We all make mistakes. We all make mistakes. We all make mistakes. That’s right. Even the best of us make mistakes while reading Voice Over copy. But what’s important is to know what to do when this happens to you. In today’s blog, we cover what to do in the case that you flub a word or a line at your next audition.
1- Whatever you do, don’t panic. They heard your Voice Over Demo, and that’s why they called you in. This is your time. So take it, enjoy it…
2- Breathing is your friend. When you flub a word, simply pause, take a deep breath, then retake the beginning of the line, or retake it from the nearest previous comma.
3- Your breath is your center of power. This is especially important for you, my fellow Voice Over Actors, since every sentence that you read needs to be well supported. So don’t feel that you have to pick up that sentence right away as soon as you notice your mistake. Otherwise, you trap yourself in a hamster wheel and keep tripping yourself up.
4- Don’t apologize. This makes you look weak, and you might not notice this, but you are also putting yourself down in the process.
5- Sometimes, the best thing you can do is laugh. Often, when I make a flub, I imagine that I just stepped on a banana and fell ass first and mashed it. Besides making me laugh, the imagery always relaxes me, and it makes it easier to recompose myself and take my time to do the pick-up.
6- Have fun! If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re taking yourself too seriously. Who knows? Laughing is contagious. Contrary to what many people might think, when your client sees you laughing, they might even join you. Or, at the very least, enjoy watching you play.
Even though you’re expected to make the least possible mistakes, they know we’re human. Our jobs are hard. That’s why they’re not doing it and hiring us to do it. That is why you have something called ‘pick ups’ to allow you to ‘pick up’ those words or sentences you missed. So pat yourself on the back. Take a deep breath, have fun, and let’s play!
For more great Voice Over tips, info on Voice Over Coaching, Bilingual Voice Over production and Songwriting, please visit the Berne Media Enterprises page.May ‘The Voice’ Be With You, and thanks for spreading the word!