Articles by Stephanie Ciccarelli

1) How To Pick a Great Voice Over Coach
Your voice is your instrument and is also the main component of your business. That being said, it is crucial that you find the right teacher for you to study with as the decision made will directly impact the outcome of your goals. For our purposes, I am going to assume that you are a working professional or are on the brink of starting out as a novice voice actor who wants to study with a teacher... » read more

2) Why Everyone Should Have a Podcast
Why do people start Podcasting? The short and sweet answer is that you can reach a target audience and share your message at a very low cost to you. For organizations or individuals, this means that you can create your very own syndicated radio show and deliver it over the Internet to attentive and permissive listeners. That being said, this is a great way for businesses to market their products... » read more

3) Why You Need a Business Card
Ever been in a scenario when someone asked you if you had a business card and you had to write your contact information on a slip of paper or a napkin? It's not the ideal situation, is it? Having a business card is integral to running a successful business and networking with other people. Business cards are an extension of you and your business. Your business card is a portable and mini version... » read more

4) Going Green and Branding Your Business Online
One of the best ways to be found as a voice actor for freelance opportunities in this day and age is through search on the Internet. The ways of the past are no barrier to success for savvy voice over entrepreneurs of the new Google Era. Google has brought more to our fingertips than any other web portal on the Internet, corralling relevant websites and taming the Wild West of the World Wide Web. The... » read more

5) Reading Dr. Seuss Books Makes Better Speakers
After years of reading books and of also reading stories to children, I've found that books by the late American author Dr. Seuss, also known as Theodor "Ted" Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), are by far the most energizing and useful publications where exercising your vocal and acting techniques are concerned. The works of Dr. Seuss present us with a wealth of tongue twisting, intellectually stimulating and... » read more

6) 10 Ways to Avoid Getting Rundown
It happens to everybody but not everyone feels that it should happen to them at least not when it inconveniences others. What am I talking about? Getting sick! Many of the people whom I've spoken with recently have been feeling under the weather, incapacitated or have suffered complications that have no doubt impeded their ability to put pen to paper and in the voice over industry, even step up to the... » read more

7) Advanced Audio Recording Techniques
Hard Disk / Computer-Based Recording One of the biggest trends in recent audio production has been to merge digital audio with computer technology to create a samplebased approach to sound recording. The encoding of audio data into digital memory or onto a storage medium provides us with a means for storing or manipulating defined blocks of digital data. This data can be stored as a soundfile such as... » read more

8) 5 Voice Over Roles that Will Make You Money
While there are many ways to communicate a message, the art of voice over is tops for delivering the human touch. Over the centuries, the art of communicating with other people about a given purpose and the transmission of the spoken word, the most powerful, persuasive, and distinctly human tool in any marketers arsenal, has evolved to the degree that you don't have to be in the same room to get a... » read more

9) How To Build a Portfolio Without Giving Your Voice Away For Free
There are many practical and rewarding ways to go about gaining experience and prospective clients. When I had a few moments at VOICE 2007 to myself (very rare moments, I assure you), I got thinking about ways that you could create a respectable voice over portfolio without undercutting for work, or worse, giving your voice overs away for free to people who could pay for the service you provided but had... » read more

10) Voice Overs To Tell Your Stories
People have been telling stories since the dawn of time, drawing upon their voice to convey their messages to others in their circle of influence. Over the centuries, the art of communicating with other people about a given purpose and the transmission of the spoken word, the most powerful, persuasive, and distinctly human tool in any marketers arsenal, has evolved to the degree that you don't have to be... » read more

11) Can Commercial Voice Over Demos Expire?
Whether it's just a bit of spring cleaning for you or if you're in for an all-out demo overhaul, updating a commercial demo from time to time is necessary. The lifespan of a commercial demo is determined by a number of factors. Common indicators that your demo or parts of a voice over demo may be past their prime are: Dates and Times mentioned in the ad copy; Music Selections; Voice Age; and References... » read more

12) Why Everyone Should Have a Blog
Blogging is not a passing fad... it's another channel for you to use as a marketing tool and a creative outlet to get more mileage out of your voice over business! Learn more about the benefits of blogging and how you can get started to make your mark in the blogosphere. There's no better time to get typing. Blogging as a voice actor should certainly be on your To-do List. There's a very small... » read more

13) Why North Americans Hire British Voice Talents
When you think of Britain and the British, images of pomp, chivalry, royalty, tradition, authenticity, and power come to mind. To some, the UK musters romance, dignity and prestige, reminiscent of Jane Austen novels or the strength, bluntness and grit of a book by Charles Dickens. For others, perhaps it's fashion, cosmopolitan airs, trend setting ways, stoicism, and dry wit. Whatever their reasons,... » read more

14) Do Radio Personalities Go Too Far?
Just how far will some radio show hosts go with their contests to endanger their listeners? As you may have heard, recently there was a radio contest in Sacramento, California where two radio personalities running a Nintendo Wii contest were prepared to take contestants to the grave... and did. To this day, radio is one of the only regulated, interactive mediums that purposefully puts their listeners... » read more

