How To Go from Radio DJ to Voiceover Actor

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As a pro in radio, you've been on mic for YEARS and are ready for a change. So, voiceover will be a piece of cake, right? Eh, wrong.
This is Gabby's PSA to all in the broadcasting world. Radio/TV pros do have a leg up - but there are some key things missing to achieve a career in voiceover! Gabby gives you some ideas on how to make that transition seamless - as a former broadcaster herself.

Full Transcript

How to Transition from Radio or TV to Voiceover – 4:39

Hey guys, it’s Gabby. So you know I love my career as a voice actor, but every now and then I kind of wonder, you know, about other professions, and what else I might be qualified to do. I’ve been a dog owner for, gosh, I don’t know, the better part of like 15 years? I could totally be a dog trainer, don’t you think? I mean, certainly 15 years of experience owning dogs has to make me at least a little bit qualified to be a dog trainer, I mean right? So yeah! That’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna be a dog trainer from now on. We’re gonna test it out right now. Hi, Dorian man. Sit. Sit. Good boy! Ok, roll over, roll over? Speak. Speak! Good boy! See, I’m a natural at this. I’ve got it. Totally ready to be a dog trainer.

Hey guys, it’s Gabby. So look, I know that that last bit was ridiculous But I did it to prove a point, and that point is if you are coming to the voiceover world from a background in radio or television, and you think that you’re already ready to jump right in to this business and become a voice actor, oooo probably not. Please don't shoot the messenger. I am doing almost a public service to my fellow voiceover coaches and to other voice actors because we get approached an awful lot by people coming from the broadcasting world who think, “hey, I’ve been in radio or television for the last 10, 15, 20 years, and I’ve done loads of commercials and production pieces for my station, so surely I must be ready to jump right in to a career in voiceover.” It’s just not the case.

Now we’re not saying that you don't have some related relevant experience. Of course you do. Your audio production skills are probably far superior to most people who are just stepping in to voiceover from some other profession. Your comfort level with the equipment, with microphones, with microphone technique again is probably far superior. You have a lot of advantages from those industries. However, there are probably a lot of basic skills, and a lot of techniques, and a lot of knowledge that you are currently missing, not because you’re unwilling to learn, or at least I’d hope not, but probably simply because like anything else, we don't know what we don't know. You want to take a moment to sort of acknowledge the fact that there are probably aspects to a professional career in voiceover that are unknown to you. And because they’re unknown to you, it would be very wise to invest some time in some training, in some quality coaching, in some reading and some researching, to find out what some of those missing keys are, like marketing and branding for instance, promoting and selling your voice, a lot of the acting techniques that might be totally new to you because broadcasting is not a career in acting.

Once you start exploring the things that you lack, you might find that you need to invest a little more time than you thought to get your career in voiceover jump-started. What I can tell you is this. It typically takes broadcasters about half the time as it does someone coming in off the street. So we like to tell folks that it’s kind of like going back to school to get a degree. In any profession really, you can expect that you’re gonna put four years in and a lot of hard work. Broadcasters can half that. It’s like a two-year degree maximum to be able to go from where you are now to entering into voiceover. We look forward to that and we look forward to working with you on those skills, but please know you’re not just gonna be able to wake up tomorrow and go, “yesterday I was a broadcaster. Today I’m a voice actor.”

As a former broadcaster myself, I know exactly what it means to transition from a career in radio and television. I’ve worked with dozens of broadcasters to help them eliminate some of the broadcast habits that aren’t so great and to evolve their skills in the direction of what voiceover really needs. So you can go to my website, GabrielleNistico.com, take a look at all the different ways you can work with me, and I look forward to hearing from you.

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