.

I can point a producer toward talented female voice actors I know and trust. The producer can listen, decide who fits the project and contact that person directly.

That’s why I created audio’connell’s Female Voice Talent page as an audio production resource.

It’s a curated group of professional female voice actors I’ve known or worked with, with demos and direct links to the individual talents.

There’s no audio’connell booking fee.

There’s no commission on the voiceover project.

I don’t stand between the producer and the talent.

No need for me to “worry about me” in there.

I just help make the introduction easier.

Both sides know where to find me because that’s how they found each other.

After more than four decades in voiceover, I’ve learned that finding good people shouldn’t be the hardest part of producing good work.

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audio’connell Voiceover Talent offers producers a free, direct-to-talent resource for finding and hiring professional female voice talent. Browse audio’connell’s Female Voice Talent roster and contact the talent you choose directly.

Tags: female voice talent, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice // Comments Off on How I Help Hire Female Voice Talent Without Making It Complicated

I don’t have a scary, amazing, heroic or even relevant 9/11 story – when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were felled, when the Pentagon was attacked and when a plane full of heroes offered their lives up in a Pennsylvania field so that the U.S. Capitol would not be attacked.

I was in a bagel shop in Buffalo, NY, when the first tower was hit. At work when the second tower was hit.

My story is meaningless in the world and unforgettable to me.

There are millions of 9/11 stories like mine.

But what I want to write here – and maybe this will live on after I am long gone (I’d be 87 on the 50th anniversary, and there are no guarantees I’ll see it) – is this…

Please don’t forget 9/11/01.

I know people who lived through it won’t forget 9/11, but I guess I am really talking to those of you born after 9/11.

To you born later, 9/11 is history. To us who lived through it, it’s fact. A hard reality. Unforgettable.

I wasn’t born during the Civil War, World War I or World War II…to me, that’s history, just like 9/11 would be history to you post-9/11 babies.

But I have always tried to remember just how awfully real those historic events were to the people who – like those of us around for 9/11 – lived through those tragic wars.

I worry that history is becoming less relevant to the generations born over the past 25 years, so that 9/11 might be as easily dismissed as the War Between the States.

Don’t dismiss our history…especially the bad stuff. When we forget, when we get lazy about historic details, we are susceptible to making new mistakes just like some of the old ones our forefathers made.

I’m talking about more than just a moment of silence, a prayer or a reading of names. That’s all very good.

But remember the details. Visit the sites of ALL these historic events. Remember those who were murdered and those who died so that others would not die.

And today, remember 9/11.

God bless America.

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By Peter K. O’Connell

Being a live announcer / Voice of God is like being on a roller coaster — not riding the coaster, DRIVING it.

Some of the hills are smooth, but many of those dips are butt-clenching and can take your breath away.

And live announcers need to control their breathing no matter what happens.

What I have learned in my nearly 45 years of live announcing, hosting and emceeing events is that I don’t have the luxury of getting rattled when things go off script.

“Oh, do things go off script?”

Oh heck yes.

I call it “The Tale of Two Scripts.”

The first script is the text, audio cues, graphic cues, stage position, lighting…everything. It’s the script that you rehearse with and the script you start the show with.

But likely something will change…be it timing, a long-winded guest or someone who is not where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there…the show runner or director starts to change things up.

For the live announcer — sometimes called the Voice of God or VOG — (and for everyone else on the production team), this is where the SECOND script kicks in…full of large Xs (noting parts of the script that are now out), lines scribbled through with someone’s typed name replaced by someone’s handwritten name (often misspelled because…live), as well as any number of other marks and adjustments that take place in the middle of the show.

But different from the organized chaos that is backstage at many shows, for the live announcer, it can NEVER, it MUST never sound chaotic. The audience cannot notice any issues from the announcer’s mic.

This is one of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed live work. You prepare like crazy precisely because you know the event probably isn’t going to happen exactly the way everybody prepared for it.

That’s where my experience comes in, both as a radio broadcaster (very live to many STATES at a time) and as a live announcer and host. Besides rehearsing, one of the only practical ways a VOG like me can get really good at the on-mic pivot is to have actually announced A LOT of events.

I can very often calmly adjust because it’s just another day at the office. At least I SOUND calm.

For a live announcer that’s just getting started…well, they will likely learn the very hard way – as we all have.

I just hope it’s NOT with YOUR script at YOUR live event.

About Peter K. O’Connell
Peter K. O’Connell is an award-winning voice actor, broadcaster, live announcer and emcee who has been working behind microphones since 1982. He provides live Voice of God announcing and emcee services for corporate events, conferences, awards programs and other live productions nationwide.

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