Join Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day in her podcast lecture, "Voice Over Stinkaholic". With permission, Phyllis introduces you to one of her students and shows you how she helped him to progress from recording the worst voice over audition that she has ever heard into a confident, more sonorous voice talent who has since landed a national spot.

Download Podcast Episode 85 »

Tags:

Phyllis K. Day, Voice Coaching, Voice Overs, Voice, Voice Acting, Visual Coaching, Finding the X, Matt Clark

Transcript of Voice Over Stinkaholic

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week Voices.com is pleased to present Phyllis K. Day.

Phyllis K. Day: Hi, I'm Phyllis K. Day. This is probably not the first coaching podcast you've ever heard and it may not be the first one you've heard of mine. Perhaps, you listen to the before and after and still think that you're just too new, too clueless or too awful to even begin to think about sending me a note for an eval because there'll be no way that I could ever see any promise in you. After this podcast you'll never think that again.

Today we're going to talk about someone who was a newbie but has come a long, long way. Trust me, you can't listen to this podcast and still think you're no good. This newbie we're going to get to know today is Matt. Matt is a perfect example of no matter how bad you think you sound, I know what's underneath at all. That's thanks to what I consider a god given gift of sighted sound which allows me to pill back the layers of your voice and hear what you really can do.

I guess the best way I can describe it is to imagine that you're in a lake or swimming pool with a stone in your hand. The other hand is in the water, you drop the stone and it makes it sound like, "plop" and concentric circles radiate out. On one side you take your hand that's in the water and you move it toward the circles until they eventually bumped into your hand and that edge of the circle is disrupted. The sound of the stone falling is the same but what's different about the way I hear and the way you hear is that I can perceive the disruption that your hand made on one side of the circles. What you're doing with your hand to disrupt the circles is your X and by identify your X that is the key element or elements that are covering your original voice, we can quickly get you sounding much better.

Okay, back to Matthew. He was a lot of fun to work with. He was full of enthusiasm, eager to learn. He had a quick laugh. He was smart yet humble and took constructive criticism so well that I felt comfortable saying something to him that I've never said to a student before. Here is the first audition Matthew sent me along with his MP3 chat.

Matt Clark: Who's looking out for your 401k or 403b? We all know how confusing choosing investment option can be. We're on your side. We've been providing 401k and 403b consulting services for over 16 years.

The web conditioning system decurling units are mounted within a free standing frame. Each decurler includes free spinning breaker roll that rotates around the king roll. The diameter of the roll is based on the customer specification and the web caliper. The breaker roll is position via motorize controls.

Phyllis K. Day: It sounded like Matt was using nostrils to pronounce his words. That's never a good thing. He was also pushing his breath out through his chest sort of in fits in starts. Remember the hand the concentric circle analogy? That's how I saw it like he was pronouncing his words through his nostrils. After identifying from Matthew his X that is the miss use of his body parts. Here's how it sounded.

Matt Clark: Just who is looking out for your 401k or 403b? We all know how confusing choosing investment options can be. We're on your side. We've been providing 401k and 403b consulting services for over 16 years.

The web conditioning system decurling units are mounted within a free standing frame. Each decurler includes free spinning breaker roll that rotates around the king roll. The diameter of the roll is based on the customer specification and the web caliper. The breaker roll is position via motorize controls.

Phyllis K. Day: But wait there's more. I noticed in my way that Matt wasn't using all the skin on his lips to pronounces his word. Granted the phrase, "Providing 401k and 403b consulting services" is a bit of a toughie. Yet, in this after, after clip he does an even better job of the piece.

Matt Clark: Just who is looking out for your 401k or 403b? In this economic climate, we all know how confusing choosing investment options can be. We're on your side. We've been providing 401k and 403b consulting services for over 16 years.

Phyllis K. Day: After a few sessions Matt started nailing audiences and getting other work at local studios. Now here something Matt wants to tell you.

Matt Clark: Hi, my name is Matt Clark and I'm a recovering vocal stinkaholic. I was the most vocally challenged student Phyllis has ever had and you're also going to hear Phyllis be very direct and opioniate in her critic. I give her full authority to say what she needs to say but keep in mind she only told me this after my voice had changed.

