There are many great things about WoVOCon The Voiceover Unconference coming up October 17-19, 2025 in New Orleans.

The energy, the education, the networking and the friendship are the first great things that come to mind. Plus I am very honored to be asked back to serve as Emcee in New Orleans.

Unfortunately, this job also means I have to do some promotional work — which I don’t mind at all, except they ask me sometimes to do videos.

As you well know, I have a face for radio.

But they asked…and I am a loyal volunteer glad to help as the leadership sees fit. Plus the video is less than a minute long. Feel free to close your eyes and just listen.

Most importantly, I hope you join us!!

 
VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Peter K. O’Connell speaking:
Hey, how are you? I may be a little early on this out of studio message, but I wanted to let you know October 17th through the 19th, I will be out of Raleigh, North Carolina, and in New Orleans, Louisiana enjoying WoVOCon The Voiceover Unconference, October 17th through the 19th. I hope you’ll join us. WoVOCon is unlike any other kind of voiceover conference you’ll ever attend. That’s why they call it an unconference. a unique format, a great group of people, and very, very impactful for your voiceover business. Performance, marketing, technology, we cover it all, and we cover it with experts. Nobody’s selling anything. They’re just there to help your business. WoVOCon The Voiceover Unconference in New Orleans, October 17th through the 19th. I hope you join us.

Tags: emcee, live announcing, WOVOCON // Comments Off on WoVOCon Voiceover Unconference 2025 Promo Video featuring Male Voice Actor Peter K. O’Connell

Like all of us in our everyday lives, people new to voiceover are in an all-fired hurry to get behind the mic and start recording.

The advice these rush-rush-rush folks get from voiceover pros never sits well with them:

• Take group voiceover lessons
• Take individual voiceover lessons
• It can easily take at least six months before you’re ready to perform

Like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, they want a voiceover career to start NOW!

From a technology standpoint, they can start now…buy a cheap mic, plug it in to a computer (or worse yet just use your phone), sign up at a crappy pay-to-play voiceover site and start auditioning.

Enjoy the crickets of those new jobs more than likely NOT coming in.

So if these new voice acting folks do take the more prudent, thoughtful approach to their new career, if they do take the advice, how will they know when they are ready for their voiceover debut?

The answer varies with every person.

But I was reminded of a good milestone to know when you’re on the right path to a voiceover career the other night when I was teaching a group voiceover lesson.

Simply put,

that milestone is an actor’s ability to “take and execute successfully voiceover direction on the fly”.

What that phrase means is a bit more involved but it’s something every professional voice talent does every day in their job.

What? Lemme ‘splain…

Most scripts come with some written direction on how a producer or client wants a voiceover read to sound. The direction can be as simple as a word or a sentence OR it can be as detailed as a full on creative brief that goes on for a page and sometimes has audio and video examples with it.

But what I refer to as “on the fly direction” is usually direction you get during a voiceover session (or in a voiceover class), usually in-person or in a connected session (like Source-Connect), where you start getting direction outside of the direction listed on the script.

Why would you be getting additional direction? Many reasons but a few might be:

• The director got the takes (sound) they wanted based on the script specs at the start of the recording session but now wants to be creative and have other options to share with the client or hold in reserve in case the client doesn’t like the sound of what they originally agreed to (which happens more than you think)

• The director doesn’t like the read given…it’s not the sound he/she was hearing in his/her head (it has happened to everyone at least once in their career)

• The client doesn’t like the way the audio is turning out even though you did exactly what they asked

The reason for the change in direction doesn’t matter — but what DOES matter is the voice talent’s ability to deliver on the new, unplanned direction.

A trained voice talent, one who has studied voice acting, is not really thrown by such a request but is prepared for it (or at the very least can adapt to it), doesn’t take the changes personally, listens closely to the direction (asking questions for clarification), jumps on the creative band wagon and can usually execute the changes to the producer’s satisfaction.

