Links from today's show:

Radio Commercials
Television Commercials
Search all voice talent

Links from today's show:

Main Menu Greetings and Auto Attendant Recordings
On Hold Messages
Voicemail Greetings
Kim Somers Voice Talent

Episode 5

Welcome to the fifth episode of Voice Casting, a show designed to help you pick the perfect voice for your project.

Last week, you enjoyed part one of our two part series on telephone systems for small business. This week, we’re going to focus in on how to script your voice over and pick the best person to record for your phone system.

When you are writing your telephone voice over script, there are several key elements that you’ll want to include, the first element being an auto-attendant.

An auto attendant is the first voice that a caller will hear when they dial through to your company phone line. The auto attendant greets the caller and establishes trust while branding your company.

For instance, your auto attendant may be scripted to say something like this:

Kim Somers Voice Over

After the caller has heard the auto attendant, the same voice usually guides them through their options, you know, press 1 for this and press 2 for that. This element of your voice over script is called an IVR or Interactive Voice Response.

Why is it there?

You may want your voice actor to direct callers to specific offices or to listen to pre-recorded messages that share useful information such as your regular office hours, what’s on the menu, and so on.

One popular option with callers is the ability to dial zero to reach a representative at any time. Be sure to make that option available to them at the end of your IVR prompts. Phone systems that offer this feature often relieve customers who are becoming agitated or simply don’t have time to listen to the entire menu of options. Surveys across the board have shown that many callers detest having to wait and appreciate the option to press zero to exit the menu and speak directly with a “real” person.

Once your caller has picked the option that best meets their needs, they will then be directed to the extension associated with their request. Be sure to map that out when you are setting up your telephone system. Know which extensions are paired with the numbers and symbols you ask the caller to press so there are no hiccups in the process for your caller.

Now, while all of this is happening, you have an excellent opportunity to market to your caller while they are waiting on hold.

In a previous episode, I said that I would teach you how to turn waiting time into selling time, so here we go. It’s quite simple.

When you are scripting your telephone voice over prompts, be sure to include some on-hold messaging. The on-hold messaging follows the Interactive Voice Response.

For best results, write three or four courtesy messages and an equal number of marketing messages that will alternate while a caller is waiting to be served. When your callers are on hold, you can gently remind them that you appreciate their time and their business. Courtesy messages are meant to soothe callers while they are waiting.

On the flip side, you can also up-sell your customer through a marketing message. After all, you do have a captive audience! There’s no better time to let the caller know about a special that is going on, an update to your service, or anything relevant to your organization. Include some persuasive messaging and the caller will have a newly inspired reason to do more business with you if interested.

Something else that you will want to have recorded is a company voicemail message. This voice mail will act as a generic greeting for any messages that are left outside of personal voicemail. Along those lines, consider having specific personal voicemail greetings recorded in the event that you or your staff would prefer the voice talent to do so instead of recording it yourself.

OK, let’s pretend that your caller has phoned after hours and there is no one available to take their call.

At this point, you have a couple of options to consider:

1. Just let them sit on the line until they eventually navigate their way to a voice mail box
2. Or, you can set up an after hours message that will thank the caller for phoning and provide instructions to leave a message or phone back on the next business day.

The same goes for holidays. If you’d like to have a special message prepared for statutory holidays, you can customize the message for your customers and present it to them at the appropriate time.

Finally, consider the type of voice that you want to brand your company and serve your customers. The majority of all telephone system recordings are recorded by female voice talents, however, you may find that a male voice is more suited to your industry or organization, especially if you represent an industry traditionally associated with men.

Remember to think about the gender, age, accent, style, and think of your audience.

If you are serving an older customer set, think of casting a middle aged or senior voice for your voice talent. If you serve predominantly young adults or thirty-somethings, select a voice geared to their age group. Depending on what your company offers, you’ll want to match the voice with your services. For instance, if your messaging is for a church or religious center, consider a comforting voice over style with mild authoritativeness. Alternatively, if you are a ticket hub for sports events, pick an upbeat, energetic voice style that best exudes your brand and speaks directly to your caller.