Phyllis K. Day: Matt's before clip was the worst audition piece I have ever heard. Well, at fast forward about 9 months, he's got a national spot running. I guess then if someone says to me, talk to the hand, I can.

Would you like me to identify your X? E-mail me at voicecoch@phyllisk.com and I'll talk to your hand.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast visit the voiceover expects show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExpects. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

Links from today's show:

Phyllis K. Day
Phyllis K. Day on Voices.com
Matthew Clark

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day

Phyllis is a freelance technical writer and voice professional with over thirty years experience. A Broadcast Journalism graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Phyllis became an anchor a few months later on the North Carolina News Network. She has also anchored on Business Radio Network and American Forum Radio Network in Colorado. Her voice has been heard nation-wide and she was also the narrator for a show heard daily on NPR and Armed Forces Radio in the 1990s. Phyllis was part of a mentoring program for several years at North Carolina State University for the students in NC State's radio program. She currently runs personalized coaching workshops, in addition to narrations for e-learning and business presentations.

Did you enjoy Phyllis' episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

---

Join Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day as she explores "Taking Your Voice From 2nd Place To 1st". In this episode, Phyllis works with award-winning voice over professional Vicki Amorose and spots the X, helping Vicki to find her natural voice and retrieve her vocal roots once lost in the mists of time.

Download Podcast Episode 77 »

Tags:

Phyllis K. Day, Voice Coaching, Voice Overs, Voice, Voice Acting, Visual Coaching, Finding the X, Vicki Amorose

Transcript of Taking Your Voice From 2nd Place to 1st

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week, Voices.com is pleased to present Phyllis K. Day.

Phyllis K. Day: Hi. I'm Phyllis K. Day looking for your X, that is, whatever is in your way vocally. First of all, if you have e-mailed me and have not heard back, please try again. Voicecoach@phyllisk.com.

As some of you already know, I have a rather unique way of coaching because I get a visual picture of your voice, I can also see what you're doing with your throat and neck or your face and how to fix your sound, or if you're allowing something that is in positive like sadness or anger to show in your voice, or if you're not really bringing your feelings in a good way to your delivery, that is your sound as manufactured.

It might sound great. You might be getting even national work and you may be of - maybe you've a voiceover for decades, but if you're not really the natural you, I'll probably hear it. When you can see sound like I do, it's amazing but it could be revealed. Some voices, they don't reveal anything except that they are blocking something and that in itself makes me want to ask, "Why?" Here's an example, Karen Carpenter.

Many of you have been hearing her songs every December for years and years. She has a lovely clear voice or I guess, I should say she had a lovely clear voice. It's darn near perfect but, there's no real feeling of her own. It's as if she's a machine. I like listening to her voice but it's very hard looking and well, it's hard to describe except that it is, as if she's mechanical, like she's not human. And as most of us know, she did struggle emotionally her whole life, her short life. I'd imagine it would have been so difficult for her to go deeper and let those feelings out. I wish she'd survived. I wish I could have worked with her.

Unfortunately, most singers or voice actors at a high point in their careers probably aren't going to come to me and if they do, perhaps they just can't or they won't push themselves even further. Why not? Well, it's really painful for some people to leave that perfect place where everything is very ordered in. You can control it in a certain way and then you have to say, "Okay, I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to be who I really am. I'm going to put my reality with all my feelings out there right in front of the mic." You know, you have to face who you are to do that.

Today however, we're going to talk about a wonderful and brave lady who did allow me to work with her and bring out even more of her lovely voice and abilities. And yes, she is someone that is up there in the VO world and for me, it's been very exciting. I have really wanted to have a woman who's well-established in voiceovers to put herself through my gauntlet and come out the other side, totally herself. Here's how it happened.

I've done a few podcasts that contained before and after clips of men who'd been in the biz for decades. On the Voices.com page where the voiceover experts podcasts are found, people can post messages. One of the messages after one of my podcasts was from Vicki Amorose who said she'd like to hear a podcast about a season successful female who'd been working in voiceovers who went through a transformation with me or as I caught, finding that X.

Well, you can imagine how I felt when I saw her post. I thought Vicki Amorose, she's the gal who was the female 60 Second Pitch winner. I remember her well. Yes, nice voice she has, very nice voice, lovely voice but you know me, nothing is hidden. And to me, her voice sounded manufactured to some extent. I knew there was something else there. I knew she could go farther and I knew that I could help. So after very carefully worded e-mail followed by a short eval, she agreed to work with me.