Attitude for the voice talent in such a situation is almost as important as their line delivery – as that attitude (and their adaptability) can be the difference in ever being hired again by the studio or client.

A pro talent is open to change, accepts tweaks, critiques and even criticism for what it is…part of the journey to satisfy the client and get the job done. Some one who does NOT react or respond well to such changes (most because they weren’t trained in how to deal with it) is going to have immediate and long term reputation problems (cause producers and engineers talk).

Some new voice talents need practice at on the fly direction and some students – like the one I had last week – took the direction and really upped their read. There were still some rough spots but the improvement was amazing. There is a bright VO future there.

So please do the training, get prepared.

In conjunction with the above advice, please consider the pitfalls of voiceover demo mills.

Wait, you may be saying to yourself, what does one have to do with the other. Lemme ‘splain some more.

These demo mills are companies many voiceover newbies find (among other spots) via “free” voiceover classes at places like Community Colleges. You attend the  free class, you’re told you have ‘a bright future in voiceover’, you are offered a program (that you ultimately pay plenty for) where you take a few classes and they make you a commercial voiceover demo in a pretty short amount of time.

So exciting, right? No.

Most of the time, the untrained student gets a demo and not much else to show for it. Rarely any real training.

What I think these demo mills do, besides give somebody rushed lessons, fake praise, false hope and a “demo”, is take a person’s money and leave them with barely passable VO demo.

In some cases, some of the untrained students that fall for these demo mills don’t have the basic talent to be a voice actor (they as performers are just not good) — even if they studied with James Earl Jones every day for 10 years. Other folks in these classes could be but still get no viable training.

In either of the above cases, the demo mills cash in on someone’s dreams, do not help the individual and that’s crappy.

Here’s the nasty secret to demo mills and how I think they REALLY hurt a potential talent – they direct an untrained student “talent” on a few lines of script among seven or eight scripts that gives the producer just enough content to produce the demo.

In the demo production, demo mill producers just focus on getting a mostly untrained student to deliver a close to average or acceptable read on a line or two of copy. They will then edit a bunch of those not great reads into a demo.

But even if the student gives on OK read on those lines (likely after MANY attempts in the demo studio) the untrained student is very unlikely to be able to deliver a FULL PERFORMANCE of that read in a FULL SCRIPT in a studio with a professional producer if the untrained student talent gets hired off the demo mill produced voiceover demo.

The demo mills aren’t teaching script interpretation (which is not at all the same as reading comprehension), they aren’t teaching acting techniques, or anything about breathe control, or versions or you….I could go on and on.

In reality, a producer at a voiceover demo mill (and sometimes the “mill” is just a company of 1) is not teaching an untrained student talent anything except how to voice 1-2 lines of copy well enough to create a read that “sounds” professional…and then collect the demo money.

But…and this is a painful but…should the voice talent get hired off the demo, they are completely ill-trained, ill-equipped to reproduce the demo sound or heaven forbid tweak that sound in an actual recording session. The talent doesn’t know how to really do it because they do not have the training.

Whether the producer fires the talent on the spot or muddles through the session…the talent has made a first impression that is likely unrecoverable.

If you’re looking to get into voiceover, reading this and thinking “I would never make that mistake,” please know that’s what all the people who have worked with demo mills in the past thought too.

Now go back up at read my original advice:
• Take group voiceover lessons
• Take individual voiceover lessons
• It can easily take at least six months before you’re ready to perform

Working quickly can often result in sloppy (read: unprofessional) work.

Nobody’s perfect but be smart and do not start off on the wrong foot.

Please be careful and good luck.

Tags: voice over workshop // Comments Off on VOICEOVER WORKSHOP: Taking Direction – The Time You *Might* Know You’re Ready for a Voiceover Career

Most of the time when I teach a voiceover class through my Voiceover Workshop, it’s a private lesson either in my Raleigh, NC voiceover studio or on a Zoom call somewhere around the world.

But every now and again, I get pulled out of the studio to teach in the voiceover wilderness of eastern and central North Carolina.