Lastly, consider the accent that you want your callers to hear. Since Voices.com is based in Canada, we opted to have a Canadian voice talent from the province of Ontario record ours. Actually, you heard her earlier in this podcast. Kim Somers met all of our voice casting requirements including gender, style, accent and age.

You might want someone to record who has a different accent altogether who sounds exotic or foreign. A foreign accented voice over may give your callers the impression that you are a global entity. While this may sound attractive, it could also confuse people if you serve a mainly local customer base. Your customers, should they all be from the city you are located in or the surrounding area, would likely expect to hear someone with the same accent or regional dialect that they have.

You could say that your voice over will only be as effective as the voice talent that you cast, so script and choose wisely!

In our next episode, we’ll talk about how to pair the male and female voice for radio commercials and hear from some “husband and wife” teams.

I’m Stephanie Ciccarelli. Thank you for listening and thank you for subscribing to Voice Casting. We’ll see you next week.

Links from today's show:

Main Menu Greetings and Auto Attendant Recordings
On Hold Messages
Voicemail Greetings

Voice Casting Episode 4 Transcript

Welcome to the fourth episode of Voice Casting, a show designed to help you pick the perfect voice for your project.

Last week, we focused in on accents and dialects. This week, our topic is part one of two for small business telephone systems.

If your business is growing, there comes a point in time when you'll need to consider acquiring a small business telephone system. In this episode, you’ll discover 5 great tips for what you should be evaluating in a new phone system.

Before we dive into the specifics, I want to review some phone system basics.

Most business telephone systems have two parts, the phone server, a piece of hardware that receives inbound calls and routes the calls to the appropriate extension, and the telephones themselves which allow your staff to accept calls, transfer calls and conduct conference calls.

While names like Nortel and Avaya come to mind, there are more cost-effective solutions that do the job just as well, such as the TalkSwitch phone systems. Regardless of the brand, there are 5 standard criteria to consider when evaluating a business telephone system.

1. Usability:

First and foremost, you want a phone system that is easy to operate. The telephones themselves should have a familiar feel with the ability to complete everyday functions such as placing a call on-hold, muting a call, and increasing and/or decreasing the volume level. You'll also want to ensure that the phones themselves have both a handset as well as a jack for a headset.

2. Rich Feature Set:

Most businesses will require a main menu, call routing, and voicemail. Each member on staff will be equipped with their own extension and voicemail box. Your IT guy or gal should be able to set-up a new phone line or make any adjustments to the system settings by logging into the telephone system software. The software should be mature, and again, easy to use. Read reviews from other business owners or IT people about how the software performs and which features are included. By IT, I mean Internet Technology.

3. Storage:

Regular business hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. That means that the office is closed for 16 hours per day. If you receive calls from multiple time zones, it's likely a lot of calls will end up going to voicemail. With this knowledge, invest in extra storage for voicemail.

4. Customization:

Give your callers a strong first impression with a customized telephone system greeting. The auto-attendant is the technical name for the voice you hear during the main menu. You should hire a professional to record the auto-attendant and deliver an MP3 or WAV file to you that you'll then upload into the telephone system. While you’re at it, have the voice talent record a general voicemail message, office is closed message, holiday hours message and most importantly on-hold messages.

5. Upgradable / Expandable:

A basic phone system will include two phone lines. Before long, you'll want to expand to four lines. If your business continues to grow, you'll want the flexibility to easily add another four lines.

Be sure that the phone system you select has the ability to expand the number of phone lines. I'd also include the ability to plug in a CD player in your "expandable" requirements. The TalkSwitch lets you either upload on-hold messages or simply play the on-hold messages from a CD player that's plugged in. Having your on-hold messages on CD lets you easily update your messages, play current promotions or share timely news relating to your business. For more research on the power of on-hold marketing, read this document.

