WANT A BETTER VOICE? Breathing deeply and naturally is grounding (like the roots of a tree) and can add resonance, richness and confidence to your voice quality. Good posture allows you to breathe more efficiently, too. Try these and you'll hear the difference.

IT'S WHAT YOU DON'T HEAR THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES... With voice over...the unheard words and pauses, can sometimes be the most powerful. Like music, rhythm and timing are everything. When making a speech, reading aloud, narrating a story or recording a voice over, find the natural pauses. Take a beat (or two)... We do it all the time in real life conversation.

How many ways can you say MEOW? Imagine we're casting for a variety of cat voices. What kind of sounds would the cats have? It depends on the character of the cat. There's more than one way, of course, i.e.: sweet, purring, quiet (almost inaudible), screeching, demanding, whining, pissed off... As a VO director, I once cast a children's CD-ROM game with an assortment of kitties sitting in a basket around the Mother cat. You'd click on each kitty and hear a different meow. How many ways can you say Meow?

IN VOICE ACTING, to be effective, you must be real and believable. . Avoid sounding like you’re “reading” a script or trying to imitate someone doing a professional commercial on the radio or TV. Learn how to express yourself in a natural, authentic voice. RINGO STARR said it in a song: "All I gotta do is act naturally"

Voice Over is therapeutic...Tap into your imagination, draw on memories of your life experiences, try living and being in the moment. Through practice and awareness you’ll learn how to express yourself from the inside out. Training starts here at Radio Magic. Private and Group sessions available by appointment.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR VOICE This is helpful info from a Voice Over blog: It starts with moisture. Your choice in fluids to keep your mouth and throat tissues hydrated is important. As with most things, simplest is best. Drink room temperature filtered or spring water. Cold water tightens your throat muscles vocal cords. Want something warm to drink? Try herbal tea. Stay away from regular tea because it contains caffeine, which can tighten things up. Avoid coffee because it can dry you out and has even more caffeine than regular tea. Do you suffer from “smackies,” those irritating clicks your mouth makes when it gets dry? Many a voice over talent totes along a green apple to a session or keeps them on hand in the home studio. Something in the apple juice lubricates the mouth. Just make sure you swallow it all. Pieces of apple peel stuck in your teeth and the corners of your mouth can be very distracting. What if all of your attempts at hydration just aren’t enough and your throat’s getting dry and a little hoarse? Popular products for this problem include, Entertainer’s Secret throat spray, which has a strong following with singers and voice artists. Thayer’s Slippery Elm Lozenges are an old-fashioned remedy and they, too, have a loyal following. There are many other lozenges on the market that provide temporary relief, as well. Got Milk? Put It Down. Your diet can have an affect on your voice, too. Avoid eating or drinking dairy an hour or two before a session. It can create excess mucous. Also, fruit juices can cause mucous secretion. If you feel mucous building up on your vocal cords, do not clear your throat. Throat clearing grates the edges of the folds of your larynx against each other causing irritation and it just moves the mucous to the side, ready to slide right back over your vocal cords. Drink some water, gently cough, or do the “panting puppy.” Simply stick out your tongue, pointing it downwards, and gently breathe in and out through your mouth, panting like a puppy. Be careful not to hyperventilate! The panting will dry out the mucous. If you have constant post-nasal drip, causing consistent mucous problems, consider nasal irrigation. And be sure to exercise your entire body on a regular basis. A tennis player wouldn’t just exercise the arm he or she uses to hit the ball. If you’re whole body is in shape, then your voice has a lot more support. Your lung capacity, blood flow, and mental attitude all improve with regular exercise. And those are all good things to bring with you when you get behind the microphone. Take care of your voice and it will take care of you!

Try this: Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your heart. Sit or stand up straight. Now, be aware of breathing slowly with ease — in and out. By the simple act of breathing naturally and being mindful of good posture, you can dramatically improve the quality of your voice. Practice this and you'll discover a fuller, richer, more clear and polished sound. Amazing!

YOUR VOICE IS UNIQUE, LIKE A PERSONAL SIGNATURE. How do you describe YOUR style? Explore, discover and define who you are and what you do best. Voice over is an experience in discovering yourself! Training starts here at Radio Magic. Private and Group sessions available by appointment.

Success comes with perseverance... Here's an inspiring email I received from Nick Zane: "I have had some interesting experiences lately and not sure what to make of it. For quite a long time I was not getting any work with voices.com or voice123. I was submitting demos for at least 5 or 6 projects a week with no success. But about four weeks ago I started getting emails from companies that heard my demos on both sites and wanted to hire me. They didn't want me to submit a demo, just asked me how much would I charge for recording a script that they had sent me. As you know, I've been sending out emails and postcards to directors, agents, etc. for months with little work coming from there either. The companies that have been contacting me are companies that I've had no contact with whatsoever. They just heard my demo on the two sites and contacted me. I heard yesterday from a very large church in Minnesota that will pay me $1,000 for a 2-minute clip they want to use at Christmas. This morning they emailed me again and want me to be the voice of God (no pressure there) for a full length movie they are doing next spring..."

The MUSIC connection to Voice Over… Find the music in your voice! Some voice over pros have said: “If you’re musically inclined, you have an instinctive sense of the music of speech.” “Every character has a rhythm.” “I’ve got the words, now I have to get the music into them.”

BOOST YOUR VOICE POWER...By the simple act of breathing from the diaphragm and being mindful of good posture, you can dramatically improve the quality of your voice. Practice these and you'll discover a fuller, richer, more clear and polished sound. Amazing!

The YOGA connection to Voice Over...Take a deep breath. Relax. Focus. Get rid of that "mind chatter." Both Yoga and the practice of Voice Over can help you to be in the moment.

WHAT DOES YOUR VOICE SAY ABOUT YOU? It's your most powerful means for communicating. It can strengthen your message or it can make you sound unconvincing and indecisive, affecting others’ perception of you. Use it to your advantage!