Political Voice Over: How To Find Suitable Voice Actors?

We all know about voice-over actors and how important it is to have the right voice for your advertisements that reach millions of people. But when it comes to political voice-over, you cannot take it lightly. Politics require a much more serious approach than the rest of the voice over genre. You shouldn’t go for a voice-over artist just because you have prior experience working with him/her in the past.

A political voice-over actor needs to be a great voice performer who can deliver the very essence of political advertising, political campaigns, etc. Mostly, at the time of political elections, you find a multitude of campaigns, charity missions, and commercials produced by various political parties. This is done to support a specific political candidate, a party, or a ballot initiative. Since these kinds of voice overs require a certain level of expertise you need to make sure that you get the right voice to convey the message more clearly. 

You cannot expect to get a good political voice-over just because the voice-over actor has a great voice. Also, the political voice-over cannot be considered effective simply because you have got the recording done in an amazing studio with high-quality microphones and sound systems. To reach all demographics of people you need to go for a political voice-over actor who has a persuasive voice. Voters would love to cast their votes for voices that are really endearing, authoritative, and friendly. So you know how important it is to get a good political voice over artist.

With plenty of websites and companies offering voice-over services, and with a pool of voice-over actors, we know it isn’t easy to get a voice-over artist that is perfect for your political advertisement or campaigns.

Hmm, we know you are a bit bewildered and all this might sound really daunting and overwhelming. But do not worry, we are here to help you get a good political voice-over actor who is going to be the right fit for your political endeavor. Come on, we know the seriousness of the job! So we are here to make your lives much easier and hassle-free.

Tips To Select The Right Political Voice Over Actor

1. Work Experience Of The Voice Over Actor

If you find someone who has a wealth of experience in rendering their voice several times before in politics (especially for political campaigns), half your job is done! You can check their volume of work by asking for their past works. By scrutinizing their work, you will get an idea of whether this person has the right voice to effectively convey the message of the political advertisement or the campaign.

With their years of experience, they will be capable enough to fine-tune their voice to numerous mannerisms. They will be well trained and you will have to give only a few directions to such people who possess a range of experience in the voice-over field. By getting someone of this caliber on board, your time is less consumed and the recording can get done within a few hours.

Several translation services in Singapore have also ventured into voice-over services. They have a plethora of versatile voice-over artists who have years of experience and are right for any kind of voice-over service. Check them out!

2. Give Emphasis To The Tone

The tone is of utmost importance in politics! If the tone of the political voice-over comes off as aggressive, emotional, or arrogant then it can end up being a huge turn-off for the people who are listening to it. 

So always have a plan in place and decide the kind of tone you want in your political voice-over. If you want to promote your political leader as a grounded, friendly person, then brief your voice-over actor about it. Tell him/her that the tone should be really endearing and affable, and not serious or authoritative. If you get it right here, then the overall impact of the political advertisement or campaign can reach places without any difficulty. 

3. Represent Your Target Audience

This is the basic foundation of a political voice-over. Know who your target audience is! Based on the target group, start hunting for the right voice. If you are targeting more on a specific region, you need someone who is fluent in their colloquial terms and slang. 

Also, you cannot go for a really aged voice-over actor if your target audience is college grads.  If you want to pull more people to your party, the voice should be really persuasive, interesting, and relatable. 

People need to be able to resonate with the voice and think this is more like me and they are talking about my needs and wants. If you get this right, then you do not have to worry about the efficacy of your political campaign. It is gonna take off really well than how you anticipated it would turn out to be. 

Some translation services in the UK, have amazing British voice-over actors because they also do several works such as voice-over, subtitling, etc. If you are on the lookout for such voice actors, check them out!

4. Check Out With Some Video Production Companies

Video production companies are always into producing movies, advertisements, music videos, and the like. So they will have a pool of voice-over artists in their directory of contacts. 

All you need to do is approach them and talk to them at length about your purpose. We are sure they will be more than willing to help. Plenty of people have found luck this way. Most of the companies would have a long list of experienced people who are really masters in this profession. Therefore, do not be hesitant! 

If you need to deliver a good voice-over for your political campaign, you cannot skip this step in availing a good political voice-over artist.

