Okay!, So you've gotten to the point where you've secured yourself an audition for a gig and now, you're faced with competing against other voice over talents for the same project. How can you make sure that it's you the prospective client picks? There are a number of pretty simple things a voice talent can do to bolster the chances of landing a gig. In this rough economy, it's extremely important that the talent put their best foot forward and perform well in order to win a bid for a job. At this point in the game, slacking off kills. Below are a few suggestions that, believe it or not, can be easily overlooked.
1.) Promptness counts and counts big! If you arrive late for an audition, despite whether your fault or not, don't even bother with showing up. Customers expect results, not excuses. The best and wisest practice is to schedule an extra half-hour (or more) to your travel time to create a buffer for unforeseen circumstances, such as a flat tire or an accident on the freeway. If nothing happens, you have that extra time to practice you voice over. Win-win.
2.) Dress like it matters. More and more people these days (mostly the younger crowd) seem to have lost the art of dressing for the occasion. They do a voiceover audition, perhaps performing relatively well, but then can't understand why they didn't get the job. Arriving to an audition looking disheveled or like you've just woken up sends a terrible message. As they say, first impressions are everything. You need to have an appearance that says, "I really want this voice-over job," instead of one that says, "I couldn't care less." Now that doesn't mean you need to wear a suit and tie. Dress appropriately. If you're going for an audition where the client and/or the project has more of a "rock-n-roll" feel, then clean black jeans, sunglasses and a snazzy clean shirt might be the ticket... get the picture? Try and project the image you might think the client is expecting.
3.) Be the professional and always smile. One of the quickest ways to kill your chances at an audition is to be uncooperative. Put a muzzle on your frustration. Whatever direction the client gives you, no matter how silly it may seem, take it with sincerity. Be ready for criticisms and meet them with a smile. Don't let it anger you or knock you off track. Criticism is just another way of making suggestions so the client gets a voice over that's as close to what they want as possible. If you want to look at it this way, kiss the client's tushy and give them whatever they want (within reason, of course). There are always those "lines in the sand" where you must eventually put your foot down, but being as flexible as possible shows the client you're willing to work with them and do almost whatever it takes to give them what they need. That goes a long way. And remember... always smile!
4.) Be relaxed and have a good time with it! Customers (and people in general, for that matter) will definitely notice if you're calm and confident, just as much as they would if you're nervous and jittery. Even the top voice over specialists will experience a measure of nervousness during an audition -- believe it, it happens to me all the time. Throwing fright to the wind and convincing yourself to just have fun with it is the single best way to overcome the human body's natural fear response. Joke around some and try to make light of things if they go wrong. Just don't go overboard and make yourself look ridiculous in the process.
5.) Be grateful and bring extra stuff. Customers do love courtesy. Before and after the audition, make sure you thank the client(s) for their time. If they feel you appreciate being put on the roster, it goes that much further toward making the client feel good about you and let's face it -- when selling yourself, emotions are a big part of the game. It's also good advice to bring some extra copies of resumes, demos, head shots script, etc. Doing so will give you that professional look, and you'll always be prepared for the unexpected.
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