As a voiceover talent, live announcer, and voice of god announcer, I recently experienced one of those moments when career and travel came together in a single week.
After completing my third year announcing the Montana DECA State Career Development Conference, I received an invitation I didn’t expect. Just weeks later, I was recruited to serve as the live announcer for the North Dakota DECA State Conference. Opportunities like that remind me why I chose voiceover many years ago. They also remind me how powerful my voice can be in different settings.
My career as a voiceover talent usually happens inside my booth. Most projects involve a microphone, headphones, and a script. The work is creative and rewarding, but it is also quite solitary. Live announcing offers something VERY different. When I step “behind the curtain” as a live announcer, the audience becomes part of the experience.
The first time I felt that energy was years ago while touring with the Harlem Globetrotters. For four months in 2017, I traveled across the country announcing games in arena after arena. That experience changed the way I see voiceover as a career today. Hearing thousands of people respond in real time teaches you a lot about reading ahead and how to read a room.
Those same instincts came back during the DECA conferences.
The Energy of Live Announcing for DECA Students
DECA is an organization that helps high school students explore careers in finance, marketing, hospitality, and entrepreneurship. Watching these students compete is inspiring. Many of them conduct mock interviews, deliver presentations, and defend business ideas before judges. Their level of preparation surprises people who assume high school students lack professional skills.
Standing behind the microphone as a voice of god announcer during awards sessions puts me on my toes. I was responsible for introducing finalists, announcing winners, and guiding the audience through the ceremony. When students heard their names called, the entire room erupted. You could tell which students were most popular and which schools had the most school pride.
One moment from North Dakota stuck with me. A few students came up afterward and said they thought my voice sounded like artificial intelligence when they first heard it. They meant it as a compliment. Apparently, the delivery sounded so precise that they assumed AI generated it. That made me laugh.
Ironically, that comment says something interesting about what I, as a voiceover talent, is up against today. Technology continues to change the industry. It set a standard in these students’ minds that the computer is perfect and the human has the flaws.
Live announcing proves that point every time I step onto a stage.
Becoming Part of the DECA Community
The North Dakota opportunity came about because the state director attended the Montana conference to observe their event. He wanted ideas that could improve his own program. While assisting with the program, he heard my announcing throughout the sessions.
Later, we spoke briefly about the role of a live announcer at his event. His regular announcers were unavailable this year, so he asked if I might be interested in helping. I gladly accepted.
By the end of the conference, I felt like part of the DECA community, not just an outside contractor.
Many students approached me during breaks to say they appreciated how clearly I pronounced their names and how I could even better the pronunciations of the more difficult ones. That detail matters more than most people realize. A voice of god announcer carries the responsibility of recognizing people during their proudest moments.
When someone has worked for months preparing for a competition, hearing their name spoken correctly in front of their peers means a lot. My background in growing up in Brooklyn in multicultural environments helps me approach names with care and curiosity. Nerding out about the origins of people’s names is partially why I enjoy being a voiceover talent who also works in live environments.
A Personal Goal Reached on the Same Trip
The North Dakota conference also gave me the chance to accomplish something personal. For years, I have kept track of how many U.S. states I have visited. Before this trip, I had reached forty-six. 
North Dakota moved that number forward, but the adventure did not end there. After the closing session, I rented a car and drove five and a half hours to Keystone, South Dakota. My destination was a place I had wanted to see since childhood: Mount Rushmore.
Standing there felt unreal. The enormous sculptures carved into the granite can’t fully be captured by pictures. I also visited the Crazy Horse Memorial. Seeing that project in progress gave me a deeper appreciation for the cultural history of the Native People and their vision behind the monument.
Moments like this in travel reminded me why I began touring years ago.
Why Live Events Are Important
Many clients know me primarily as a voiceover talent. Commercial narration, corporate projects, and broadcast work remain a large part of my career. Yet stepping behind the curtain as a live announcer continues to shape how I approach every microphone.
A live audience responds immediately to everything I say and every way I say it. That feedback sharpens my instincts and improves my studio performance. Every time I return to the booth after an event, I notice subtle changes in how I deliver a script.
Serving as a voice of god announcer for conferences like DECA also reinforces something simple. A voice does more than deliver words. It sets the tone for an entire experience.
This recent trip added two more states to my travel map, bringing the total to forty-eight. More importantly, it reminded me that the work I enjoy most often happens where people gather together and celebrate achievement.
For a voiceover talent who loves both storytelling and travel, call Dane Reid.
