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Build a Career Using Your VoiceBy: Nan Hawthorne
Summary:
You can use your voice as a passport to a rewarding and interesting career! Here are the options. Here's how to make the most of them. 
Put Your Best Diction Forward
Broadcasting, Entertaining and Voice Work Entertaining With Your Voice Public Speaking Sharing Knowledge via Your Voice Your Voice as a Tool Related Resources Put Your Best Diction Forward You've heard it for years: It's an Information Age. And, while some of that information is being processed and analyzed, the economy is also replete with those who must communicate this information to others. Most will use their own voices to do so. So, whether you answer questions as a customer support person, share the news as a broadcaster, lend your larynx to share the good news about a product, or any number of possibilities, your dulcet tones can make you a living. Ever since I first became aware of my visual disability, it seems like I have met one blind or visually impaired broadcaster after another. It struck me as a myth that people who can't see may be ideal as "talkers," but certainly there seem to be enough visually impaired people working in radio! Careers in voice run the gamut from those in which use of your voice is central (such as in broadcasting, narrating and voiceovers) to jobs where you perform a function (such as a receptionist and a customer service rep) where you use your voice to direct others to information or to inform them about products and services. Some voice-related careers are actually small businesses; storytellers and motivational speakers fall into that category. I'm providing a broad definition here to illustrate the wide range of career choices in this field. For some voice-related careers, such as announcers, the competition is pretty fierce, so get as much training as you can and be willing to start out small. There are schools for broadcasters, actors and speakers. Some "finishing" or etiquette schools have training in diction. You can often find individual classes through local continuing education and "learning annex" type programs. Check any performing arts programs and schools, too. Most people who go into announcing or voiceovers start out in small local media markets and work their way up. Starting out as a volunteer at a college station can be a good entry point. That's how my husband got started in his first paid radio job. Internships in broadcasting are also important tools for making contacts. Although clerical and customer service careers do not generally require any type of voice training, taking the time and care to improve your speech will improve your chances at obtaining work (as it will for many other jobs). Many employers lament that young people entering the workforce these days are not well spoken. They do not express themselves well, have poor grammar and pronunciation, and are too informal in their use of language. Being Articulate is a Soft Skills that is in demand. Any skill in demand is a smart acquisition, especially for a person with a disability. Go to Top of Page Broadcasting, Entertaining and Voice Work Radio, television stations and Internet broadcasters need people with excellent articulation and reading skills to provide a range of functions for their on-air time. Newsreaders, for example, may not themselves be reporters but only read the news copy. Announcers Announcers and other on-air personalities provide the connections between programs and music and do promotional announcements. When I volunteered at a community radio station, I also was involved in pledge break announcements and did some interviews on the show about women's music. In most markets, announcers on radio provide only local announcements because much of radio is what they call "canned." In fact, chances are that your favorite on-air personality at your favorite radio station is in another part of the country and not local at all. Television announcers will have more competition, but both radio and TV announcing is a high-demand and high-turnover career. Internet radio stations are still very new and struggling to gain acceptance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook offers this advice:
Narrators provide the vocal content for radio and television dramas, educational and other videos and even on recorded books and other materials. Disability access has resulted in new career fields, such as providing spoken-word recordings of everything from training manuals to novels. For more about the growing recording industry, see "Blossoming of the eBook and What It Means to Blind and Visually Impaired People." In addition, there are people who provide audio description for plays and TV shows. The people who do voiceovers usually work in both radio and television. Any time you hear, for example, a movie trailer describe the movie, you are listening to someone who does voiceovers professionally. I've seen lots of informal community classes about this topic, and there is a good deal of advice on the Web about voiceovers (see Related Resources). Bill Murray (not the comic actor) is a very well-known and sought-after voiceover specialist. You can listen to some examples of his work on his web site, which is also listed in Related Resources. You will instantly recognize his voice because you have heard it on movie trailers for years. Murray epitomizes the voice "artist" with his resonant voice and skillful delivery. Most voiceover is local, however. Unless you work for an ad agency or a sound studio, you are probably going to be a freelancer. Murray advises you to create a logo, get your publicity materials put together, and then make a demo tape or CD at a sound studio. Do a number of different types of ads or other promotional-type pieces on the demo. Send copies in professional-looking packages to local agents. Once you have an agent, he will do your selling for you. Murray cautions that the advertising industry, in general, is in something of a slump, so you will need to be both talented and aggressive to find work. However, in an article titled, "Multimedia and Digital Effects: an Emerging Local Labor Market," excerpted in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Labor Review, the emergence of the Web as a workplace has added new opportunities for both narrators and voiceover artists to the growing number already in the software production industry. This growth is primarily in California, where there's a growing synergy among movie producers, TV broadcasters and high-tech centers. Go to Top of Page Entertaining With Your Voice We are all probably most aware of those people who use their voices to entertain others. In addition to actors, comedians and singers, there are storytellers and people who "emcee" (such as master of ceremonies) at entertainment venues. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook says:
