What Makes a Great Female Corporate Narrator?
Everybody’s got a guy.
A plumber guy. A car guy. A guy who knows a guy.
For a lot of producers throughout my career, I’ve been their voiceover guy.
And every so often the phone rings:
“Peter, do you know a really good female voice talent for a corporate narration?”
As a matter of fact…I gotta guy.
Except she’s a woman.
Over the years, producers who know and trust my work have asked me to recommend female voice actors for all kinds of projects. Corporate narration is one of the most common.
And when I recommend someone, I’m putting my reputation on the line right along with hers.
So what am I listening for?
First, she has to sound like a person
That sounds obvious.
It isn’t.
Corporate narration has changed a lot over the years. Clients generally don’t want someone who sounds like she’s standing behind a podium reading the annual report.
They want someone who sounds natural, present and connected to the words — not computerized. Often, the voice becomes the personification of their brand, not simply a persona. That makes sounding like a real, trustworthy human person even more important.
And conversational doesn’t mean casual.
It means believable.
The best female corporate narrators understand the material well enough to sound like they’re communicating it, not simply reading it.
She has to understand the script
A good narrator sees more than words on a page.
She sees the thoughts behind them.
Where does the idea begin? Where does it change direction? Which word matters more? Where should the listener get half a second to absorb what was just said?
Those choices are what turn somebody reading copy into somebody communicating a message.
Producers can hear the difference. More importantly, so can the audience.
She has to take direction…and run with it
Sometimes the first read nails it.
Sometimes the producer says, “That was great. Can we do it again, but just a little warmer?”
Or faster.
Or less announcery.
Or more authoritative.
Or — one of those wonderfully precise pieces of voiceover direction — “Can you give me the same thing, only different?” (If I had a nickel for every time…)
A professional voice actor understands what the producer is trying to accomplish and can adjust without turning a directed session into an archaeological expedition.
That matters.
She has to make the producer’s job easier
This may be the biggest one for me.
Talent matters. Of course it does. It’s the foundation.
But when I recommend another voice actor, I also want to know what happens after she gets the job.
Does she respond?
Does she show up prepared?
Can she work efficiently in a directed session?
Does she deliver when she says she will?
If a pickup is needed, is it handled smoothly and professionally?
Producers have enough moving parts to deal with already. The voice talent shouldn’t become another one.
And yes, she needs a great voice
Of course.
But “great” doesn’t mean one particular kind of voice.
Warm. Authoritative. Friendly. Sophisticated. Conversational. Energetic. Reassuring. Technical. Approachable.
Different projects need different voices.
That’s one reason I’ve never tried to identify one woman as the female voice talent I recommend.
I know scores of excellent female voice actors, each with different strengths, styles and sounds.
The art is finding the right one for the project. Or at least giving my clients the very best choices to pick from.
When the Right Voice Isn’t Mine
What started years ago with producers asking, “Peter, do you know somebody?” eventually became something more useful.
I created a free online resource featuring professional female voice talents I know and trust.
audio’connell’s Female Voice Talents page (femalevoicetalents.com).
And noooooooo. I am not an agent.
There’s no booking fee. No middleman. And I don’t take a commission.
Listen to the demos. Find someone who sounds right for your corporate narration, commercial, explainer video, e-learning project or whatever else you’re producing.
Then contact her directly.
Simple, straightforward, helpful.
Three valuable words to run a business with…for almost 45 years.
audio’connell Voiceover Talent offers producers a free, direct-to-talent resource for finding and hiring professional female voice talent. Browse audio’connell’s Female Voice Talent roster and contact the talent you choose directly.
I’ve been a professional voice actor for a very long time.
I don’t have a scary, amazing, heroic or even relevant 9/11 story – when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were felled, when the Pentagon was attacked and when a plane full of heroes offered their lives up in a Pennsylvania field so that the U.S. Capitol would not be attacked.
Being a 
