Career

What to Expect from a Great Voice-Over Coach

If you’re serious about pursuing a career in voice acting or looking to improve your skills as a voice actor, then you’ve probably thought about working with a voiceover coach.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

Surely you can just go it alone. It’s the 21st Century. Anyone can pick up a smartphone and become a YouTube star. Anyone can open Google Docs and write a book. Anyone can buy a microphone, plug it in, and start voiceover acting.

And there’s so much information online. Any questions you have or problems you run into can be resolved with a simple Google search.

“How can I be a better voiceover artist” you may ask.

There we go. 261 million answers.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s really not going to get you anywhere.

I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years- as a voice over actor and coach, so I know a bit about this!

Sure, these posts and guides are great for helping you find tips and tricks, but there’s no diamond piece of advice that will drastically push the needle on how good you are as a voiceover artist.

If you want to learn the real inside track, the real tricks of the game, and want real feedback on your skills and artistry, you’re going to need a coach.

But which coach?

There are so many out there today. Some are brilliant, well established, with careers as voice actors spanning decades. Who care about their students and steer them in the right direction… However, anyone with a semi-decent career seems to be offering mentoring services/coaching. Due to the nature of the work, anyone can say they’re a voiceover artist, and anyone can say they’re a coach.

Here’s what you need to know to make the right decision for you and your career.

Always Look at a Coach’s Experience

The first thing to consider is the coach’s experience in the areas of the industry that you’re interested in.

Look at their demos, reputation, and credentials. Make sure that your coach has real-life experience in the types of voiceover work that you’re interested in pursuing.

Now, as I said above, make sure you’re not just hiring someone who’s a one-hit wonder and has secured one semi-decent role. Also, just because a VO has lots of followers on Instagram, doesn’t mean they’re a good coach.

It must also be said that just because someone is a voice actor, doesn’t mean they know how to coach. It just means they’re good at building (or quite possibly buying) a social media presence.

Having authority is far different from being an authority.

Look for someone who’s been in the industry for a long time and has experienced both its highs and lows, and is still succeeding when they’ve come out the other side. Someone who still works in the industry and has weathered the changes. This experience is invaluable and will serve your own career immensely.

Look for Education on the Proper Techniques

It’s important that a coach can teach you the proper techniques and give you the tools you need to succeed.

And I’m not just saying they can teach you the techniques, but they can actually show you and work on them with you. For example, in my own VO coaching academy, RichCraft, Alicia King, Greg Marston and Bob Lawrence all have a wide experience that allows them to specifically focus on building strong foundational skills that will help you succeed in today’s modern industry, whatever direction you’re trying to go. We teach methods that are proven to help you succeed and cope with whatever life in the booth throws at you!

We even have guest coaches come and share their knowledge.

But here’s the deal and your main takeaway from this guide.

Our coaching classes aren’t suitable for every VO, nor will we accept you if we don’t think our values align.

You see, we live in a world with all these coaches and mentors out there, all claiming to be the number one guide, but that’s a lot of companies possibly out there just trying to take your money.

And take it they will.

Choose wrongly and despite the fact that VO may not be for you – they may try to keep you around week after week, taking your money and more often than not, will give you a lot of bullshit. Courses are a ‘one size fit’s all’ approach, we believe that 1-2-1 is the best way to get ahead. We never ‘up-sell’ and you get to see the coach most suited to you!

Voiceover acting is hard work, meaning growing a career in it is hard.

Our coaches will push you, and they will critique your work. They will break down your reels and performances, and look at each bit individually. But they will never do this to you personally. Honesty, encouragement and guidance is the name of the game.

This is the No-Bullshit Approach

If you want to be good, stand out, and be the best you can be, you need to be pushed to find your limits and break through into that best version.

You can’t simply waltz up to an audition and walk through it. The industry is, and always has been, far too competitive for that.

Of course, voiceover coaching isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication to excel in this truly competitive field.

But if you’re serious about making it as a voice actor and willing to work, then working with a great coach can make all the difference.

At RichCraft, we believe in being tough but fair, and we always strive to create a fun and supportive learning environment for our students. We’ll prepare you for every scenario you could potentially face when working as a VO to make you truly confident, inside and out. We don’t just tell you how to say something, we give you the techniques in a unique way that will mean you will never forget them, and be able to use them when you are out on your own, working as a voice actor.

We never sugarcoat the truth, and we always strive to provide honest feedback and guidance to help our students succeed.

So if you’re serious about pursuing a career in voice acting or improving your skills as a voice actor, then consider working with a great coach.

At RichCraft, we’re here to help you achieve your goals and take your voice acting career to the next level.

Contact us at coaching@richcraft.biz to find out more.