I explained to Vicki why I thought she was not using all of her talent, explaining how her throat changed when she began to speak on my mic and where she was placing her voice in her head and how. If she just keep her throat more relaxed and allow her sound to fall naturally to the bottom of her head, she'd sound more resonant. Her voice would be more resonant, it would have more feeling and it would sound like she cared more about her listeners. Even on the phone sometimes, she'd slip into what she called her "la-ti-da" voice. And that was part of Vicki's X.

Fortunately, Vicki was able to pinpoint why she was doing what I called, putting her voice on pins. She pushed in proper voice up in such a way that it was perfect but, not connected to her emotionally. She'd shift her sound up into her heard and then she'd lose her resonance. At first she found it challenging to figure out what I meant. I explained to her British accent was not on pins and seem to be produced more naturally than her North American accent even though she isn't British. She's North American.

Vicki told me that one thing I asked her, broke it all open. It was, whoever told you or where did you get the idea that your voice isn't good enough the way it is. You know, your natural voice. That's when we had the revelation about her mom propping up her Southern accent because her mom was ashamed of how her accent sounded. And Vicki also had other assumptions about how she had to sound to be a voiceover artist. And now, she knew she could make the change and use her face and throat the same for the British as the English. For some reason, the British accent wasn't affected by this early assumptions of voice. Maybe because the British voice wasn't really Vicki in her mind and she could just let down and be natural kind of by accident.

If you heard the podcast about Joe Bob, I called it his sneeze voice? Well this was kind of Vicki's sneeze voice, this British accent. So we took that and ran with it. We only did two sessions. The difference in how she sounds is slight but significant. Her humanity comes through. Most people won't be able to put their finger on the difference but she now has that certain something that brings you closer and makes you feel something when you hear her voice. The only part of her 60 Second Pitch which yes, she redid for me was the British voice. It didn't change but the voice was as it should be already. So now, section by section. Vicki's before and after of parts of her 60 Second Pitch.

Vicki Amorose: You could say I talk for a living but that would only be about half the story. I talk and I record my voice and my voice is for sale to just about anybody who needs it.

You could say I talk for a living but that would only be about half the story. I talk and I record my voice and my voice is for sale to just about anybody who needs it.

Every business needs a voice. You might need a professional voice for your on hold message. A radio, TV commercial, a business presentation video, an educational film, a talking Teddy bear. You get the idea.

Every business needs a voice. You might need a professional voice for your on hold message. A radio, TV commercial, a business presentation video, an educational film, a talking Teddy bear. You get the idea.

I am a voice talent and just as every business is different, I vary my voice to represent you. You may need friendly customer service oriented, sincere and comforting or perhaps, your business would sound best with an accent.

I am a voice talent and just as every business is different, I vary my voice to represent you. You may need friendly customer service oriented, sincere and comforting or perhaps, your business would sound best with an accent.

A big part of my job is understanding what my clients need because after all, I am their voice. I record jobs and auditions from my home studio or professional sound studios and I send my voice all over the world. I'm Vicki Amorose, voiceofvicki.com and my voice is for sale.

A big part of my job is understanding what my clients need because after all, I am their voice. I record jobs and auditions from my home studio or professional sound studios and I send my voice all over the world. I'm Vicki Amorose, voiceofvicki.com and my voice is for sale.

Phyllis K. Day: Here's another example of before and after of Vicki's recent Comcast spot.

Vicki Amorose: Comcast is hiring hundreds of men and women for all kinds of exciting careers.

Comcast is hiring hundreds of men and women for all kinds of exciting careers.

Comcast is shaping the future of communications. Join us!

Comcast is shaping the future of communications. Join us!

