Believe it or not, tropes abound in voiceover. What are they?

There are these really common themes—tropes—throughout all performing arts and acting and performing media. So it got me thinking: what are the voiceover tropes?

To Trope or Not to Trope... That is the question.

Believe it or not, tropes abound in voiceover. What are they? - 6:05

Hey buddy look—I have so many skulls in this house, I got to use them for something, right? I mean they got to be more than just decoration occasionally. Cuz if they appear in a video… wait, can I expense that? Then I think I can put that on my taxes. Maybe. I got to make a phone call.

In today's video guys, we are talking about tropes. So—common acting tropes, script tropes, movie tropes, TV tropes. Trope is like a hot word right now. I feel like everybody's like “Trope trope trope trope!” It’s also kind of fun to say: trope trope trope trope.

There are these really common themes—tropes—throughout all performing arts and acting and performing media. So it got me thinking: what are the voiceover tropes?

We don’t really talk about that very often. So I'm going to just kind of rattle through them and lay them out for you. These are the common ones. These are the ones that I feel like we see all the time and that are very very repetitive.

Alright, ready?

The first (probably the largest category, especially today):

Guy Next Door

Happy memories just come easier on the water. And make lifelong memories of your own.

So—Guy Next Door, Girl Next Door—however you want to view them. For men, it seems to be a more common expression though. This is your affable, nice, neighborly guy that everybody just sort of loves to—I don’t know—grab a beer with or something.

Soccer Mom

Hey moms, we see what you’re up against. But not every job has to be yours. No explanation necessary.

Right? It’s very very straightforward.

The Couple Dynamic

The millennial couple is a very very common trope in voice acting in dialogue scripts. And there's one commonality to all of them: the husband’s always a ding-dong. And the wife is kind of supposed to be the smart, sassy, put-together one.

“I think you need a little extra fiber in your diet.”“Oh Carol… fiber makes me sad.”

The Hero Trope

Which we see in a lot of acting. The hero trope now, for voiceover, is kind of what we think of as the old-school announcer. Right? Very confident, very self-assured, very… um… just—yeah, just really a bit much, right? A bit over the top. A bit superhero-like in their delivery.

“A true king of the cut sits on a throne worthy of his stripes.”

Customer Service Guy Who Cares

Really easily.

And I—I’ve talked about him so much in videos I, like, I don’t—I don’t know at this point. I think like he owes me some money. Jake from State Farm. Okay? He is a trope. You might as well just put him down as one, because that’s how popular that sound and style is in voiceover.

He is similar to the Guy Next Door—but not the same.

The Edgy, Sexy, Hip Girl (or Guy)

With kind of a city vibe.

“In the search for wonder, there are no endings… only new beginnings to discover unexpected wonders.”

This is what we see a lot with makeup commercials, with beauty brands. Now it’s being adopted a lot by, like, the travel industry. Those are—um—you know, just anytime we want to give the impression that something is ultra cool, ultra luxurious.

Downhome Country Americana Folks

“The Fall Premiere is excited to announce that we have the Rodney Miller Collection coming to East Molen.”

This has been going on forever. Right? Tom Bodett at Motel 6? Yeah. And Tom Bodett was replaced with guys like John Goodman. He’s basically the modern version of Tom Bodett.

The Mentor / Teacher Dynamic Trope

“How did a blind man conquer Mount Everest? How did a kid who loved NASCAR just know in his heart one day he’d win the Brickyard and Daytona 500?”

Literally exactly what it sounds like—your favorite teacher or mentor. And it obviously can change depending on the age of the audience. So it could be a kindergarten teacher, it could be a college professor.

The Joke Teller

Now I know that sounds a little strange, but—think of this person as the life of the party. Amateur stand-up comedian. They know that they’re funny, and they are deliberately trying to make their friends laugh.

Okay? But they are legitimately funny. They’re not, you know, being cheesy.

“How do we stuff Reese’s peanut butter, pretzels, caramel, peanuts, and chocolate into Reese’s Take5? Wait a minute… how do we do it? I’m tired of being left off company A. Can someone tell me how we do it?”

So there you have it.

Those are some of the most common voiceover tropes that we see pretty much every single day in casting. If you have any to add to the list, go ahead—put it in the comments, send me a message—we can do an update later.

Thank you so much, as always, for watching guys. Like, subscribe, hit the bell for notifications, and if you haven’t done it yet, head over to my website and subscribe to my newsletter.

Thanks for watching!

704-674-8294 / GabrielleNistico.com / gabby@voiceovervixen.com

Gabrielle Nistico, Gabby Nistico, The Voiceover Vixen, The Business First VO Coach, #VoiceoverVixen #VoiceOnFire #BusinessFirstVOCoach Voiceover, Charlotte, North Carolina, Voiceover Demo, Voiceover Coaching Advice, archetypes, tropes, character work