Part 7: Voice Over - Expanding Your Narrative   In the previous blog, finding your wheelhouse (your comfort zone of voices) was discussed. The goal was laid down for you to broaden your horizons. In other words, think past a voice of standard narration. Over ninety percent of all voice work in the United States calls for an American accent. As you’ve been practicing, have you noticed a regional U.S. accent? Have you paid attention to your tone, pace and resonance? I’m pointing these things out so you can learn on your own before you lay down cash for classes, seminars or a demo tape.  This morning I googled “voice over tips” and was overwhelmed with hundreds of different exercises, techniques and ads to attend voiceover seminars. It’s almost mind blowing for an experienced voiceover artist let alone a beginner to comprehend all of the different techniques: Humming while yawning, moving your tongue strangely around your mouth, and everyone’s favorite on YouTube as a solution to voice overs - just relax.        The simplest way to look at voiceovers is to think that you are reading a bedtime story. You aren’t reading the story in monotone - you are using vocal inflection to emphasize certain words. The same holds true for copy you’re reading for practice or pay. For example, if your copy is about a health insurance program for ages 65 and over, you would want to use a low, resonating voice that projects confidence and trust. Think: Tom Selleck in those American Advisor Group reverse mortgage ads. He’s speaking slowly and deeply. The elderly wants to be assured not pitched.  Currently on tv and radio are ads for “Sleep Number Beds.” The voice over artist speaks quickly with a friendly, higher pitch toned voice. Albeit he is trying to hold your attention, he’s building excitement and answering questions quickly to dispense any doubts and to establish inherent, value added features.  Your ability to move from narration, announcer, and possibly a personalized accent (truck driver, etc.) type voice - will create a more marketable, value-added feature to your voiceover talent wheelhouse.       Related Articles Part 1: Voice Over – Introduction Part 2: Voice Over - Vocal Projecting Part 3: Voice Over - Vocal Pronunciation Part 4: Voice Over - The 3 P’s (Projection, Pronunciation and Pace) Part 5: Voice Over - Dialect and Accent Part 6: Voice Over - Finding Your Wheelhouse