I've had a wealth of experience before becoming a voice actor, and if you'd like to know more about my educational and work experience before I started voice acting, check out my previous posts. But none of these answer the title question to this post - why did I choose to become a voice actor/narrator?
One of the reasons I got so involved in speech and debate was because I was naturally good at it, and unlike many others I did not seem to have an inherent fear of getting my voice out there - in fact, I loved that people were hearing what I had to say and were generally impressed by it. To me, that's one of the essential qualities of being a voice actor or narrator: you have to not only be unafraid of putting your voice out to the world, you need to enjoy it. One of the best things I picked up from Nancy Cartwright's MasterClass on voice acting was to simply have confidence in everything you do as a voice actor. With my background in communication, I know how much confidence and authority comes out in your voice - and so do you. It's easy for anyone to tell if someone has confidence in what they're saying or really believes in what they are doing. Your voice (and your body language) is a dead giveaway. Starting a business from the ground up is incredibly scary for anyone, and that's something I've done - but you'll never hear it in my voice because I truly believe in what I'm doing and I have the confidence to be assertive.
Another reason why I chose voice acting was because for as long as I can remember, I've had a low-to-mid-range voice that was perfect for public speaking. People have always told me that I have that natural "announcer" or "movie trailer guy" voice. While I don't think my voice is quite so low naturally for the latter (although I can make it that way if I so choose), I wholeheartedly agree that I have a voice which projects well and sounds authoritative yet caring. In my educational career, my voice served me well. I loved lecturing and presenting information to students, and having visited other teachers' classrooms I know my students were more engaged than the average class. I also credit my voice as one of the reasons I did so well in sales - I could create empathy with clients while helping to determine what their needs were and show how my products were the solution to those needs, all with the power of vocal inflections, pauses in speech, and the correct intonation.
So with all the success I was having as an educator and a salesperson, why the switch to narration and voice acting, a great unknown to me? Well, if you read my previous post about my work history, you'll see why it was time for me to get out of education. But why not a return to sales? While it was something I was good at, it wasn't something that gave me a huge amount of personal satisfaction. Voice acting and narration (so far) has felt like a calling to me; it feels like something I can both love doing and be successful at. I am fortunate to be able to find a career where I can achieve both - I'm well aware that's a privilege not everyone gets. It's one of the reasons I've fully dedicated myself to this business and to my clients - because I know that without you, I wouldn't be able to keep doing what I do.
The tl;dr version of why voice acting? Because it's something that I'm good at which brings me joy. I look forward to sharing my love of narrating and voice acting with you and all my future clients!
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