The Importance of Listening Skills for Voiceover Work

Voice acting requires that you speak and act well, but what you may not realize is that this career requires that you listen as well. Listening, which is an integral aspect of any form of communication, helps any voice actor learn control, adapt to new styles, and become more confident overall. Listed below are three of most compelling reasons why listening skills for voiceover work are vital.

  1. Listening helps you build your collection of voices.

Voice over projects can come in many forms. So whether you will be working on a corporate project or doing trailer voiceovers, you have to be equipped, voice-wise. Listening allows you to be more creative and to lend more authenticity into whatever role you are voice acting. In fact, more than just listening, you also have to observe how certain people behave and how they sound in specific situations. Pauses and silences are natural in day to day conversations. By having a reliable stash of voices, whether inspired by real people or an imagined character, working on any project will be easier for you.

  1. Listening helps you learn and maintain voice control.

Without control, any voiceover result will sound scattered, inconsistent, and devoid of the necessary impact. According to voice acting experts, control is achieved not necessarily by varying the volume of the voice but by changing the intensity and applying the right intonation for certain words and phrases. Active listening will make you understand this much sooner than later, especially if you listen to the more established voice actors.

  1. Listening informs you of the most recent styles.

Since you plan to work and stay in this industry, you have to keep yourself updated of the latest in voice acting. Thus, you have to set aside time for listening to other voiceovers. A specific project may point to an existing voiceover as reference. If you have no idea what specific voice acting style the job alludes to, it will be easier for you to lose rather than book the project. Your knowledge of the recent trends in the industry will establish you as a serious and driven professional in the industry. This makes listening all the more essential for voice acting newbies.

If you want to make it in the voice acting industry, you have to learn to love to listen. It should be something that comes as second nature to you. Acting is definitely the top requirement in voiceovers, but this cannot be realized without listening. Now that you’ve read more about listening skills for voiceover work, you can start working on being a more versatile voice artist!