Tonight my friend, Wendy Zier, who teaches over at the Theatre Raleigh ACT studios in Raleigh, needed the night off so she called me in as her voiceover teaching understudy.

Great class of students there who really did some great work on the commercial and narration scripts I brought along.

Wonderful time had by all. Thanks!

Tags: voice over workshop // Comments Off on VOICEOVER WORKSHOP: Voiceover Teaching at Theatre Raleigh ACT

THUS, WHEREIN, THEREFORE AND SO ON AND SO ON I, Peter K. O’Connell, issue the following voiceover podcast decree…and you all shall abide by it, tho I’ve no way to prove your abidance (got all that?)

WHEREAS I have been a guest on many a voiceover podcasts over the decades…

WHEREAS I used to have a podcast with the voxmarketising brand but found it much too much a pain in the ass to record, edit, produce and publish because I art lazieth…

WHEREAS the organization within my blog of my past podcast appearances have been anything BUT organized because (see:lazieth)

THEREFORE, I being far from sound (and more likely questionable) mind but of fun and amiable spirit, as America’s Friendly, Neighborhood Voiceover Talent I Peter K. O’Connell do decree and therefore press into law – as not really commanded by God and/or by Country – the establishment of the VOICEOVER PODCAST HALL OF FAME, as of right now, whenever you happen to be reading this. Forever and ever, amen.

The very strict criteria for entrance into this VOICEOVER PODCAST HALL OF FAME (if you type the name in all caps it’s more official-like)…anyway the way you get in is having had me on the podcast.

In essence, these are all the podcasts that I have guested on (that I can recall).

Here are the VOICEOVER PODCAST HALL OF FAME presented by Peter K. O’Connell inductees thus far….

Podcast Title:
ASK ME ANYTHING PODCAST–
Guest:
Voiceover Workshop’s Peter K. O’Connell
Host: 
Tom Dheere
Original Air Date:
September 2023

Podcast Title:
GUYS WHO DO STUFF PODCAST–
Guest:
National Voiceover Talent Peter K. O’Connell
Host(s): 
Joe Woolworth & Josh Manning
Original Air Date:
July 2019

Podcast Title:
VOICE OVER BODY SHOP–
Guest:
National Voiceover Talent Peter K. O’Connell
Host(s): 
Dan Lenard & George Whittam
Original Air Date:
March 2016

Podcast Title:
MIKE LENZ PODCAST – A JOURNEY INTO VOICE ACTING –
Guest:
Voiceover Talent Peter K. O’Connell
Host:
Mike Lenz
Original Air Date:
August 2015

Podcast Title:
VOICE OVER CAFE  – From FaffCon 6 in San Antonio
Guest Host:
Voice Talent Peter K. O’Connell
Host(s):
Peter Bishop, Trish Basanyi, Terry Daniel, Sean Caldwell & Jordan Reynolds
Original Air Date:
October 2013

Podcast Title:
THE 3 AMIVOS PODCAST –
Guest:
Voiceover Talent Peter K. O’Connell
Host(s):
Garnet Williams, Dave McRae, Mike Pongracz
Original Air Date:
June 2013

Podcast Title:
EAST WEST AUDIO BODY SHOP –
Guest:
Voiceover Talent Peter K. O’Connell
Host(s):
Dan Lenard & George Whittam
Original Air Date:
October 2011

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, podcast, podcast episodes, podcast guest // Comments Off on Peter K. O’Connell’s Voiceover Podcast Hall of Fame

Award-winning, American male voiceover talent Peter K. O’Connell

Interviewer: THE VOICEOVER EXPRESS
Guest: Peter K. O’Connell – Award-Winning Voice Actor, Voiceover Coach, and Business Owner

With a career spanning over four decades, American male voice actor Peter K. O’Connell has voiced some of the most recognizable campaigns in North America—from Maaco’s iconic “Uh-Oh, Better Get Maaco” to high-profile work for Duracell, Amazon, Disney, Kraft, and L.L.Bean. Media creatives and audio producers trust him for his voice acting versatility and consistency; voice talents seek out his guidance for both performance and business development.

