I’m proud to announce the release of the seventieth audio book I’ve narrated: Leveraging the Impact of 360-Degree Feedback, Second Edition by John W. Fleenor, Sylvester Taylor, and Craig Chappelow. Here’s the blurb:
This is a hands-on guide for implementing effective 360-degree feedback systems as part of leadership development initiatives in organizations. Written for professionals who work inside organizations and external consultants working with clients, the book draws on over 20 years of research and practice by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). The book provides step-by-step guidelines for successful 360-degree feedback as well as best practices observed and tested with CCL’s broad base of clients. Publisher’s Summary
What does 360 degree feedback mean?
360-degree feedback is a feedback process where not just your superior but your peers and direct reports and sometimes even customers evaluate you. You receive an analysis of how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you. The Economic Times
It got me thinking about voice actors and feedback. Feedback has always been a tricky thing for us. Why?
We almost never get feedback on our auditions and want to know what we can do to improve
Like most people, we are terrible at self-evaluation
We are a bunch of narcissistic egomaniacs who are desperate to be told how wonderful we are
TIP OF THE WEEK
How can you get effective feedback on your demos and auditions?
Don’t go to social media for feedback. It’s a colossal waste of time. If I had a nickel for every time a voice actor posted their demo and then freaked out when they received any negative feedback, I’d have enough nickels to not need any more nickels. Who’s to say their ears are any more developed than yours? What biases are baked into their cake?
If you want effective feedback: book a coach, get in touch with a veteran voice actor, or talk to your representation. DO NOT ask for feedback from your agent about every audition you submit. That’s a great way to get dropped from the roster. If you’ve been on the roster for a while (3-6 months) and haven’t booked anything yet (50+ auditions) then sure, touch base with them. It may be your lack of genre mastery, your isms, your inability to follow casting specs, the quality of your home recording setup, or some other reason that you have zero control over.
And to be totally honest; most voice actors aren’t as talented as they think they and need much more training than they realize. Just sayin’.
FYI you are more then welcome to send your demos to me at tom@nulltomdheere.com and I’ll be happy to give them a listen. 🙂
Develop your ear. The ability to self-evaluate and self-direct is critical, especially now. How do you do that? Learn to detect what I call your “isms”. Do you talk fast or slow? Do you tend to upward inflect or downward inflect? Are you over-articulate or under-articulate? Are your isms appropriate or inappropriate for any given genre? Can you turn them on or off at will?
Listen to the demos of similar voice actors and note the differences between their reads & yours. Record some samples with those differences in mind and see if & how your performance changes.
You and nobody else is responsible for your voiceover career. You need to develop multiple skill sets to be an effective 21st Century voiceover business, up to and including the ability to process feedback.
NEWS AND NOTES
Thursday, June 18th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘Thriving in a Smaller Market City’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how to build a successful voiceover business without living in a metropolitan area. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up.
Thursday, June 25th @3PM EDT: Johnny Heller’s SPLENDIFEROUS WEBINAR #4 (BUSINESS/MARKETING). In this webinar, the indubitable Johnny Heller hosts me, Karen Commins, and Kelsey Navarro in a conversation about the business and marketing side of audiobooks. Click here to learn more and sign up!
TBA: My July Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar will be ‘Rates, Negotiating, and Billing’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how to building a Rate Sheet, negotiating with voice seekers, and invoicing. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Registration link coming soon!
TBA: My July Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘4 Words That Will Kill Your Marketing’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how most voice actors are their own worst enemy and how to stop the cycle. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Registration link coming soon!
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Lobster Day and Audiobook Month!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Tom Dheere is a voice actor who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VOStrategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. You can subscribe to his weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice here.