These 4 tips are highly crucial and you should never forget to keep them in mind when you select your political voice-over actor. It will help you considerably to find the right person because you already know what to look for in a voice-over artist who needs to give voice-over for your political campaign or political ad. Also, before you head out for a casting call you need to be well prepared and have a clear idea of what you need from the voice-over artist. 

Check out what all you need to plan before you conduct an audition for voice-over actors!

7 Ways To Prepare Yourself To Get The Right Voice Over Actor

1. List Out The Emotions You Need

You can keep a list of emotions with you as a reference! This will help you a great deal in knowing the kind of emotions you need in the political voice-over. This way it will help you immensely in selecting the right person for your voice-over. 

You can assess the voice-over artist by checking whether he/she is capable enough to render the emotion you need. If the person cannot give a specific emotion out of the various emotions you need then your entire voice over will lose its significance. 

For example, if you are talking about a serious topic such as a social issue, the voice-over actor must be able to talk in a sad emotion which should sound sincere. If the emotion looks very cold then the core essence of the voice over is lost. So always analyze if the voice-over actor has the capability to emote differently.

2. Decide Between Male/Female

This is one important factor you need to consider before you make a call for casting. Most of the clients would ask you which gender is the best for their campaign or advertisements. So you need to have a vivid understanding of which voice is perfect for that specific work you are doing. 

Research on the consumers’ response to male or female voice shows that people find female voice very soothing and endearing whereas the male voice tends to be more authoritative in nature. Of course, this does not have any conclusive evidence. We do not know on what parameters the research was conducted.

If your target audience is male, then it would be a rational idea to have a male voice and if the primary audience is females then go for a female voice. But for political voice overs, the best can be found out only by auditions. Make it open to both males and females and see who performs really well. 

There are some translation companies in Malaysia that also do political voice overs. They have ventured into the field since it is in high demand over there. They do political voice overs with both males and females depending on the versatility of the artist.

3. Decide The Accent

If your political campaign is based on any specific region, then you need to make sure that the accent of the voice-over artist is perfect for the region. This is so essential and you cannot make a mistake here because if you get the accent wrong, people won’t be able to relate to it. The core idea of a political advertisement or a political campaign is to pull people towards the political party. So for that, they need to feel connected with the party like their own. You cannot falter or afford to make any mistake when it comes to accent and dialects. 

4. Narration Or Storytelling

You need to have an idea of the format of the political voice over. Since voice-overs are of many kinds the structure and style of the voice-overs too vary.

Some can really be formal in the form of narrations, whereas the rest can be highly informal and exciting in a storytelling style that is very similar to an enthusiastic kids’ voice-over. Some political voice-over actors are proficient in a certain style. They may not be able to render a specific style you are looking for even if they have years of experience in the voice-over field. Expertise matters! 

So make sure you get a versatile voice-over artist who gives you professional voice-over recording services and who is ready to take note of the style you have in mind for the political voice-over.  

5. Set A Budget

When you conduct casting calls, many people are at your doorstep. You will find people with no experience to years of experience as prospective voice-over artists for your political campaign. Some might even demand more money depending on the hours of work. 

So always set a budget that is not gonna make you pay through your nose. Of course, make sure that you set your budget by keeping your profit in mind. You need to take into consideration that you have your profit too. So when some voice-over artists demand too much money you should know whether you can afford them or not. 

6. Do You Need Any Additional Services?

Some companies may not have enough creative people to write the script or do any other additional services. So try to understand whether you need some additional services from your political voice-over artists such as scripting, giving suggestions on enunciation, etc. For certain political campaigns, it is always good to have the voice-over artist at the spot where the campaigns are conducted for any sudden on-stage anchoring or narrations. 

So always determine what all additional services you need from the voice-over artist. This will help you have a clear understanding of the different services you need from the artist and any last-minute hassle and confusion with regard to payment can be negated. 

7. Think Of Long Term

Always be a step ahead and think of your future possibilities in working with the voice-over artist. You have to think beyond the present work and analyze whether this person can be a right fit for your future political voiceovers. 

You need to establish a long-term connection with all your artists. This is because in this industry you will need to be in touch with several voice over actors and you cannot be always on the run to find the perfect voice-over artist. 

Sometimes you will have to deliver the work in a day and you won’t have enough time to conduct auditions. So if you have already worked with some voice over actors, then you do not have to worry about getting the right voice-over artist for your work. 