In this exclusive interview with THE VOICEOVER EXPRESS, Peter draws on his deep well of experience not only as a working voice talent, but also as a small business owner and voiceover coach.

He offers thoughtful insights on the state of the industry, shares why WoVOCon – the Voiceover Unconference, remains a standout event for experienced voiceover professionals, and Peter also reflects on what’s helped him—and many of his students—sustain and grow.

The Voiceover Express:
Peter, it’s always a pleasure. Let’s get right to it given your decades in the voiceover industry—what’s the number one question you get from fellow voice actors?

Peter K. O’Connell:
No contest—it’s “How do I grow my voiceover business?” Right behind that is “How do I land more voiceover jobs?” And, of course, “What’s the best voiceover microphone?”

The Voiceover Express:
Classic questions—and all very real. But your answer is what really stands out. How do you typically respond?

Peter K. O’Connell:
For the past year, my answer has been simple and consistent: Go to WoVOCon—the Voiceover Unconference—and get real answers to those questions, plus the ones you didn’t even know to ask.

The Voiceover Express:
That’s a smart pivot—pointing professionals toward a resource instead of giving a one-size-fits-all reply. So tell us about your experience at WoVOCon.

Peter K. O’Connell:
I first went to WoVOCon in Chicago in 2024, and it helped me in all facets of my voiceover business. It wasn’t just useful—it was transformative.

The Voiceover Express:
That’s saying something. For those not familiar, can you break down what makes WoVOCon so valuable?

Peter K. O’Connell:

Voiceover Talents Natalie Stanfield, George Washington, III, Mike McGonegal and Peter K. O’Connell at WoVOCon – the Voiceover Unconference in Chicago, 2024

Absolutely. WoVOCon the Voiceover Unconference, is produced by World-Voices Organization (I’m a dues-paying WOVO member and Unconference volunteer). WoVOCon is a peer-to-peer event—meaning the attendees are the presenters. And attendees (who are all members of WOVO) are vetted, working voiceover professionals. They share everything from performance techniques to business strategies and tech workflows. It’s not about somebody pitching or selling services, nothing is ala carte—WoVOCon is about genuine knowledge and sharing of professional voiceover experiences by people who pay their mortgages via voiceover. What you learn at WoVOCon is practical and applicable to your voiceover business right now.

The Voiceover Express:
Incredible. And I love that it’s peer-led. That adds an extra layer of authenticity. What’s the vibe like?

Peter K. O’Connell:
It’s intimate, which is one of its biggest strengths. Attendance is capped at 125 people, so you really get to know folks. And to a person, they’re there to learn and help others grow. It’s a deeply collaborative, voiceover-centric environment.

The Voiceover Express:
That’s refreshing in an industry filled with noise. You also make a compelling case for why every VO professional, especially small studio owners, should attend. Care to expand?

Peter K. O’Connell:
Sure. If you’re a voiceover talent, you’re also a small business owner. And WoVOCon is where practical voiceover training, real industry insights, and meaningful networking happen. You’re not listening to abstract advice—you’re hearing from people who’ve done the thing. You learn from everyone. The only downside? WoVOCon only happens once a year.

The Voiceover Express:
Now that’s the kind of conference we all want—limited, high-quality, and packed with value. When and where is the next one?

Peter K. O’Connell:
This year’s WoVOCon will be held in New Orleans, October 17–19, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton. I’ve got my reservation—I’ll be there. And if growing your client base, sharpening your skills, and mastering the voiceover business matter to you… there’s nowhere better to be.

The Voiceover Express:
Peter, the way you break that down makes it clear why WoVOCon is such a strong recommendation. But you’ve been walking the walk (or more like talking the talk -voiceover humor) in this industry for a long time. For those who may not be familiar—can you take us through your background and career?

