Audition for a Plumber
Last week I needed a plumber. One of our WCs has a never ending trickle of water running into it. Nothing major but no doubt it's not doing our water bill any favours. I turned to the local directory to find a plumber.
There are a lot of plumbers!
How to choose?
A Simple Audition
Well I'm a voice artist and I know how people choose to use me as a voice artist so why wouldn't the same process work for choosing a plumber?
I got in touch with the first plumber on the list. I gave her a call and I said:
"Hi Lindsey, I found you listed in our local directory. It looks like you have the kind of skills I need. Could you pop over this morning and fix a portion of the leak I have so, for free, that I can see your workmanship please? If I like what you do with that small portion I'll give you the whole job and then pay you okay? And I'll need you to quote your best price for the job."
I called nineteen other plumbers and asked the same thing. Because you want to have a good choice, right?
It was really weird; they all seem to think that my request was ludicrous. One of them even told me they worked already with some people in my area and that I should contact my neighbours and ask them about his work, and that they would vouch for him.
I explained to the plumbers that it was all very well that they had done work for other people on pipes, but they hadn't worked on my pipes. My pipes are a little bit different and special, and I wanted to be sure that when they worked on my pipes the work was going to be good.
One of the plumbers said to me
"Madame, when I work in your house you will be there you can see the work I'm doing. I'm a professional plumber. I'm highly qualified. I have 20 years of plumbing experience before me. Madame, I can do the work for you just tell me what and where and I will deliver."
Whittling it down
I didn't feel happy with this. So, as suggested, I turned to people I knew for a recommendation. That whittled it own to just two plumbers; Lindsey and the guy who said he had already worked locally.
I rang them both again and said,
"It's just between you you and one other. If you can please show me your work then I can choose between you."
Each of them said
"With all due respect, I'm a professional plumber. I'm here and available and ready to do your work. When you're ready to hire me, let me know, but I don't work for free."
Neither do I!
Trust the skills
Corporate voiceover, Explainer voiceover, e-learning voiceover, corporate narration - these are all skilled services that are provided by plenty of trained and qualified voice professionals.
Trust the skills
Professional voice artists spend years honing their craft, and we don't stop working on it. We spend a lot of time investing in audio equipment and a lot of time learning how to use it. A lot of time perfecting our voice capabilities and our production skills. Then we spend time recording, editing and mastering demo reels so that you can hear what our work sounds like; the range of skills, our vocal tones, our competencies ad areas of expertise.
We also spend time building our websites and professional listings with the words and copy that match your voiceover needs with our voiceover skills, and helps you to find the right talent.
Do you really need to audition twenty, thirty, fifty voiceover artists each time you need a business script recorded, any more than you would spend time 'auditioning' fifty candidates for a plumber?
You can trust the skills of professional voice artists.
No doubt you ask around your colleagues friends and family for recommendations for plumbers, cleaners, a doctor, a mechanic. But do you audition them? Sure, you'll likely look at some of the work they have previously done to verify that the quality is what you were looking for, to verify that they have the skills you need. But you don't ask them to complete a small section of your work for free to check they are as good as you really already know they are, do you?
You engage their services based on the work they have done before.
You might even have the telephone number of a backup plumber in case your usual one isn't available. If you have a large property you might have a multi-skilled caretaker or handy-person who can do multiple tasks around the place.
Do the same for your business voiceover requirements.
Engage your brand voice
A good voice artist can read and record your company tutorial, record your telephone answering service prompts (IVR), voice your Explainer video. And the bonus is that this gives your business a brand voice. It makes you sound more cohesive to your own clients and customers.
Perhaps sometimes you need a range of voices - so find 4, 6, 8 voice artists that cover your needs and use them. Repeatedly. Why not give the skill of voice over the same respect you give other services - and make your own life easier at the same time!
We take direction!
Remember too - a good voice artist takes direction. So you don't need to feel that by using the same voice talent for your corporate voiceover you're going to get the same read over and over again.
'Naomi, can you do this recording upbeat and energetic please?' Yes, I can.
'Naomi, this video will be presented to people with English as a second language so can you slow your voiceover down and enunciate especially well?' Yes, I can.
'We'd like some real gravitas on the voiceover for this explainer please.' Will do. ‘Can you make that even more heartfelt please?’ Gotcha.
Click over to my Listen page to hear my demos. Or get in touch here.
Caveat: I am differentiating here between corporate voice work and voice acting work. For an acting job I understand that the director is looking for a particular ability to transmit a deep and rich character, usually who interacts with other characters - other voice actors - for which an audition is necessary. That is quite different work to corporate voiceover or e-learning work. Corporate voiceover, narration and e-learning is skilled work, but it is not the same as acting. Corporate voice work is more transferable between one business and another. To deliver a character part you need other skills. There are many brilliant voice artists who don't do character work. And voice actors who steer clear of corporate work too!
Thanks for reading.