E-learning Narration Q&A Replay

Answers to questions I didn't get a chance to give during the Q&A:

It is definitely important to understand what you are saying as much as possible. And if you don't understand it, talk about it like something that you do understand. (Kind of a fake it 'til you make it mentality.)

Your delivery will depend on the script and your audience. Most e-learning developers want the reads done in a conversational, friendly way. For the most part, you'll want to sound friendly. Probably not overly smiley, again depending on the script, but very few clients will request a flat or dry read.

For e-learning, only do one read of each line unless the client requests otherwise. E-learning tends to be long-form, and the clients want to have to do minimal editing. So if you do a bunch of takes, that creates more work for the client. But if they request multiple takes, be sure to comply.

There are different rates for different jobs. You can check out the rate guide that the Global Voice Academy uses, and also look at union rates for an idea.

Resources mentioned:​

Recording software for Mac: Twisted Wave

Recording software for Mac and PC: Audacity

Collection of TV commercials that you can use to transcribe for practice: iSpot.tv

Script library for practice: Edge Studio script library

One-on-one and group coaching options: Carrie Olsen VO coaching

Database of agencies and represented talent, along with demos (because you should be listening to demos regularly): Voicebank.net

Facebook group for info, networking, and accountability: Voiceover Start-up

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