15) Quick Vocal Warm Ups that Work Wonders
If you've ever had a recording session early in the morning (many of you who are on-air talent will identify with this), you've really got to warm up those pipes to sound professional and alert. Coming from a classical singing background and years of 7 a.m. choir rehearsals, I find it really helps if you are up at least one hour before you are expected to perform. If you're awake 60 minutes before... » read more

16) Voices Can Change the World
Voice talent Dave Christi runs an organization comprising of professional voice talent working towards bringing awareness and an end to one of the worlds most evil atrocities, genocide, particularly, the genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan. A genocide literally means that an entire group of people, or, in many cases, the majority of a population, is annihilated without just cause. The motives... » read more

17) How To Make Money as a Podcast Production Service
Now that we have a foundation, I'd like to shift back into podcast mode and how you can make money as a talent producing them. The following are 5 ways that you can make money from podcasting. 1. Research 2. Copy writing 3. Voice Over 4. Music Production / Jingles 5. Distribution Although #2, #3, and #4 look familiar to you as a professional voice talent and producer, the first and fifth may... » read more

18) A Closer Look at Radio Drama
Similarities do abound of course between radio drama and pieces performed on the stage, film and television, however, the ability to move, inspire, and create solely through the collaboration of the human voice and the mind is a magnificent feat that requires the utmost discipline, insight and flawless interpretation of a voice actor. To recognize the obvious, radio drama lacks a visual component and... » read more

19) The Importance of Comments on Blogs
As a reader, you probably like reading the comments that are left on blogs and perhaps you even leave comments on posts that you enjoy. While you may just like comments, writing to you from the perspective of a blogger, I can tell you that we love them! Every time I receive an email from our blog notifying me that a new comment has just been left, I get so excited. Finding out what you think,... » read more

20) Making the Transition from Singer to Voice Talent
Many voice talent start their careers in music, particularly as classically trained singers. During tireless years of training a voice for singing, a bounty of skills are developed including vocal stamina, projection, breathing capabilities, phrasing, tone, inflection, elasticity, rhythm, sight-reading, posture, diction, interpretation, and characterization. The voice is an instrument, just like a... » read more

21) Taking Breaks at Work for Healthier Hearts
We've all been there. Bombarded by work, email, phone calls or tedious tasks. Some of us find time to relax on weekends, but the majority of us need a little R&R periodically throughout the week. MSNBC did a little researching on the topic with an editorial called "Relax or Die: Lack of Weekend R&R puts Hearts at Risk". This article suggests that those who are not able to (or just plain don't try... » read more

22) Do VoiceOvers Induce Hunger?
Sitting down to watch television can be an enjoyable, relaxing experience. However, while a person is contentedly watching a commercial about a food or beverage product, regardless of time of day, there are numerous creative elements trying to persuade stomachs that their master needs to eat, especially if that tummy is subjected to food commercials prior to consuming a decent meal. Ever wonder why it... » read more

23) What's in an Accent?
In the international marketplace, it is very important for organizations to be able to both globalize and localize their product information and service offerings. That being said, the information presented to their target audiences is only as effective as the means by which it is communicated. For our purposes, the vessel or means of communication is via a voice talent performance; in essence, a... » read more

24) How to Build a Home Recording Studio
When a business is in startup mode, usually the entrepreneur looks for ways to cut costs while obtaining all of the necessary objectives to run their business. In the case of a voice talent, building a home recording studio is paramount to their success and fundamental to conducting business on a daily basis. That being said, a voice talent entrepreneur's highest expense when getting started is the... » read more

25) Getting Started in Voice Overs
When getting started in voice overs, aspiring talent quickly discover that it takes more than just a great voice to succeed in this highly competitive market. Although at first glance, there may seem to be few doors that open for amateur talent seeking voice over work opportunities, the avenues for personal growth, talent development and networking are overly abundant. You just need to know where to find... » read more

26) Custom MP3 Demos Validate Studio Quality
"Don't judge a book by its cover", could now be translated to the phrase "Don't judge a voice talent by their stock demo". In recent years, the voice industry has experienced exponential growth and enjoyed interest from new markets, particularly aspiring talent who want to get started in the business of voice acting. The doors have swung wide open. Now, anyone with a computer, microphone, and access... » read more

27) Digital Living for Grandparents
I recently interviewed my Terry and Sharon Ciccarelli to learn more about how they use technology, particularly the Internet. Both of them were born in the mid 1940s and belong to a generation that grew up with home freezers, television, and space expeditions as major technological advances. When I suggested that I wanted to interview them about technology, they were excited and pleased to share how... » read more

28) Voice Actor Blogs on the Rise
Over the past year, there has been an incredible adoption of the creation and consumption of blogs worldwide. Blogs are generally used as online journals for individuals and tend to form a community around the person writing the blog posts and their audience. Corporate blogging is used to give customers a means to provide feedback and to help with product development while getting to know the company... » read more

29) On-Hold Messaging, Making the Most of a Captive Audience
According to a recent AT&T study, more than 70% of business calls are placed on hold for an average of 45 to 60 seconds each. 60% of the callers placed on hold hang up, and 30% of those that hang up never call back. The opportunity to reach out to your customers is now! They are a captive audience, and are eager to hear what you can do for them. While they are waiting, which for some business could... » read more