VOICE ACTING Voice Over Auditions: Beware That Sneaky Inner Critic! Sometimes You Just Have To Click SEND By Julie Waters Voice Actor
Recently, an audition arrived in my inbox, like so
many do. As usual, I reviewed it, got myself into the character and story,
recorded several takes, and edited them for submission. As I listened back to my completed audition a final
time before emailing it in, I just didn't like it. It felt like everything
about it was wrong. Not having time to record a few more takes, I came "thisclose" to saying "forget it, I won't submit for this one." But - knowing I have days when my inner critic can be
especially....ahem..."active" - I stopped and asked myself:
So I said "the heck with it" and submitted the
audition. And you know what?
I booked that job. Can you believe I almost took myself
out of the running for it? SET OBJECTIVE BENCHMARKS We all need to be able to evaluate our own work -
especially those of us who are freelancers and creatives! It can be really hard
sometimes to distinguish the legitimate voice of experience from the harsh,
indiscriminate inner critic for whom we're never good enough. My advice: have
some objective benchmarks you can check your work against, to reassure yourself
when that inner jerk is spouting off, and then just go for it! Do your best, absolutely! But don't strive so hard for
perfection that you self-select yourself out of opportunities! Sometimes you just have to click SEND. -------------------- ABOUT JULIE Julie Waters has been a voice actor since 2018, and
primarily works on commercial, corporate, political, and government
projects. She was an active duty Army officer from 2004-2016, first as a
Military Police officer and then as an attorney, and she continues to
serve as an attorney in the Army Reserve. Julie has two children and
lives in the Washington, DC metro region. Email: julie@juliewatersvo.com LinkedIN: Julie Waters Instagram: juliewaters vo Your Daily Resource For Voice-Over Success
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John L.
My partner is a visual artist and has learned to tell herself that disliking what she's painted does not necessarily mean the work is technically or creatively a failure.
And, in line with your experience, there's little obvious correlation with what in the end sells!