Following these 5 steps are not mandatory. But being prepared will help you find the right voice over artist without any difficulty. This will reduce your trouble in many ways. When you are at the recording, any unnecessary confusion can be avoided and you can get the recording done without consuming much time of the artist and yours.

So when you are in the recording studio, there are certain decorums that need to be followed mandatorily. 

If your voice-over artist is a professional or not, you need to ensure that you are well prepared for the recording and you definitely do not want any mishaps at the last minute. Read further to know what they are!

Things To Be Mandatorily Followed When You Direct A Political Voice Over Artist

 1. Keep The Script Ready

There are several instances where the political voice over artists complain of not getting a script in hand. Some get really frustrated when they are asked to come up with lines and sentences of their own. This is definitely not professional and you don’t want any bad name for your company. So have a great script in hand that mentions all the emotions and tones required from the voice over artist. This way it is really easy for the artist to emote and for you to direct them. The script is always the core foundation of creative productions. So make sure that you have it well written and handy.

2. Conduct Rehearsals

Try allocating a day completely for rehearsals. This will help the voice over artist be on track with timings and certain intonations. You can direct the artist well and this will make them be abreast with the script and various styles required for the political advertisements and campaigns. Rehearsals are always beneficial for both you and the voice over artist because it will help you understand whether the voice over artist is getting the perfect intonation or not. If not, you can always go for another artist who is well acquainted with the narration or storytelling format.

4. Keep A Discussion Note

It is good to have a discussion note with you. This is because it will become really helpful when you are communicating with your voice over artist. Since it is a political voice-over, you will have to keep notes on the points which have to be emphasized or stressed more. Also, note down the lines that have to be emotionally conveyed by the artist and so on. By doing so, you can reduce a tremendous amount of time spent giving suggestions and directions at the time of recording. Make sure that these aspects are discussed at the time of rehearsals to save time on the day of the recording.

5. Ask For Suggestions

It is always good to ask for some suggestions from the voice over artist. They will know how to make it more interesting due to their prior work experience. Some may even help you by adding some extra lines and jingles in between the script (but not all). But never coax them to write the script or add some extra lines or sentences because this is your job and not theirs! If they take an initiative to do so, it is well and good! Only ask for suggestions with regard to the tone and emotions of the voice and nothing else. You do not want to waste time unnecessarily, do you?

6. Give Constant Feedback

It is not always that you will find someone who will get your directions and suggestions quickly. So don’t get disheartened! From the beginning,  give the voice over actor several feedbacks on their performance. Tell them if there is any room for improvement and the areas that can be improved. This will help them to a great extent in understanding what you want out of them and they can make efforts to improve. When you suggest improvements, NEVER be harsh and try to talk to them in a gentle way so that they don’t feel offended. 

7. Do Not Be Authoritative

Yes, do not be authoritative or controlling! This can make the political voice-over actor uncomfortable. You need to make them feel at ease because they will feel really nervous initially. So try to be cordial and gentle!

Explain to them the brief really well so that they get the hang of what is expected out of them. If you become too demanding, it might make them feel horrible and demotivated. You don’t want it happening at any cost because you are the one who is in need of a voice-over artist and it is your duty to make them perform really well. So as a rule of thumb, make them comfortable!

8. Encourage Them

There are some people who can deliver good work only if they are encouraged! You will have to deal with people who have different mood swings. So try encouraging every artist because they are doing you a service. Also, you need to get the best out of them, so make sure that you lift up their spirits and make them deliver the best for your political voice over. This can make the artist feel more comfortable and they wouldn’t hesitate wo work with you in the future.  

We have listed down several factors that have to be considered when you are on the hunt for the ight political voice over artist. It may not be an easy task. But if you do your research and homework well you will be able to find a voice-over artist who is versatile and able to render the voice with the set of emotions and tone you have in your mind. You are going to have a kickass political campaign, advertisements, charity funds, etc this way. Make sure that you do not compromise on any of these aforementioned points. Compromising can never take you anywhere and if you need to give high-quality political voice overs, you need to make sure that you are well prepared and know how to play your cards really well. 

Political voice-overs have a much more wide reach when compared to the advertisements of a brand because people who are politically inclined are more and on the rise. Everyone has an opinion when it comes to political parties and politicians. So people are always on the lookout to know what has been done and said by these parties. Therefore, one cannot afford to make any goof-ups in political voice-overs.