Phyllis K. Day: Again, she's so good that even the before sounds great, a slight change but significant. One that makes the difference in a tie breaker. No more coming in number two for Vicki. It's number one all the way. Would you like me to identify your X? I'm always glad to do a short evaluation as my pay-it-forward for all those who helped me in the past. Please send your e-mails to Voicecoach@phyllisk.com. See you next time and I do mean see you.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Phyllis K. Day
Phyllis K. Day on Voices.com
Vicki Amorose

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day

Phyllis is a freelance technical writer and voice professional with over thirty years experience. A Broadcast Journalism graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Phyllis became an anchor a few months later on the North Carolina News Network. She has also anchored on Business Radio Network and American Forum Radio Network in Colorado. Her voice has been heard nation-wide and she was also the narrator for a show heard daily on NPR and Armed Forces Radio in the 1990s. Phyllis was part of a mentoring program for several years at North Carolina State University for the students in NC State's radio program. She currently runs personalized coaching workshops, in addition to narrations for e-learning and business presentations.

Did you enjoy Phyllis' episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

---

Join Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day as she highlights the work of two aspiring voice actors in her podcast "Focusing on Physical Issues". Phyllis helps Bergie and Ed to vocally overcome physical issues including chronic tonsillitis and major dental surgery. Phyllis' consultations, coupled with a training session Bergie had with Susan Berkley, and Ed's lesson with Bob Bergen, made a positive difference in their performances. Hear the before and after recordings and listen for the physical changes.

Download Podcast Episode 63 »

Tags:

Phyllis K. Day, Voice Coaching, Voice Overs, Voice, Voice Acting, Visual Coaching, Finding the X

Transcript of Focusing on Physical Issues to Improve Vocal Performance

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week, Voices.com is pleased to present Phyllis K. Day.

Phyllis K. Day: Hi I'm Phyllis K. Day. In my first two podcast for Voices.com I told you how I have an unusual way of hearing sound. I get a picture that changes as you move your head, your neck and so on. And I can usually tell what you're doing in there and how to better use your voice. I call it finding your X when you have some sort of voiceover issue. It's not voice acting. It's about using your voice in it's most natural state without tension, without pushing too hard and other physical things voice actors do that alter their voice.

There still are a lot of voiceover talents that are struggling to get past that announcer sound from back in the day. And then in the first two podcasts, you heard how different they sounded when they made the transition from the old style to their authentic voice. I didn't teach them voice acting, I taught them how to be more aware of what they are doing when they speak. Especially when they get in front of the microphone and suddenly the voice changes. Today though, we're going to highlight the work of two newbies to the voiceover world. (Burgy) and Ed.

(Burgy) and Ed both have other careers and both are over 35. And both have long wanted to be a voice actor. They came to me with pretty much no experience and neither had any emotional blocks or perceptions that might have colored their sound so I could just keep the focus on their physical issues. They both needed and still need voice acting and in fact, they have taken some workshops and attended seminars in addition to working with me.

Ed had just had extensive dental work when we started and he wasn't yet quite comfortable with the way the air went in and out of his mouth. It almost sounded like there was a "shooshing" or almost a whistling sound, and it just felt weird to talk and he wasn't sure about how he sounded either.

(Burgy) on the other hand, had major sinus and tonsil issues and that affected how she sounded as well. We'll have a look at (Burgy) first.

(Burgy) like most newbies, read most of her copy. And I do mean read it as opposed to be it or reach past the page into your ears. She also had a strong tendency to push her words out of her nose and sinuses, plus she had this chronic tonsillitis. At that time, surgery to remove the tonsils was not on the agenda. So we had to deal with what was going on, right then. I racked my brain to try and think of how I could get (Burgy) to talk more toward the back of her throat, open it up some and lessen the stuffing nasal sound.

As some of you know, French is a language that is spoken in the back of the throat for the most part, while English, is in the front of the face. Fortunately, (Burgy) spoke a bit of French. So I made her do her homework in French. We had a few particularly back of the throat French phrases that she'd use just before recording in English to remember to push her sound back and this worked for her. Also, she was going to have finally those troublesome tonsils taken out.

Meanwhile, she also attended a boot camp with Susan Berkley, which gave her a good overview of the business of voiceover, of marketing, experienced in a world-class recording environment and some voice acting. The other issue (Burgy) had was that, she wasn't really talking to her listener. I said, "(Burgy), you're a critical care nurse. When some big goofus patient is giving you a hard time, I bet you have to be quite the actress to get him to behave. I want some of that attitude."

