Because cloning simple isn’t reliable enough. Yet.

Not all assistants are created equal.

As the video below proves, just because someone is great at one thing (brand recognition) doesn't make them great at another (email management).

But rather than just bang on about how great outsourcing can be (because it is 𝗜𝗙 you can afford it 𝗔𝗡𝗗 work with the right people)...

I thought I'd just share what I currently outsource.

💵 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁

Because I'm always terrified of financial mistakes,
especially with an LTD to look after.

📽️ 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿

Because a skilled editor takes half the time.
And also comes up with great suggestions.

👀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿

Because my business needs to be consistently growing.
Relevant info in one place is a godsend.

📱𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿

Because when you have a following of 500,000...
You need someone to keep on top of responses.

✏️ 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿

Because getting someone to mark-up a book
Saves you having to read it one more time.

🎧 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿

Because getting someone to edit out all your mistakes...
Means you can focus on what you're good at.

👂 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗿

Because having an objective ear listen back to your work is the best way to check if your accent goes funny.

🐱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿

Because there's no easier way to win in the attention game than a furry friend.

Have any questions about my outsourcing process? Feel free to email me and I’d be happy to answer them!

Voice Acting tip of the week:

I pretend to care.

That's what you're paying me for.

❌ It's not a 'nice voice'.
❌ It's not creative liberties.
❌ It's not my expert opinion on the subject.

It's taking a message or character I likely knew nothing about and filling it with meaning.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?

One is the ✨'𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗳'✨.

Once I understand the relationship of the speaker to their subject, I substitute what I'm talking about with what would provoke a similar, authentic reaction within me.

For example:

I don't know what it would be like to kill a king.

But can I imagine an authority figure doing something so terrible in my actual life, that I would want to destroy them?

Yes.  Oh yes I do.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

It's just a question of degrees.

Do I need to understand a company's exciting new offer in exact detail to talk about it?

No.

I need to know my r͟e͟l͟a͟t͟i͟o͟n͟s͟h͟i͟p͟ to that new offer.  What does it represent?

Even if the objective is simply to 'teach' someone, grounding that in an emotional need is only going to make it more effective:

🤔 Is it to stop someone from making the same mistakes I did?

🤔 Is it to ensure our children a better future?

🤔 Is it so I can achieve unimaginable wealth?

It's not the incidentals that make an effective performance.

It's cutting to the emotional need b͟e͟h͟i͟n͟d͟ the words.

So when briefing a voice talent - keep this in mind....

The first thing a speaker needs is a clear sense of the WHY, so that they can make their own personal 'why' as strong and appropriate as possible.

Behind The Scenes of the week:

Having a professional home studio means I can connect with anyone seamlessly for live direction.

A client doesn't have to worry about:

✅ Hiring a studio.
✅ The sound quality.
✅ Worrying if I'll be on time.

But there are times when adding an audio engineer into the equation is vital.

The recording of the Lavazza advert above was a case in point.

During this session, three different versions of this script needed to be recorded - versions of 30 seconds, 20 seconds and 10 seconds.

They also needed to be synched to picture live as there was a time pressure.

Having an audio engineer present brought a number of benefits:

1️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳.

Audio engineers know how to cut and splice takes with their eyes closed.

They could play the video while I recorded and then immediately play it back for the client for review.

2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴.

One of the (three) directors on the call was having issues with listening in.

The audio engineer knew exactly what questions to ask and the steps required to resolve this issue quickly.

3️⃣ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀.

Knowing someone else is handling the recording side means the voice talent can focus exclusively on their performance and working in detail.

4️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Not all directors are experienced in working with VO talent.

While an actor has to be skilled at understanding direction that might be unclear, an audio engineer can step in as an intermediary when necessary to ensure feedback is consolidated.

5️⃣ 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸

An audio engineer is another (skilled) set of ears that makes sure there are no audio gremlins in the mix.

That stomach gurgle?  That tiny bump of the mic?

They'll hear it and address it at source.

If you're ever unsure about whether an audio engineer would benefit your session, always feel free to ask the voice actor you're working with.

Media Recommendations:

Every week, I share three podcasts, articles or interviews that I’d strongly recommend. This week…

1. Microsoft’s terrifying take on ‘freeware’.

   According to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, ‘the social contract thats is on the open web is that it’s freeware’. Seems to be profoundly misunderstanding the basis of fair use!

2. Voice actors sue AI platform

   AI voice cloning platform Lovo is being sued after two actors accused the platform of breaching contracts that were supposed to control the scope of usage.

3. An insight into the vision of Elden Ring

   The Guardian has a great piece on the artistic vision behind one of the biggest video games of the last few years.

Favourite Writing of the week: MEGAN

Who's your most surprising client?

Mine is Megan Thee Stallion 💅

Yes, the multiple Grammy-winning rapper currently sitting at the top of the Apple Music charts 👀

I was honoured to voice the teaser for her new album, Megan, released last week. And got to channel some David Attenborough vibes while doing so.

Over 4 million views later... it seems to be going okay?

theestallion

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Thanks again for reading, and until next time, Honey and I wish you a wonderful month!