Has anyone ever told you that “You have a great voice for radio” or have you ever made the same remark to someone else?

The truth is, that ‘radio voice’ doesn’t really exist. Sure there are some outdated ideas of what types of voices belong on-air, but thing have changed.

Here I’m specifically looking at the voices you hear everyday on Radio & Television commercials /Promos, Documentaries, Youtube videos, Podcast intros and anywhere else you hear the work of professional voice over talent.

Casting a male voice talent with deep tones or a sultry sounding female has become, not quite a thing of the past, but now just a couple of options as the trend moves towards a mix of different types of voices.

Turn on your Radio. Listen to the next Ad break and take note of the voices.

• Are they Male or Female?
• What age range do you hear?
• Style – Traditional ‘announcer’ style / conversational / quirky characters?
• How many voices in the one message?

Listen to a few more Ad breaks across Radio & TV and then across other mediums that utilise professional voice talent and you’ll soon realise that it’s not just what your voice sounds like that will determine whether you’ll be successful as a voice over artist. There’s more to it.

We’re looking at some of the other skills and knowledge as part of a new “Introduction to Voice Over” course running in Melbourne over May 19&20.

The course if presented by Cecelia Ramsdale and Andy Wells, delivering a two day workshop that aims to give curious minds an opportunity to see if Voice Over is something that they may enjoy and pursue further.

You don’t need someone to tell you “You’ve got a great voice for radio” to be be part of this.