What an incredibly awesome experience!   Those who were there understand the power of attending this phenomenal conference!  For those who were not present this year, I encourage you to attend the next one.

James Alburger and Penny Abshire co-produced this amazing event, bringing together top voice talent and industry experts who generously shared their time and expertise with attendees as presenters, making themselves available mingling throughout the event, and some even offered private coaching sessions!

The Red Carpet Reception Wednesday evening was a kaleidoscope of talent from around the world and a fantastic opportunity to network.  Pat Fraley and special guest, Brad Garrett, kicked off the event Thursday morning with a keynote presentation on understanding and delivering comedy in voiceover! Specialized breakout sessions followed by top talents such as: Marc Cashman, Dan Lenard, Deb Munro, Melody Jones, the queen of telephony, Liz de Nesnera, Erik Sheppard, Tim Underwood, technical audio expert and genius George Whittam, and more.

The Expo boasted representation from such popular voice over resources as John Florian and VoiceOverXtra, SAVOA, Source Connect, Performer Track, El Dorado Recording Services, and many of the presenters too.  Outstanding photographer, CeCe Canton was available for professional headshots, and technical experts were available for techie questions on the Tech Talk Terrace.  One of the most popular exhibits at the Expo was the Osborne Head and Neck Institute, where talents could actually receive a complimentary general scope of their throat and vocal chords, speak with Dr. Reena Gupta, MD., who is a board-certified fellowship trained Laryngologist about vocal health concerns, and other medical experts including a Pediatric Otolaryngologist and a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon.

Dave Courvoisier and I kicked off Friday morning with a riveting keynote on building your voiceover business through social media networking. I even did my best David Lee Roth-inspired kick!  You can check out the PowerPoint from our talk on SocialMediaVO.com.  Following our presentation were more breakout sessions from vo experts such as Richard Horvitz, Julie Williams, John Florian, Gabrielle Nistico,  an audio book panel hosted by Hilary Huber, and an uncut, uncensored course from Nancy Wolfson on "The Absolute Best Booking Secret F%#king Ever!" in effectively delivering copy!   MJ Lallo, Bill Homes, Big Louie and the queen of improv, Karly Rothenberg, delivered the final touches of the evening.   More networking fun and fellowship followed at the X-Bar!

Marc Cashman made us laugh until we cried Saturday morning as he shared real life examples of horribly offbeat, crazy, demented directions and copy given to voice talents that he's collected over the years.  An entourage of exceptional talent ensued with sessions by John Taylor, Beau Weaver, Peter Rofe, Tim Keenan and the awesome Joe Cipriano, who closed out the Saturday sessions with a powerful promo panel!

The Poolside Mixer was a definite hit and the VOICE Banquet was the perfect culmination to VOICE 2010.   John Florian received VOICE Community Award and we were honored with some very special guests who are legends in the voice over industry - June Foray, Bob Bergen, Rob Paulsen, and Maurice LaMarche.

The relationships forged at VOICE 2010 are memorable. An excellent opportunity to connect with other people and be connected to a wonderfully supportive and powerful community, VOICE is an event you won't want to miss!

Mistakes.  We all make them!  Making mistakes is part of learning and growing and while we all hate to make them, the value is in what we learn from them. The best part is we don't have to make all of the mistakes ourselves, we can learn from the mistakes of others.

I get emails daily from people who want to become voice talents.  They've heard all their life what a unique and wonderful voice they have, how special it is and how they are missing their calling of being a professional voice over talent.  With pure exuberance and an unquenchable curiosity they contact me hoping to get the one answer that will make their dreams come true!  Some are more curious than serious and some just want to make it happen so badly their excitement and sense of urgency leads to some really bad mistakes.

Here are some examples of bad mistakes aspiring voice talents tend to make:

Not Investing In Training

Homemade Demos And Recording Demos Prematurely

Sending Agents Homemade Demos And Audio Clips

Ambition and excitement are wonderful qualities.  Learning how to harness them and taking the appropriate steps to make good decisions will help you avoid unnecessary mistakes like these.