Final Thoughts

By jotting down your requirements, you'll be armed with a list of specific needs. Your requirements list will also help you avoid getting bogged down in technical specifications and detailed feature lists keeping you focused when you're doing research on which phone system to go with.

In our next episode, we’ll talk about how to script your phone system and select a voice over talent for your business phone system.

We’ll see you next week.

Links from today's show:

Search Voices by Accent
Search Voices by Dialect
Search Voices by Geographical Region

Voice Casting Episode 3 Show Notes

Welcome to the third episode of Voice Casting, a show designed to help you pick the perfect voice for your project.

In earlier episodes, I introduced the concept of finding voice actors online through searching and posting a job at Voices.com. Last week, we touched on the battle of the sexes in the voice over arena. Today, we’ll talk about accents, dialects, and the role that they play in the voice casting process.

Before we get too far in, let’s define what an accent is, and secondly, what a dialect is.

For many people, the two words are interchangeable, but for argument’s sake, here are two definitions I found using Merriam-Webster’s website:

Accents

Merriam-Webster defines an Accent as:

A distinctive manner of expression for example, an individual's distinctive or characteristic inflection, tone, or choice of words. Accent is also defined as a way of speaking typical of a particular group of people and especially of the natives or residents of a region.

Dialects

Merriam-Webster defines a Dialect as:

A regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties, and when you put them together, they form a single language. Lastly, a dialect is a variety of a language used by members of a group.

This means that a dialect can also be associated with languages whose identities are decided upon by factors other than simple geography. More so, let it be known that dialects can be distinguished by social class and rank. A good example of this is how people speak in urban centers versus speakers who live in rural settings. Although someone who lives in the city may speak the same language as someone in a rural area, the urban dialect will differ from the rural dialect to a degree.

To break it down, you could say that an accent is all about the way the words sound, basically the mechanics of how the words are formed and spoken, and a dialect is the grammatical structure of how those words are put together using language unique to the people who employ a given dialect.

Each region of the world has its own unique dialect.

Perhaps you’ve heard local radio commercials with voice actors who sound very much like they live down the street from you. Other recordings at the national level sound neutral and are perceived as being more refined and without a noticeable accent. This is the case with voice overs that you hear on PBS, NPR, the CBC in Canada or any other national news broadcaster.

Now that we’ve consulted the dictionary and defined what these linguistic properties are, let’s explore how an accent or dialect can affect your audio recording.

In our previous episode, I ran through five questions that are also relevant to you now when deciding upon an accent or dialect.

For those of you who haven’t listened to episode two, here are the questions:

1. Who is your audience?
2. What are you selling?
3. What is the message?
4. What are your expectations?
5. And who does your audience want to hear from?

The first step before recording the voice over is that you need to know the kind of language that your audience will be accustomed to hearing the message in.

Once you’ve identified the native tongue and dialect of your target audience, you’ll be equipped with the basic information that you’ll need to write your script. Doing a little bit of studying doesn’t hurt in this instance, particularly if you are writing for a group of people that you know little about.

Localization

The term for this practice is “Localization”.

When you localize the language being used, it becomes the perfect tool for communicating your message to an audience who will understand exactly what you are saying because you are delivering your message in words using examples that they are familiar with.

Just how important is localization?

Well, I wouldn’t buy a chesterfield or a sofa, but I definitely would buy a couch.

See how important the distinction is?

Why would you use the word party when your audience is more comfortable with soiree or shindig? Be mindful of the vernacular; words that your audience uses in their everyday lives.

An Example of Localization

To take it up a notch, an audience in Montreal, Canada is going to expect to hear a different message than would be delivered to an audience in Paris, France.

The reason being is that the native French speakers in Montreal speak a dialect of French called French Canadian or Quebecois, and the people living in Paris will speak the Parisian dialect of French, the dialect regarded as the standard French dialect from which all other French dialects stem.

Oftentimes, the language being presented will differ significantly, and the more targeted your message, the more you will engage your listener. This is also applicable for regional dialects.