(Burgy) has such a nice smiley voice, but I needed her to get some edge and to really look the listener in the eyes that were to open her mouth and speak. Let it flow out of her mouth and beyond and do give me some, girl. During her times spent at boot camp, Susan Berkley also referred to (Burgy's) name to get more attitude in her voice. I'd remind, "(Burgy), remember what you do when you're in that critical care unit. How you summon up your attitude, how you put on that nurse act and save lives. You focus on your message and making sure the patient hears you. Keep thinking about that."

And so she did. Here is her before and after. But first, keep in mind, (Burgy) hadn't had the advantage that those of us in radio for decades had when it comes to being able to quickly harness our throats. She was working from scratch. What you'll hear first is an average Jane talking, trying to be a voiceover artist. And then in her after clip, you'll hear her voice take on a clearer, more defined and personal sound as she begins to find her boot straps and paw. Because she's so new at using her voice this way, you won't hear as big a change as we did for the voiceover actors in the previous podcasts.

Keep in mind though when you listen to the after that she was still recovering from the tonsillectomy and there was swelling at the back of her throat and on the back of her tongue, but she was ready to go back to work. So here we have it.

(Burgy): Someone to clean my house, and expert to help me manage my money. I want to make hay while the sun shines.

She is fun, fresh, exhilarating! She is vivacious!

Phyllis K. Day: Listening to her before and after. You can hear how she's more open, even with the post-surgical swelling affecting her throat. She's found her attitude and yet she's still friendly and appealing.

Next is Ed. Ed had had some exposure to radio about 20 years ago, but a lot has happened since then. Plus he had some real, reading issues not to mention just being comfortable with his mouth. Ed was in such a rut. He had a nice, friendly voice like (Burgy's), but he read everything and read everything with the same style. It was so calm, slow and unemotional. I wanted him to break out, to shout, to get excited. His voice was just aching delayed all down to be emotional to get in your face, I could see it. But getting Ed to realize this was very hard to do.

Fortunately, Bob Bergen was coming to Ed's part of the world. So Ed decided to register for one of Bob Bergen's workshops. And if you know anything about those workshops, Mr. Bergen does not let anyone phone it in. Bergen apparently also knew that Ed could do more, a lot more. And in a high energy session, Bergen coached Ed in the voicing the part of a very convincing character, a fish mobster. And Ed finally realized that he could indeed do just what I've been asking him to do. Get out of the box and bring it. And now I could ask Ed to use his fish mobster voice on homework just to practice, you know, this is what I want from you that you don't have to use the fish voice, but I want that kind of energy and a straight human voice spot.

Finally, I started to see it. It was very exciting for Ed and for me. So here is his before and after and again like (Burgy's), you're not going to here a huge change, he's new to the business and he's still working on getting everything cleared up and it's just as there's so much to learn. Ed, he's doing great. Again, here's his before and after.

Ed: So you picked up some vacation time. A week or two to yourself and maybe your loved one. You think, let's go somewhere. I want to float on some water. Find out who those offenders are and shut him down for good. Do you realize how much money you could be saving every month?

The biggest change is that Ed goes from being a guy reading copy to getting in your face and making you think about what he's saying. The comforting, yet intelligent and caring sound in his voice is now made more obvious. And like (Burgy), Ed becomes a real person talking to you.

Are you a newbie? That if your e-mails wondering if I work with newbies and yes, I do. Feel free to contact me at voicecoach@phyllisk.com. I'm always glad to do a free evaluation of where you are now and where you can go from here.

Thank you for your time today. I'm Phyllis K. Day.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Phyllis K. Day
Phyllis K. Day on Voices.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day

Phyllis is a freelance technical writer and voice professional with over thirty years experience. A Broadcast Journalism graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Phyllis became an anchor a few months later on the North Carolina News Network. She has also anchored on Business Radio Network and American Forum Radio Network in Colorado. Her voice has been heard nation-wide and she was also the narrator for a show heard daily on NPR and Armed Forces Radio in the 1990s. Phyllis was part of a mentoring program for several years at North Carolina State University for the students in NC State's radio program. She currently runs personalized coaching workshops, in addition to narrations for e-learning and business presentations.

Did you enjoy Phyllis' episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

---

Join Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day in her interactive lecture "Finding Your Authentic Voice". In this podcast, Phyllis shares how she was able to help a client of hers whose background was in radio make his voice sound more natural, getting past ingrained Walter Cronkite voice styling to realize his own authentic voice.

