How Do You Choose the Right Voice Over Artist?
Choosing the right voice over artist can make or break your project. Jessica Lewis shares what to look for, what to avoid and how to find the perfect voice for your brand.
If you've ever found yourself thinking, "I'll know it when I hear it," you're not alone.
Most people don't hire voice actors every day, so it's surprisingly difficult to explain what you're looking for. You know the feeling you want to create, but turning that into a brief isn't always straightforward.
The good news is that it doesn't have to be.
One of my favorite parts of the job is helping clients work that out.
People often assume a great voice over is all about having a nice voice. It helps, of course, but it's rarely the thing that makes a recording memorable.
The difference is usually much more subtle.
It's knowing when to slow down without sounding sleepy. When to sound confident without becoming overly polished. When to leave space for the words to breathe, and when to let the energy lift the whole piece.
Those are the things listeners don't consciously notice, but they definitely feel.
A luxury fashion campaign needs something very different from a healthcare explainer. A tourism film has a completely different rhythm from a corporate presentation. Even two commercials for the same product can call for entirely different performances depending on who they're trying to reach.
That's why I never think of voice over as reading a script.
It's about understanding the story first.
Before I record anything, I'm usually asking questions.
Who's listening?
How do you want them to feel afterward?
What's the one thing you want them to remember?
The answers to those questions nearly always influence the performance more than any direction, like "sound younger" or "make it more energetic."
One thing I've learned over the years is that clients often worry about giving too much direction.
Please don't.
The more context I have, the better the result tends to be.
Sometimes that means sharing the finished video. Sometimes it's a mood board, a rough edit, or simply telling me how you want your audience to feel. None of it is wasted information.
The best projects usually feel like collaborations rather than transactions.
People also ask me what makes someone sound "professional."
Oddly enough, it's rarely about having the deepest voice or the biggest range.
Professional voice over is about consistency.
It's delivering clean audio every time.
Taking direction quickly.
Making revisions without fuss.
Keeping the recording natural, even after the tenth take.
Helping your client forget they're thinking about the voice at all because they're completely focused on the message.
That's always the goal.
Whether it's a luxury brand campaign, a documentary, an explainer video, or a corporate narration, the voice should never compete with the story.
It should help tell it.
If you're planning a project and you're not quite sure what sort of voice you're looking for yet, that's absolutely normal.
We'll figure it out together.
Sometimes the hardest part isn't finding the right voice.
It's finding the feeling you're trying to create.
And that's usually where the best work begins.
Looking for the right voice for your next project?
Whether you're producing a commercial, documentary, explainer, or corporate film, I'd love to hear what you're working on.
