When Gabrielle Nistico talks voiceover, be prepared to take notes. This VO Talent, Voiceover Coach, Casting Director, Expert Marketer, Author and Meet Up Group leader wrote the book on starting and growing your voice over career. Actually she’s written more than one book. I visited The Voice Over Vixen at her office and studio in Charlotte, North Carolina and had an in depth conversation with her on taking those key first steps in a voice over career.
Watch The Two Part Interview With Gabrielle Nistico Below
My first question to Gabby came from an email that I personally received asking for advice on how to break into voice over. As a voice over talent I get these questions all the time and often I fumble around to answer, because to me there is no sure fire way into the industry. But Gabby fielded the question like a short stop who had been served a routine ground ball. First she offered some great advice on knowing whether you are even right for voiceover work.
“Hi Dane. I am one of “Blanks” friends from college. She gave me your name because of a status I posted. Many people tell me that I have a voice that should be in radio, doing voiceovers or broadcasting. She mentioned that you do voiceovers & that maybe we could connect & you could give me some guidance with that. What do you think?”
We’ve all heard it before. You have an awesome voice. And the natural thought is that a person should make money from it. Maybe you should quit your job as an accountant and buy a bunch of recording equipment and start a voiceover career. But is that really what you should do. Not according to Gabrielle.
She points out that there are tons of people with great voices. And she likens the voiceover industry to the modelling industry where there too are tons of great looking people available for runway and print work. But simply being beautiful does not qualify you to be a model. So likewise, being a voiceover talent is more than just having a great speaking voice.
So what else is there? Nistico points out some very basic things that you should consider first; your acting abilities, your reading skills, your ability to sight read a script, your ability to interpret a script and what you do once put in the position of being behind the mic. All of these variables are things that your mother, best friend, baker or even total stranger had no idea were part of forging a voice over career.
So who should you listen to? If you can’t trust your friends and family, then who can you trust? Trust a professional like a voiceover coach or established voice actor. Your friends and family are probably not qualified to tell you what it takes to be a Voiceover Talent. Best bet to hear it from someone who has experience in the field of voice over. Casting directors, coaches, Voice Over Talent themselves and producers are all great people to ask. These are people who know what it takes and can differentiate between a great voice and a potential great voice talent.
And finally Gabrielle warns not to ignore great advice. The road to developing a sustainable Voice Over career can be far less painful if you heed her words. Gabby offers up a ton of tools on her website GabrielleNistico.com to help anyone who is interested in forging a VO career determine if they are have the passion and are right to go forward in voiceover.
I spoke with Gabrielle Nistico in this two part series where we talked about her journey to the top of the voice world, voice over marketing, VoiceHunter, the Voice Over Vixen and Radio Imaging. Be sure to watch both parts where she even allows us to watch her record liners for a station she contracts.