However, as is true in most situations, you cannot be too talented. At the very least, your ability to articulate may help you sell yourself, and certainly, in most of these careers, having the ability to speak clearly and well is part of what you do. Go to Top of Page Public Speaking It may not have occurred to you, but, thanks to an aging population of baby boomers, professional speaking has become a viable career. It seems like you can't swing a dead lavaliere microphone without hitting some motivational or self-help speaker. The emergence of the Web hasn't hurt this profession either because it not only provides prime marketing opportunities but also space in which to "perform." Speakers typically have a particular topic in which they specialize. For instance, a retired minister spoke at a volunteer recognition event I attended. In this second career, the man was a popular speaker who mixed rather old fashioned humor with "uplifting" observations about life. One deaf blind fellow I reference in the article, "What They Are Doing: Visually Impaired and Working in the Mainstream," left his career as a chef to become an inspirational speaker, concentrating primarily on his own life and struggles. Some self-help speakers have expanded their careers and profits by offering recorded versions of their seminars on audio-tape. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook list these basic qualifications for being a professional speaker: confidence, an interest in your topic, and strong writing skills. You should also enjoy traveling because you will need a wide market for your speaking skills. There are professional speakers working in companies, but, by far, the majority are entrepreneurs who use an agency to book their speaking engagements. Go to Top of Page Sharing Knowledge via Your Voice The basis for many careers is a person's knowledge and his ability to communicate it well to others. For example, everyone from teachers to tour guides need not only to know their subject but must be informative, well spoken and at least somewhat entertaining. I remember, during my mid-1970s Paris trip, our tour guide told us that official guides in that City of Lights had to complete long and arduous training (in French as well as in an additional language) about the history and art of Paris. Another "communication" job sector is public relations, which covers a wide range of careers. These include representing a company, organization or even a person (such as an entertainer or politician) to the media, or in sales or in other settings. Many companies employ such spokespeople, and there are agencies which supply spokespeople and spokesmodels as well as public relations consultants. Being a spokesperson can also be a freelance business. The function of public relations is to inform the general public or niche publics about a company, organization or individual in a proactive way that helps build, over time, a desired image for that client. "An organization's reputation, profitability, and even its continued existence can depend on the degree to which its targeted 'publics' support its goals and policies," The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook points out. People who go into this aspect of public relations need not only to be well-spoken but must be outgoing and able to think on their feet. Here's how Occupational Outlook Handbook outlines the supply-demand for public relations jobs:
Go to Top of Page Your Voice as a Tool Many careers in clerical or customer support rely on an individual's ability to convey information clearly and accurately. While not flashy careers, these jobs are far more plentiful than the high-profile careers in broadcasting and so forth. So preparing your voice for careers as a receptionist, call center and customer support specialist or an information desk clerk is a promising choice. You can actually stretch this one out considerably to include virtually any job where combining information or directing people to the source of the information is the essential function of the job. Travel agents and reservation specialists are just two of the many dozens of jobs in which this is a key function. Finally, don't forget the old guideline, "If you can't do, teach." All the people who want to build careers using their voices need to learn how. If you know how, you can teach them! Go to Top of Page Related Resources All sites mentioned here contain information about the career field in question, including a description of the work, general training and qualifications, salary ranges and job forecasts. Some have job links. Also see each category in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. (Thanks to Sarah Steele for her help in researching this topic.) Broadcasting
Do You Want to Work in a Radio Station? National Association of Broadcasters Career Center Voiceovers
Making Money in Voiceovers: Winning Strategies to a Successful Career in TV, Commercials, Radio and Animation voiceartist.com Voiceovers.com Entertainers
Careers in Entertainment Entertainmentcareers.net Screen Actors Guild Tips for pursuing a career in voice-overs and show business
Information about using public speaking to further career goals Other voice careers Go to Top of Page Bookmark this article to: 
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