Occasionally, new talents avoid voiceover coaching because they don’t think they need it. Unfortunately, thanks to misleading VO books, blogs, and VO forums moderated by amateurs, many think having access to a USB microphone gives you everything you need to become a booming voiceover professional immediately.
Here’s the bottom line: If you want to succeed long-term as a VO professional, you need to have a VO coach with long-term success. Why? The simple fact is that you can only get so far by yourself. You wouldn’t skip training or education to become a doctor, mechanic, architect or any number of other occupations.
A 2013 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame for coaching, Bill McCartney once said that “coaching is taking a player where he can’t take himself.”
Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest NBA player of all time, openly credited his college coach for teaching him the game of basketball.
Bob Nardelli, the CEO of Home Depot, said that he firmly believes that “people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.”
Yes, you can get hired for a voiceover project without coaching. You may even get a few projects or regular clients without professional training. However, how far will your knowledge take you – especially with limited training, experience and a demo? Before long, you may run into a brick wall of progress - a plateau over which you cannot cross.
Coaching isn't a new concept. However, this is not something we have to sell very much – if at all – in other industries. How many people have you seen become successful doctors, nurses, lawyers, graphic designers, IT specialists, insurance agents, electricians, plumbers, or even tax return preparers without training?
The thought alone of performing those jobs without training may seem farfetched. Yet, that is usually where the “I need to do what?” response seems a little more fitting, doesn’t it?
If you want to break through the ceiling of your potential and build a successful long-term business (instead of settling for a few short-term projects), you need a high-quality VO coach to help get you there.