If, for example, you opt for a warm, trustworthy tone, you’ll want a voice that exudes calm. Our Flemish voice artist Goedele has just such a voice that instantly inspires confidence. For a Dutch production, a voice like Bart’s - which sounds friendly and clear - could strike just the right note for an instructional video.
Tip for this step: Write down three adjectives that describe your brand’s personality and keep them to hand whilst listening to the voice demos.
Next: write a script that flows
A text that reads smoothly on paper doesn’t necessarily sound natural when someone speaks it aloud. People speak in shorter sentences and use different words to those they’d use when writing a manual. A written text is for the eyes; a script is for the ears.
When writing your script, bear the following three points in mind:
- Avoid long sentences with too many commas and subordinate clauses.
- Write out numbers, percentages and abbreviations in full, so that the voice actor knows exactly how to pronounce them.
- Build in pauses for breath, as a voice actor needs air to give words the right emphasis.
Tip for this step: Read your own script aloud to yourself at least three times, using a timer. Where you stumble or run out of breath, the text needs to be shorter or simpler.
Next: select the right voice actor
With 92 publicly available voices on our platform, the choice may seem overwhelming. Fortunately, you can filter very specifically based on language and tone of voice. Perhaps you’re looking for a specific language for an international campaign. Our voice-over artists are native speakers of various languages, including Danish, German, English, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and, of course, Dutch and Flemish.
Consider the voice’s background. For example, our Flemish voice artist Birgit spent years doing off-screen voice-over work for well-known channels such as Canvas and Eén. Her voice immediately conveys a familiar, professional tone. If you’re looking for an international voice with a recognisable timbre, Emma from the UK - known for her announcements on London buses - can give your project that typical British flair.
Tip for this step: Listen to the demos with your eyes closed, so you aren’t distracted by the website or your own screen. Focus purely on the feeling the voice evokes in you.
Finally: direct with clear instructions
Once you’ve chosen the perfect voice, the briefing for the recording is key to a good result. Without clear instructions, a voice actor will be left in the dark about the desired pace and the correct emphasis.
As a voice director, I’d like to share an important insight from my practical experience. A voice actor doesn’t respond well to abstract terms such as ‘make it more dynamic’. Instead, provide a specific situation or role. For example, say: ‘Speak as if you were explaining this to a close friend at the kitchen table.’ That changes the actor’s entire body language. If an actor smiles whilst speaking, you can hear it straight away through the microphone, even without seeing them.
Tip for this step: For difficult product names, brand names or unfamiliar words, always include a phonetic spelling in the briefing to avoid having to re-record.
The finishing touches: check the recordings
As soon as the recordings come in, the fine-tuning begins. Listen critically to the timing and the pauses between sentences. Sometimes a brief silence between two sentences is more powerful than the words themselves. Our clients, such as Nicolas and Peter, appreciate that this process runs very smoothly with us. Stijn, for example, noted that his order, placed on Friday, was delivered in full by Tuesday. Good follow-up ensures you get the desired result quickly.
Tip for this step: Place the audio track beneath your video and check that the timing of the voiceover matches the key transitions in your video edit.
