We like to think that we're taking our listeners on a journey when it comes to our VO demo. Ah, get over yourself. You're not. You're trying to make an impression as fast as you can. How do you do that? Let's find out.
Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, and move on. - 4:27
Hey guys. Welcome to another edition of the Gift of Gab. Today, let's talk a little bit more about everybody's favorite topic... voice over demos! You ready? Let's do it.
Back in my days pre-voiceover, not that there was a lot of pre-voiceover for me, because pretty much my whole career has been voiceover, but for like a very small blip, there was broadcasting and pre-broadcasting, there was my love of Journalism and writing and in all things wordsmithing, and one of the things that was always drilled into our heads, especially anytime you took a journalism class was: don't bury the lead. Right? That's such a big pivotal part of writing for the news and you never want to bury the lead. Well the same basic principle applies to your voiceover demo: hit them fast, hit them hard, don't bury the lead. What do I mean? Put your best stuff first. We see this a lot. I think people mistakenly think, and you know, again, it's a little bit of ego, right? We all suffer from that. People think that they're telling a story with their demo, that they're taking the audience on a journey. That's a really lovely idea and it's a very romanticized idea. That would be great if you already had an established audience, if they already knew who you were, like if you had a celebrity status and they had a reason to stick around and listen to everything you were offering, right? That would be so wonderful, it would be so delightful. What's the reality? Nobody knows who you are, nobody cares, and you have to make an impression and you've got to make it really really fast.
How are you going to do that? You're gonna put the absolute best thing you offer, the thing that you do better than anybody else, front and center within the first 10 seconds of the demo. When you're building a voiceover demo it's the exact opposite of that romanticized notion you're gonna take your best half put it first and gradually put your worst stuff towards the end. In fact, you're going to sort of construct that demo with the thought that no one's ever going to hear the end of the demo, they're never going to get there. In fact, they're probably only going to listen to the first 20 to 30 seconds because in that first 20 to 30 seconds they're going to formulate some really strong opinions and the strongest of those opinions is, "Can I work with this person? Can I make money with this person? Will I book them? Will I hire them?" That's really what they're there to determine and people who work with voices all day long and people who listen to demos often they can make those decisions really really really fast.
Now, the good news is, if they do like those first 20 seconds or so, great, cool! They'll probably stick around and listen through the end. Probably, but not definitely. Typically the ass end of your demo, if you will, is your weaker links, it's your maybes, it's the things that you go, "Yeah I can do this, but maybe it's not my best, maybe it's not the thing that I'm proudest of or the strongest at." There is something to be said for, you know, end the demo on a high note, maybe a laugh, something that's a little bit memorable, but just understand that the odds of people listening through to the end are kind of slim. It's just um not the norm, unfortunately. We got short attention spans, people. That's where we're at, right? I mean, come on -- TikTok videos, right? Five seconds, ten seconds, people are out. That's it. So best stuff first, get it in there, get it in early, hit them hard, hit them fast, get in, get out. Thanks for watching, guys. If you need more input on demos, if you'd like my opinion on your current demos, or if you'd like my help in constructing a great demo that's going to help get you more voice-over work, you can reach out to me on my website or you can check out this video here.
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, Working Actors, Los Angeles, New York, How to Be a Better Voice Actor, voiceover demo producer, journalism, storytelling, bury the lead, marketing