the voice over industry has been manifesto’d (and i think we all know how painful that can be)
<em>Voice Talent Doug Turkel, the UNnouncer</em>
My friend Mr. Doug Turkel (who makes me call him Mr. Doug Turkel cause he’s a voice over legend and I’m a voice over groupie and this is how things are done, he tells me) does a number of things well, voice over being one of them.
He also is smart of some stuff, like he got the domain voiceovertalent.com, he branded himself Unnouncer and he knows where all the supermodels walk around in Miami (ahem, not that I saw any, no not me, I kept my head down…which unfortunately led to me walking into a LOT of lamp poles).
Unyway, Mr. Doug Turkel got an idea that we in the voiceover industry who are not so legendary (specifically me, he said) need a kind of hand book or cheat sheet on how this whole thing is supposed to work. So he wrote it.
And as usual, he wrote well:
Words are magical. Respect them.
Move people.
Don’t worry about being discovered, just be discoverable.
Become a mentor. You’ll learn at least as much as you teach, and probably more.
The best kind of marketing is quality work and a stellar reputation.
Fulfill your promises, and your clients’ expectations.
Learn to love technology. It’s gonna be around for a while.
Be generous. And give without expectation.
Be unforgettable.
Recommend other voice talent. When your voice isn’t right for a project, help your client find one that is.
If you can imagine yourself doing any other kind of work, do that.
Expand your world: Read. Live. Be. If you aren’t interesting, your reads won’t be either.
Market yourself. Remember, you can’t work for the people you want to work for any less than you already do.
Clarity is power – know who you are.
Listen at least as much as you talk. No, listen more than you talk.
As stellar as his words are, the reasons behind them are even more thoughtful.
If you perform voiceovers for a living, you should read and learn from Mr. Doug Turkel.
Po’co (that’s what Peter makes me call him), clearly, you need to look up the definition of “legend.” You seem to have confused it with the word “lackey.”
And just for the record, I have NO IDEA where the supermodels hang out in Miami. (Miami Beach, however, may or may not be a different story.)
Thanks for sharing the post!
How was I supposed to know where we were, you had me blindfolded! 😉