Demos!  You've gotta have ‘em and they've gotta be awesome!  So what does it take to get an awesome demo?  First, understand what a demo is and what it isn't.  A demo is a critical tool, and without it, you're not in business.  It's your calling card; it's what gets you in the door!  A demo is not just a bunch of spots thrown together and it's definitely not something to skimp on or cut corners in producing.  Your demo reflects your level of professionalism, your range, and the value you have to offer the client.  It should provide just enough of a sampling to whet their appetite, draw them in, and leave them wanting for more, and should showcase your range and versatility.

All of this takes proper preparation and training.  No amount of producing or background music will cover a talent's inability to effectively deliver a variety of scripts.  Get proper training and coaching before you cut your demo!

Every spot on your demo should be unique with the goal of highlighting your range and vocal abilities.  Additionally, each spot should sound real, as if it were a paid gig.  Pay attention to detail in your takes, the client most certainly will! The goal should be to make them want you!

Keep your demos clean and keep them up to date.  Your demos need to be an accurate representation of you and your abilities.  If your demos are outdated, the perception is that you are too!  Be authentically you and be your best!

Invest in professionally produced demos!  Work with a coach and director who is also a voice talent and producer, who understands the importance of a proper demo, someone who will be brutally honest with you, who is reputable, and knows how to produce awesome demos!  You should be able to listen to samples of their previous demos.  Is the music appropriate?  Do the spots flow well?  Does it sound clean or over-produced?  Can you depict the versatility of the voice talent in the demo or is it just same voice, different background music?  Be critical!

Demo production is definitely an investment and much of the expense is due to production costs.  Licensed music can be very expensive.  The time to properly edit and mix the audio tracks of the demo and add the music is also quite time consuming.  Producers who are worth the price are also voice talents and coaches who have earned the ability to command a decent rate for their services, as the opportunity cost is that of paid gigs they could also be doing.  This also accounts for the wide range of prices for demo production.

Look for the value not just the price!  You get what you pay for and the most expensive is not always the best. This is an investment in your business that requires due diligence on your part.  Your demo speaks for you.  What is yours saying?

The extra mile is a mark of excellence!  It discloses your level of dedication, your determination to earn repeat business, and your willingness to do whatever it takes to do it right.  It's a powerful habit and a point of competitive advantage.  It's the difference between waiting to hear back on the audition to see if you got the gig or receiving unsolicited referrals from people who believe so much in the quality and professionalism of your work that they will put their reputation on the line just to plug you!

The extra mile is revealed through our everyday actions and requires a defined purpose.  Is your purpose to increase the amount of job leads coming in, to land more gigs, to establish yourself as an expert in the industry, or to gain unsolicited referrals?  Whatever it may be, exploring ways in which you can implement going the extra mile is a critical element to your success in achieving your objective.

How much time and effort do you dedicate to marketing yourself?  Are you networking with other voice over talents, creative directors, and influential people in the industry?  Do you refer others? Do you give others a reason to refer you? When you audition or record the job, do you often give the client a variety in the takes to choose from?  What is your reputation in the industry? Do you have a voice over coach?  Are you staying abreast of the latest trends in the industry?  Have you taken an improv class lately?  Do you contribute articles, share tips, or videos on other voice over sites?  These are just a sampling of questions that may help reveal areas in which you may decide to apply the principle of going the extra mile.

Albert Gray, the author of The Common Denominator of Success, states it well, "The secret of success of every man who has ever been successful, lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do." Going the extra mile will take a bit of extra effort; however, even picking just one area to apply the extra mile will help to set you apart from the rest.  It is a daily habit that leads to success.

This is a directed voice over session that I recorded yesterday.  The client was directing from New York and I was recording in my home studio in Minneapolis. If you're new to the voice over industry, you should find this entertaining and educational.