Download Podcast Episode 57 »

Tags:

Phyllis K. Day, Voice Coaching, Voice Overs, Voice, Voice Acting, Visual Coaching, Finding the X

Transcript of Finding Your Authentic Voice

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week, Voices.com is pleased to present Phyllis K. Day.

Phyllis K. Day: Hi. I'm Phyllis K. Day. Last time we talked, you learned that I hear and see sound. I was born this way. It wasn't something I learned. However, the good news for you is that it helps me to enable voiceover talents to quickly improve the way they use their voice. This is because to me, each voice has an authentic sound that in some cases has layers that hide that sound. I peel back the layers with the VO talent and it improves everything they do.

I am not an acting coach and I don't teach acting, but what I can do, I call knowing where the X is. No matter how great an actor you are, if you're not using your authentic voice, you will struggle. Take Joe Bob, for example. Joe Bob grew up in Amarillo, Texas. He played football, basketball, baseball, (ran track), and the list goes on.

You could say he had the jock gene. He grew to be over six feet tall but he had both jock genes that is he also wanted to be a disc jockey. Little Joe Bob spent many hours of his childhood imitating how one TV news anchor in particular sounded along with many other announcers that influenced him back in the day. When he was old enough, he got on the air, paid his dues and up the ladder he went.

Now, like many other radio guys, he's working less in auditioning more to little or no avail. Joe Bob has a great voice. He just needs to peel back a few layers. After hearing my last podcast, he contacted me. I listened to all his current demos. I asked him to send me an mp3 of his voice unprocessed talking about his past, present, his hopes for the future, what makes him happy, sad, and so on.

For almost all of his mp3, he was not using his authentic voice. Here's a little bit of it.

Hi Phyllis. Just want to say thanks so much for spending time with me on the phone the other day and I hope your shoulder is healing. I also want to say how funny I still find it. I'm smiling and laughing every time I think about it when you say I was ...

Phyllis K. Day: He was on for almost the whole thing until toward the end. He sneezed and said, "Excuse me." Without thinking, he used his real voice to say that. Something he'd never do on the air, sneeze, that is. So after sneezing, he didn't shift his voice back to his radio voice.

(sneezing) Pardon me.

Listen to it again.

(sneezing) Pardon me.

The next plays his authentic voice showed was when he stopped to think about something. Also forgetting to be on and that's producing a different sound.

She would have been a junior senior as I started. And our games were across the street and all after school, you know. So it was ...

So what is Joe Bob's X? First of all, he's a growler.

Somewhere between dusky gray and pale green.

Growling was a very popular use of a man's voice at one time. It gave them sort of a strong but intimate yet manly sound. Sort of. Nowadays, it just makes them sound like they're saying, "Hey, listen to me and be impressed." Now, most women can't do the growl, me included.

Now, Joe Bob is a nice guy. He's not some puffed-up egotistical fellow. In fact, he was concerned that he couldn't seem to sound more real and he wanted to. People would tell him, "You sound like you're trying to impress me. You sound like you're trying to impress me with your voice." He wasn't trying. He just was stuck in a rut.

The second X, little Joe Bob watched way too much Walter Cronkite.

What you include more than 600 papers and 40 books. Place them among the greatest figures in the history of Cardiovascular research.

Now, here's part of an audition he sent me but don't listen for the acting. Listen to the sound of his voice and the growl.

The battlefield. There is no other place or such an outpouring of intense human emotion is displayed, from courage, camaraderie, and exhilaration to fear, hatred and agony.

I smacked him around a little bit after that. No, no, no, no, no I didn't do that. But, after our second session, he sent me this redo of the same piece. Again, listen to how much clearer his voice sounds and not the acting. Not that the acting is bad, it's just not what we're focusing on right now.

The battlefield. There is no other place or such an outpouring of intense human emotion is displayed, from courage, camaraderie, and exhilaration to fear, hatred and agony.

Joe Bob will have to be diligent and try to stay authentic and not go back to growling or using the Cronkite effect.

These lavish homes included libraries, ballrooms, billiard rooms, and much more. Homes during this time were built to last to stand the test of time.

He must use what I call his sneeze voice.

These lavish homes included libraries, ballrooms, billiard rooms, and much more. Homes during this time were built to last.

