My Morning as a High School Guest Speaker
My friend, deeply talented media professional and inspirational public speaker Danielle Williams, has been supporting a high school film & TV class with her wealth of information, experience and connections. I was so honored when she asked me to come be a guest speaker last week for this class of mostly high school seniors (and a handful of juniors). The seniors have been studying different facets of media production for about 2 years, and the juniors are committed to returning to that class next year.
What a seriously fun and well-equipped classroom they had, lead by a great teacher. Steve Treguboff has the kind of energy you want in a creative educational environment – he can handle the chaos of many high schoolers doing different projects and diving into their own interests, while keeping the entirety of the class on-track with their agenda, all managed with a great sense of humor and mutual respect for his students.
Inside the Classroom
Mr. Treguboff’s students had enjoyed hearing from guest speakers that week about various careers in broadcasting, including from my former boss at KTAR who has run the commercial production department there for over 20 years. I was there to present an overview of the voiceover industry, as well as share some samples of my work, and answer a handful of questions: how I got started, what students could start doing today if they would like to get into VO, what training and education have been required to get to this point, and always of interest: how much money you can you make.
They asked some really good questions at the end and I managed to cover most of what I’d brought in to share. I also got to watch some of their TV commercials they wrote, shot and produced, and offer feedback on their work. It’s exciting to see what these students have created with the many tools available to them! It was wonderful to share some insights into the voiceover industry, as someone who started out 27 years ago and could point them in the right direction if anything I said sparked an interest for them.
Then vs Now
Preparing for that class gave me an opportunity to reflect deeply on how much things have changed since I first forged my path into radio and commercial production, before going freelance as a voiceover actor, audiobook narrator and on-camera actor. I can’t instruct someone to take the specific route that lead me here because it’s what worked for me and my particular goals, and everyone’s journey is different and unique to them.
The availability of information about “how to get into voiceover” is certainly more prevalent now than it had been then! There are so many websites, blogs, workshops, books and other resources available for someone interested in doing voiceover work to get a VO 101 overview. The industry has expanded and there are more opportunities than ever before, and with that, there are also so many more things to be aware of when pursuing voiceover work, and it’s important you’re not just focused on talent, but also on learning how to run a small business.
Do This One Thing, First
By far, the most important point I emphasized to the students was that finding voiceover community, either general or niche, is the best thing they could do for their future VO career.
Within voiceover community, people are generally kind and generous with information, whether it’s from their own experience or pointing you toward a reputable resource. Social media is an equalizer though, so you’ll learn over time in each group who may be more aligned with your values, and whose advice carries more weight.
People can give you personal recommendations for coaches, share lessons learned, help each other with gear, tech challenges and how to approach studio upgrades, and also, warn each other against scams. Depending on the connections you build, other voice actors may help cast you in projects, or point you towards someone looking for your characteristics. The thing you really want is to meet people across all stages of their careers.
I pointed out that the students, just by the nature of being in that classroom for film & TV, already had exactly what they would need for voiceover. In an elective class, you’ve got peers who wanted to be there and are interested in learning about the topic. You understand many of the same struggles and can relate about the work, getting along in the classroom can lead to becoming friends outside of it due to your mutual interests. Just the same, when finding community around voiceover, you can connect with people with similar goals and support each other, and you’ll build a group of people who understand the unique challenges you face. They may even become some of your dearest friends.
Having VO community is key to making a career in voiceover tolerable in the hard times, sustainable for the long-run, and far less baffling and lonely than it might otherwise be on your own.
So, where are they?
Community is more prevalent on traditional social media, namely all the Facebook groups someone could join to connect with fellow voice actors, and some LinkedIn discussion groups may prove helpful, as well. There are a handful of groups on Discord that I’ve heard good things about but haven’t personally explored. Clubhouse is another place where VOAs congregate for education, Q&As, accountability and audition opportunities, though I’d say it’s supplemental to a more text-based platform for growing your personal connections.
As in all things, diversifying and being involved to different levels in a few areas of community are going to benefit you more than being involved in just 1 space. All of those groups are free to join, though some have requirements of your career progress before you can become a member.
When you surround yourself with good people, with similarly aligned values and goals, the challenges you face along the way don’t feel impossible, because you’re not facing them alone. You have people you can turn to for support, commiseration, encouragement and understanding. Those a little farther along in their voiceover career may have been there before; someone even newer than you may have a fresh perspective from their lived experiences that helps you reframe a situation, problem solve, find silver linings or see an opportunity you’d missed.
In a place you might expect to find competitiveness since we’re all working in the same field, sometimes submitting for the same audition, you instead will be reminded that there is an abundance of work out there. Helping everyone be a little bit better makes us, as an industry, better as a whole. We generally work alone in our home studios, but ensuring that you aren’t doing this entirely on your own is the best advice I could offer to someone looking to get started in the voiceover industry.