Your Next Steps

So, before you go hiring a voice actor, consider the dialect you need to write script in. Remember that an accent is about how the words are pronounced and a dialect refers to which words are used.
OK, so you’ve written your script and are ready to get voice casting!

My tip to you is that you seek out a native speaker of the dialect you require to best present your message.

The easiest way to achieve success and find the right voice for the project is to post a job allowing you to call upon applicants who are native speakers of the dialect in question. After your job has been approved, you’ll receive demos from people who can meet your needs.

Hiring a native speaker is key. If you require it, a native speaker with copy writing skills could also write your script for you at an additional cost. All you’d need to do is let them know the nature of the project, a word count, and the manner you want the message communicated in.

Your next step is to have that script recorded, and bingo! You’ve got a tightly packaged offering to share with your target market sure to be understood and even embraced by those who are meant to receive it.

In our next episode, we’ll talk about tips for setting up your company voicemail, IVRs, on-hold marketing and other messaging and teach you how you can turn holding time into selling time.

Enjoy this episode? Add your comments below!

Links from today's show:

Search Voices by Gender
Female Voice Talent
Male Voice Talent

Voice Casting Episode 2 Show Notes

Welcome to the second episode of Voice Casting, a show designed to help you pick the perfect voice for your project.

In our first episode, I introduced the concept of finding voice actors online through searching and posting a job at Voices.com. This week, we’ll discuss how to decide what gender of talent to hire to record your voice over.

First, let’s have a little history lesson.

A Brief History of Gender Roles in Voice Over

In the past, voice overs were recorded predominantly by men with the occasional female voice being used on its own. Those were the days of “Father knows best”, the stereotypical announcer, and the Voice of God.

Women’s voices were almost exclusively used for telephone recordings and character roles in commercials and animation.

A Balanced Work Environment

Now that the playing field in the voice over workforce is nearly level, there are more choices than ever before when you are looking for a qualified voice actor to read your script.

The question we’ll ponder at present is “Does gender matter in an audio recording?”

One major misconception is that only the male voice can succeed in the realm of authority.

While some areas of voice over still favor the male voice, particularly movie trailers, radio station imaging, and sports announcing, many doors have been opened to women in commercials, narration, and character voice acting.

Stereotypes aside, it all comes down to the individual voice actor’s ability to convey your message clearly, with purpose and charisma – and additionally, they need to possess the vocal qualities that your audience innately wants to hear delivering your message.

When Gender Matters in an Audio Recording

That being said, sometimes gender does matter in an audio recording.

Here are five questions to consider when deciding which gender, male or female, to work with on your project.

5 Questions To Help Determine Which Gender Should Provide the Voice Over

1. Who is your audience?
2. What are you selling?
3. What is the message?
4. What are your expectations?
5. And who does your audience want to hear from?

Deciding on the voice for your project depends heavily on the audience you are targeting.

Set the stage by answering the questions I just asked you. If your script were being targeted at you, which gender would you prefer delivered the message?

Do your answers point to one gender over the other?

In our next episode, we’ll talk about the importance of accents and dialects when hiring a voice actor.

Enjoy this episode? Add your comments below!

Links from today's show:

Search
Featured Talent Directory
Post a Job

Voice Casting Episode 1 Show Notes

Hi, this is your host, Stephanie Ciccarelli. Welcome to the first episode of Voice Casting, a show designed to help you pick the perfect voice for your project.

You might be wondering what Voice Casting means, so let’s address that right away. Voice Casting is entertainment industry jargon for selecting a voice. The word “cast” in entertainment circles refers to a group of actors assigned to play certain character roles, and for our purposes, these people are called voice actors. A voice actor is a person who uses their voice to breathe life into a character, an audio book, a commercial, a telephone message and more. A voice actor is cast -- or chosen, to express everything you want to share with your audience using the persuasive power of the human voice.

Voice Casting is not just about finding and hiring a voice actor – that would be insubstantial for what you need.