He'll have another two or three sessions with me and then he's on his way to make the use of his authentic voice a habit. We'll wait another month or two and then see how he's been doing with the tools he now has to keep his sound true. And he's got a lot of demos to redo in the mean time.

Would you like to work with me? E-mail me at voicecoach@phyllisk.com. That's voicecoach@phyllisk.com and we'll set up a free evaluation of your voice. Then if you're ready to move forward, we'll move forward. I promise. I'm Phyllis K. Day.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Phyllis K. Day
Phyllis K. Day on Voices.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day

Phyllis is a freelance technical writer and voice professional with over thirty years experience. A Broadcast Journalism graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Phyllis became an anchor a few months later on the North Carolina News Network. She has also anchored on Business Radio Network and American Forum Radio Network in Colorado. Her voice has been heard nation-wide and she was also the narrator for a show heard daily on NPR and Armed Forces Radio in the 1990s. Phyllis was part of a mentoring program for several years at North Carolina State University for the students in NC State's radio program. She currently runs personalized coaching workshops, in addition to narrations for e-learning and business presentations.

Did you enjoy Phyllis' episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

---

Join Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day as she takes you on a journey through "The Layers of Your Voice". There is more that goes into a performance than just a rehearsed and polished take. Find out how your life outside of the studio could be affecting your voice acting behind the mic.

Download Podcast Episode 44 »

Tags:

Phyllis K. Day, Voice Coaching, Voice Overs, Voice, Voice Acting, Visual Coaching

Transcript of The Layers of Your Voice

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

Now for our special guest.

Phyllis K. Day: Hello. My name is Phyllis K. Day. I coach the mechanics of your voice and I know where to put the X. I'll tell you a quick story. There was a company with a big problem. Their equipment didn't work and after months of troubleshooting, they called in a man who assured them that he would solve the problem. The man came in, poked around briefly and finally took a large marker and drew an X on the side of a piece of equipment. There's your problem right there. The company investigated and sure enough, there it was. The man gave him his bill and then the company was shocked.

"Buy all you did was walk around for a few minutes and put an X on one piece of equipment and you expect us to pay you?"

The man said, "Yes, because I knew where to put the X."

As a coach, I know where to put the X when it comes to your problem. For example, I get an e-mail from a guy in radio. He keeps hearing, "You sound too announcery. Don't do it that way."

Bu the guy, a real long-time seasoned pro can't figure out what they want him to do and how to stop doing it whatever it is he's doing. He comes to me. I listen to him and I tell him not only where the X is but how to get rid of it.

First, I listened to his demos then I asked him to send me an MP3 of his voice with no processing, talking about his past work, present situation, what hopes he has for the future, what makes him happy, sad, mad, et cetera. I listened very closely and this way, I can get another layer of information about his voice. Sound in general produces for me all the usual things hearing people enjoy but I also get a visual.

It's like sort of like being able to see through an onion and know what's inside under the layers. Then I can guide the client in the direction he or she needs to go to get rid of the layers that are covering up the voice. In general, I coach him or her to have the same body or face, neck and chest position as he or she had during a clip that was natural and clear. That's why I have you talk on this MP3 because somewhere in there, I'll be able to see where you sound best. Now, by natural, I don't mean that the acting was great but when a coaching client uses a range in delivery that is naturally his or hers and not contrived. Here is an example of before and after.

Male: You work hard for your money and it's important to you. Keep your money inside the house where it belongs for as long as you can.

Expecting mothers know that life's most precious gift is a little miracle, nine months in the making.

Phyllis K. Day: A big change, huh? Hard to tell it's the same person. Here's another fellow who had a similar problem.

Male: At our dealership, your job is done right the first time and better than anywhere else in the region.

And your son is off to college, right? Yes, that kid is seriously maintaining his hustle with med school and all. I'm really proud of him.

Yo, you really got quite a legacy for yourself.

Phyllis K. Day: In both cases, they were altering their normal voices to produce something different that may have been in vogue at one time but was not a desired read now. Both had perfectly good, natural voices that they pretty much never used in front of a mic for some reason. I had to determine why they chose not to be themselves when recording or on the air which depending on the person could be that they were emulating someone they heard on the air years ago and they wanted to sound like them or they were under the impression that their natural voice wasn't good enough to use or was just plain unacceptable for some reason.