The Voiceover Express:
Sure. I’ve been in the voiceover industry for over 40 years now, working as a voice actor and live announcer. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to build a career that blends versatility, personality, and professionalism—those are the pillars I’ve always tried to stand on. I’ve come to be known in the industry as “Your Friendly, Neighborhood Voiceover Talent,” and I think that pretty well reflects both my approach to the work and the relationships I build with clients.

The Voiceover Express:
That nickname says a lot—it’s accessible but also polished, which feels true to your work. What types of voiceover projects have defined your career?

Peter K. O’Connell:

A small sample of brands who have featured voice actor Peter K. O’Connell

There’s been a great mix. I’ve done national and regional commercial campaigns, non-broadcast narration, and live event announcing. Over time, that variety really helped me stay creatively fresh. One of the more recognizable spots I was part of was Maaco’s iconic “Uh-Oh, Better Get Maaco” campaign. That “everyman” voice really connected with people. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve done high-energy character work like Crest’s “Pro-Active Defense” ad and brought a warm, relatable tone to L.L.Bean’s “Be An Outsider” campaign.

The Voiceover Express:
That’s a wide range—from friendly guy-next-door to animated character actor. What other brand work has stood out to you?

Peter K. O’Connell:
I’ve voiced campaigns for companies like Duracell, Ford Dealers, and Novartis. Kraft Dinner’s “Pony and Jockey” campaign in Canada was especially fun—it was full of quirky charm. I’ve also voiced content for iHeart Radio, and I’ve handled narration for brands like Amazon Web Services, Deloitte Canada, IBM, General Electric, Tic Tac, and Disney.

The Voiceover Express:
That’s a who’s who of major clients. It seems like narration has become a big part of your portfolio, too?

Peter K. O’Connell:
Definitely. I do a lot of narration work now—explainer videos, eLearning, and corporate storytelling. Whether I’m voicing a whimsical character like a scarecrow for AWS or guiding viewers through something more reverent, like the U.S. Army’s history in Fort Huachuca: An Enduring National Treasure, I always focus on clarity, warmth, and pacing. You’re telling a story—whether it’s 30 seconds or 30 minutes.

The Voiceover Express:
We noted when doing our research for this interview, you’re also a trusted guide for others in the voice acting industry. Let’s talk about The Voiceover Workshop. What inspired you to start coaching?

Peter K. O’Connell:
Honestly, coaching wasn’t part of some grand plan. I just started helping folks because they asked. I’ve been a full-time working voiceover talent for over 40 years—and somewhere along the way, other voice actors began asking me questions. “How do I improve my reads?” “How do I find clients?” “Why isn’t this demo working?” That’s how The Voiceover Workshop came to be, almost 20 years ago now.

Information about male voice talent Peter K. O’Connell’s Voiceover Workshop- VOWorkshop.com

The Voiceover Express:
And now you’re known as the “Voiceover Consigliere,” which we love. What kind of approach do you take in your coaching?

Peter K. O’Connell:
That nickname kind of stuck—probably because it’s more fun than “counselor,” but that’s really what I try to be: someone who helps you get where you want to go. I’m not a professional VO teacher (and there are MANY great ones), I don’t run group classes or focus on a formal syllabus. Every session with me is one-on-one, tailored specifically to what the voice talent wants to focus on—whether it’s script interpretation, narration technique, character voices, demo feedback, or the business and marketing side of things.

The Voiceover Express:
That sounds incredibly practical and personal—especially for an industry where so many people feel like they’re navigating alone.

Peter K. O’Connell:
I believe in practical, actionable help. Every voice talent has different goals, so every session should reflect that. We meet virtually—usually via Zoom or Teams—and we dive deep into whatever matters most to them. It’s been amazing to work with voice actors from all over the world, at every experience level.

The Voiceover Express:
And judging by the feedback from your students, it’s clearly making an impact.