No, I daresay that the mission of this podcast is to help you not only find and hire a voice actor, but to do it in such a way that you are selecting the best possible professional to meet all of your needs, requirements and most importantly, to effectively communicate your objectives and embody your brand.

You could say that Voice Casting is a bit of a marketing podcast. You’ll be learning how to brand your business with voice overs. Some of the words you’ll hear in this podcast are very specific to voice over. I’ll explain those as we go along. All you need to know right now though is that voice overs are recorded by voice actors. Therefore, a voice over could be recorded for literally anything or used for any purpose.

Many of you are hiring a voice actor for the first time, and for some of you, it’s the first time that you’ve ever used the Internet to aid you in this task. Let me be your guide as you navigate through some unfamiliar territory in the new era of voice over online.

The first thing you’ll need to do is jump on your favorite web browser and head for Voices.com. After you’ve arrived, you’ll quickly notice that there are several ways to go about finding a voice actor who is capable of working for you.

We’ve made it easy for you to locate voice actors who meet your needs. There are three ways you can go about finding a voice actor, and you can do so directly from our homepage.

The three ways to find a voice actor are:

1. Searching by keyword
2. Browsing by Category
3. Posting a Voice Over Job

Searching By Keyword

Just as you would do a keyword search at Google or Yahoo!, you can type in words that describe what you are looking for in a voice by using the Voices.com search bar. If you like, you can conduct a more specified search by using the Advanced search option that allows you to indicate what language you are looking for, gender, age group, location, and even union status in addition to keywords.

You can find the search bar at the top of every page on the Voices.com website.

Browsing by Category

Now, maybe you’d prefer to find a voice by browsing one of our Featured Talent Categories. If you’re hiring a voice actor to record for a Radio Commercial, for instance, you can click on the Radio Commercials category to listen to an assortment of radio commercial demos, which are further subdivided by gender.

There are sixteen categories linked directly from the homepage including categories related to Broadcast Commercials, Station Imaging and Identification, Videogames, Podcasting, Business and Corporate Presentations, eLearning, Narration, Audio books, Jingles, Music Production, Movie Trailers, Telephony, and Foreign Language voice over services.

Sound good so far?

Posting a Voice Over Job

One of the easiest ways to get everything you want with little time or effort is the option to Post a Job. This is the way to go for those of you who are short on time and need to hear from people who can work within your parameters, including your artistic needs, deadline and your budget. Posting a job also opens the doors to hear from a variety of talent, and if requested, you can even hear a sampling of what the voice actor sounds like reading from your script. Your samples will be ready and waiting for you in your Voices.com account, organized in such a way that you can quickly and easily compare proposals, price quotes and voice over demos. After reviewing the talent responses, the next step is to select the voice that you think will best represent the vision of the project and personify your brand.

So there you have it: searching, browsing and posting a job – three easy ways to find the right voice for your project.

In future episodes of Voice Casting, we’ll explore how to select the best voice actor for the job and the many ways you can use voice over to brand and promote your organization.

I’m Stephanie Ciccarelli. Thank you for listening and we’ll chat again next week.

Enjoyed this episode? Add a comment with your thoughts!

Voices.com's newest podcast “Voice Casting” is now at your service. Learn how to find a voice actor, what to look for in a voice, how to work with voice actors, and most importantly, how to brand your company using the power of the human voice.

Ever heard of Voice Casting?

Finding a voice has never been easier than it is now thanks to the Internet and the voice over marketplace online, however, selecting the best voice for the job is still somewhat of an art - some might say, even a science!

This podcast, Voice Casting, is designed to help you navigate through the world wide web and find the best possible voice actor to record your message professionally and promptly while meeting all of your requirements.

The first episode is ready and we're very eager to hear what you think. Each episode will focus on how you can use voice over effectively and also how to hire voice actors who will do wonders for your projects and make money in minutes for your business, organization, or institution.

If you have any topics that you'd like to see covered on Voice Casting, leave a comment or send me an email at stephanie@voices.com.

To your success!

Stephanie Ciccarelli
Co-founder of Voices.com