Next, I had to give them vocal exercises to physically find where they needed to put or actually keep their throats, faces and what not, to be in their most natural, in that most unnatural space, the studio which is really just a box with a grey thin in it. For some reason, they get in their booth, look at the copy and they'd unconsciously turn into someone else. So I had to teach them to physically find where they were when they were just talking naturally like on the phone or in person with someone and it's not just men who have these issues.

Another client of mine is an opera singer and former TV news anchor. Her issue was what I call trills. She'd hang on to a word and add a layer of almost a shaking or trilling sound. When she doesn't do the trilling in the second part of her before and after clip, which I'll play for you in just a second, you can hear her clean, clear voice. The trick is being able to perceive that there is a clear, clean voice under those trills and that's again, what I do. Here is her before and after.

Female: In order to give your more time to do the things you need to do, Beaverton Honda promises to give you the information you want when you want it.

Everyday, countless young women live with the pain and fear of an unplanned and worse, an unwanted pregnancy.

Phyllis K. Day: Again, it almost sounds like two different people. Sometimes, the issue is purely emotional. After years of being in the biz, some people are finding it harder and harder to enjoy voice work and it's showing up in their voice. They contact me because they aren't getting as much work as they used to or maybe they haven't had a VO gig in a year or maybe they got laid off at the radio station or maybe they're working the overnight shift when they used to do afternoons.

I'll say, "When I listen to your voice, I can see anxiety," or "Is something making you sad?" or "What's making you feel anxious?" Sometimes, it's not something that happened a week ago or a year ago or even a month ago. Often it happened a very long time ago, 20, 30, maybe even 40 years ago. The good news is once they do personalized exercises that I suggest to them, they free up their sound because they're no longer holding on to those feelings and it doesn't show up on their voice anymore. They still have the feelings but they're not bringing it into their throat and into their sound.

Rest assured I don't fool around if it looks like someone has a significant problem that really should be worked through with a therapist. I will suggest that they get a therapist but I've only had to do that once.

Here is a sample from the first MP3 chat I had with a fellow and a little sample from the second one, a little bit later. This guy had some emotional issues and he began to do his homework between the first one and the second one. In the second part, his voice is noticeably lighter, relieved even because his sadness is lifting. It's a process.

Male: I've been on the air since I was just before 14 years old. I got started in radio by absolute accident. A radio salesman came into my mom and dad's truck show. My mom was a secretary. My dad was a diesel mechanic and I was in line to become a diesel mechanic.

Phyllis, the last few weeks since I've talked to you have really opened my eyes. I have spent hours and hours and hours and hours just typing - finding my happy place. I ended up - me trying to explain why I'm not happy constantly and the more I went through the story, the more I realized, I have no reason to be unhappy.

Phyllis K. Day: As time goes on, he'll sound lighter and fresher. Would you like an evaluation of your voice? Send an MP3 to VoiceCoach@Phyllisk.com with no processing, just talking about your past work, your present situation, what you hope for the future, your feelings in general like what makes you happy, what do you do to make yourself happy, where do you go or who do you think about? What makes you sad? What are you angry about and just whatever you'd like then I'll try to use part of it in the next podcast that Stephanie allows me to produce and I'll probably use some of your - the work that you've done, some of the auditions perhaps that you've done or some of the live work that you have running.

Again, send it to me at VoiceCoach@Phyllisk.com Keep it under 10 megs and we're good to go. See you next time. I'm Phyllis K. Day.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Phyllis K. Day
Phyllis K. Day on Voices.com
Email : voicecoach (at) phyllisk.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Expert Phyllis K. Day

Phyllis is a freelance technical writer and voice professional with over thirty years experience. A Broadcast Journalism graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Phyllis became an anchor a few months later on the North Carolina News Network. She has also anchored on Business Radio Network and American Forum Radio Network in Colorado. Her voice has been heard nation-wide and she was also the narrator for a show heard daily on NPR and Armed Forces Radio in the 1990s. Phyllis was part of a mentoring program for several years at North Carolina State University for the students in NC State's radio program. She currently runs personalized coaching workshops, in addition to narrations for e-learning and business presentations.

Did you enjoy Phyllis' episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

---