Peter K. O’Connell:
I’m grateful for that. I think the most meaningful part is hearing how something we worked on helped someone land a client or gain confidence in their reads or reframe how they run their business. That’s what matters.

The Voiceover Express:
Peter, your career truly reflects the depth and range that many voice actors aspire to. Thanks for pulling back the curtain and sharing both your insights and experience with us today.

Peter K. O’Connell:
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

For more information about WoVOCon, visit WOVOCON.com.

Producers can reach out to Peter K. O’Connell directly to discuss voiceover needs—from commercials and narration to live announcing at peterkoconnell.com.

For voice talents ready to grow, refocus, or finally get started the right way…visit voworkshop.com to learn more about The Voiceover Workshop, see testimonials, and schedule your one-on-one session with Peter.

Tags: media releases, voice over workshop, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice // Comments Off on THE VOICEOVER EXPRESS INTERVIEW:
“Peter K. O’Connell on Voiceover Longevity, Learning, and the Power of Peer Connection”

Unless I told you, you’d never notice.

But I’m telling you anyway because (a) it’s funny, and (b) it involves me making fun of myself—which is always a crowd-pleaser around here.

So, here’s the scoop: Source-Connect (a must-have software in pro voiceover and audio recording studios like mine) updated their logo design.

Why care?

Because Source-Connect is the industry standard for real-time, high-fidelity remote audio recording. It’s how voiceover studios like mine connect with producers worldwide. The “Standard” version—yes, that’s literally the name—is what most serious voice talent use.

Now, the Source-Connect team? Brilliant at software. Less so at logo design — but who cares because the software rocks.

But the branding does make a difference to me because I use a co-branded Source-Connect-audioconnell icon across my website to:

• Show I have the software (which makes audio producers happy)

• Show I have the Standard version (again, happy audio producers)

• Show my Source-Connect username so clients can find me easily (happy, happy, happy)

Old Source-Elements / Source-Connect logo for “Standard”

The old S-C logo not awful, it was just “meh,” and the new one? A green dot and san serif font. Not awful. Just… bland again. More minimalistic I guess.

But, if S-C changed their look, I had to update mine for my website.

A small request to Source-Connect HQ: Could you PLEASE offer downloadable logo buttons in various formats? Save graphic designers (and fake ones like me) from reinventing your branding. There are a variety of us who have created these icons for our website…wouldn’t it be better if it was all at least a little bit unified?

Well time for me to go full graphic design DIY lunatic on a different voiceover logo.

My original redesign attempt on Day 1? Looked like digital compost. A black bar with words. Yikes. No I’m not showing you.

I was stubborn. I kept tweaking…

The Source-Connect Green Dot

By Day 2, here’s what I realized:

• My brand uses a lot of blue

• Source-Connect’s look is black + white + green dot

• My first icon had zero connection to my branding (#fail)

So I tried again:

• Added a blue frame to match or at least tie -in my branding with Source-Connect’s look in a complimentary way

• I inserted a subtle green line to nod to SC’s new dot (mine’s a bit brighter in color—shhh)

• The new Source-Connect logo is one long line and I couldn’t find any variations on it so I improvised a variation of my own, keeping the “Source” with the dot at the top to be eye catching and the “Connect” shifted 90 degrees on the right hand side but still very readable

• I popped in my audio’connell mark with a white glow – that turned out better than I expected

• I included “Source-Connect Standard” and my username in a close-enough font (font matching AI let me down)

The co-branded icon for audio’connell Voiceover Talent and Source-Connect 2025

Any professional graphic designer would roast my latest co-branded icon like a marshmallow at summer camp.

And they’d be right. But hey—nobody got paid, and I got a customized, semi-functional logo design update for my voiceover website that works just fine.

Who’s laughing now, graphics nerd?

(Still you? Yeah, fair.)

Tags: branding, logo design, marketing, source-connect, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover logo // Comments Off on Peter’s Source-Connect Logo Design & Voiceover Housecleaning