Last month, I took a workshop with Debra Sperling called “Authenticity in Voiceover.” The title really appealed to me because authenticity is something I look for and feel for in every interaction I have. It is something I strive for in my acting, in my writing, and in my voiceover work, but I haven’t always been able to find it – especially in voiceover – when I am essentially speaking into the void. I have a vivid imagination, and I use it while I’m working alone (whether that be in the VO booth or in a video self-tape), but for some reason it doesn’t always come across to the listener.
One of the best compliments I ever received about my acting was a friend who I acted with on stage several times. He said “Every time I see Lisa-Marie on stage, she’s just up there looking for truth.” I felt so seen at that mo
ment. Because the thing about “truth” in acting is that it’s so indefinable – you can’t really put your finger on exactly what the person did that made the performance feel “true.” You just feel it. And as an actor, it feels just like stripping away everything that is NOT true in order to get to what IS true. I hate trying to explain esoteric topics, but I love exploring them. So suffice it to say, there is more to it than meets the eye (or the ear).
Almost every voiceover coach, and every acting coach will ask you first “Who are you talking to?” So, all actors learn that they want to be talking to someone specific. The wonderful tool Debra used was to use one’s imagination, not just to picture the other person, but to put the other person in all of my senses. So, if I am talking to my best friend, to reach out and feel what their hand feels like, to inhale and smell what they smell like, to hear their voice, and to keep all of that with me while I let the words of the copy fall out of my mouth. That is authentically how I would be in an intimate conversation with my best friend.
I can do the same with outrageous characters. I can do the same with explainer videos where I’m explaining a new concept to someone. In my years of teaching voice and training medical students, I have hundreds of students I can use in my imagination to get me to that “authentic” place.
In the age of AI taking over some of our work as voiceover artists, our humanity is what is most valuable. My search for authenticity is really a search for humanity that no computer-generated voice can match.
How do you judge a reading as “authentic” or “inauthentic?” Do you have criteria you use? I’m genuinely interested to know. Leave me a comment!