When working in any profession, there are those specific work ethic traits that you need to develop in order for your career to keep soaring. The same applies for voice acting. We will look at some work ethic traits that you should cultivate as a voice actor.
1. Resilience
Resilience is the ability to take lessons from failures, move on from negative situations, and maintain focus amid rejection is crucial in reaching your goals. With voice acting, a lot is said but people never felt the need to say how hard you need to work and constantly push yourself in order for you to gain the success that many are always after. It is through resilience that you will end up achieving everything you want and more as a voice actor. Sometimes the entire experience will be daunting, working long hours, with little rest, having to work overtime to meet deadlines and whatnot. There are times you will come across lows and the only thing that will keep you going is your resilience. As a voice actor, giving up is never an option because you will be tempted to give up many times. A successful voice actor will tell you their career journey and outrightly point out that, had it not been for them having the heart of a warrior and staying resilient, they would have quit along the way. There is no road that is smooth, more so when you are trying to be a sort after voice actor. Regardless of how good your voice is or how good you are at interpreting the character, you will go through the difficulties, rejection during auditions, periods where there are no jobs, and coming out on the other side still passionate about your career will definitely take you far.
2. Focus
Focus will take you far as a voice actor. A lot of beginners in voice acting, don’t really take it as the serious career that it is. To most of them, voice acting is that side hustle that you get to enjoy benefits from before you get a “real” job. This usually means that they don’t take it seriously and they normally expect little from voice acting. I understand why that might be the case and its because voice acting is not a career that has existed a long time like how being a doctor, lawyer, or a teacher has been. Being focused on what you do, means that you are putting your whole soul and heart in it. Come what you are determined to make it work and make it work to your benefit. You must be able to set realistic goals and give them timelines so you know if you are achieving them or not. That’s how you tell a voice actor who is focused and one who is not. One who is focused will always push themselves to be better and do better because they have goals for themselves to achieve in their career while those who are not focused, will either not be as serious and always end up quitting along the way. If your goal is to voice promos for a national network, plan and stick to it. Make sure that everything you do moving forward is to get you closer to your goals. Plan on how you reach that goal, it is easy to say you want something but without a plan, you will achieve nothing.
3. Adaptability
You need to be someone who can easily adapt. Doesn’t mean that now since you have to adapt then you lose your focus. This only means that you need to refocus and go back to the drawing board. Adaptability is a trait that allows you to deal with changes and shortcomings in the best way possible. The voice acting industry will constantly throw punches at you. You must be able to roll with the punches and make them work to your benefit. Imagine a scenario where, you as the voice actor, work as the major character in movies every other week, and then it reaches a point where you don’t even get a call back from auditions. This can be very daunting, seeing the fact that you are good at what you do and that’s why you keep getting the leading role in movies. You need to adapt to the new circumstances and try to find something else to do that will benefit you in the long run. A voice artist who is adaptable, will either enroll for training and get a voice coach to teach them a new voice character practice on it as they continue looking for more gigs. A voice actor who is not adaptable might even fall into depression because they don’t understand how it is possible for them not to get any jobs considering how old they are at what they do. You should always be open to other opportunities that don’t fall under what you need to achieve. You get an opportunity, work on it, immerse yourself, complete it to the best of your ability and then refocus and keep pushing for your goals. This will take you far as a voice actor.
4. Work Etiquette
As a voice actor, you need an incredible work etiquette. The time you spent in the studio at work recording, is not enough for you to be a well and renowned voice actor. You need to put more hours during your free time to practice and make yourself better. It is easy to feel like what you do during your work hours is enough but this is what will set you apart from that voice actor who is constantly getting called for the jobs you want. You must be someone whose work etiquette is impeccable always willing to know more and grow in all spheres of voice acting. Maintain a work etiquette that lets you build your skills, develop your brand, network, and manage your business affairs. This will ensure that you are moving forward in your career at a steady pace unlike when you are not doing anything.
5. A Sense of Play
A sense of play can also be referred to as imagination and creativity. From time to time, you will definitely have a studio director who will help you in interpreting your characters but you must also have a sense of play. Regardless of whether it is a serious cooperate script that you have to record or an animation cartoon that you need to interpret your creativity and imagination should always come to play. The audience must always have a sense of connection, and this only happens if they can see a genuine side of you through your voice. You are the one in charge of giving life to words and sustaining interest in the listener. Be able to switch on that mental button and give your full self when needed.
6. Enthusiasm
In an industry where jobs don’t always come knocking at your door, well except if you are a prominent sort after voice actor, it is very easy to lose your will and enthusiasm in doing something. A normal human being needs motivation for their energy levels and enthusiasm to be at an all-time high. Things happen and all these go to the lowest of lows. In such a situation you should take it upon yourself to constantly motivate yourself and spike your energy levels. If today things don’t go well for you and you don’t end up getting that call back you wanted, just pat yourself on the back and prepare for another audition. If you let your enthusiasm go to the lowest lows, chances are you will stay there longer than you intended and end up depressed and self-destructing. Keep yourself motivated and you will go far.
7. Confidence
Confidence is what we refer to as self-belief. That feeling that tells you to go for anything you want because you will definitely achieve it. Believing in yourself as a voice actor is very important if not the most important thing. Be sure of yourself and what you offer. Be willing to go further practicing, training yourself to be confident. No one wants to work with someone who has potential but they don’t see their own potential. In this industry, you will meet someone so confident that they will make you feel you don’t know what you are doing. Take it upon yourself to teach yourself how to be confident. Be sure to note that confidence is not arrogance. There is a thin line between the two and you should be able to differentiate the two.
8. Drive
You won’t always be driven to do anything but the reality is that at the back of your mind you will always have that voice telling you, don’t give up. This is what we refer to as drive, that willingness to continue doing something, even though you don’t see any benefits at the moment. When it comes to voice acting you need that drive to keep you going. It is not a career that is so smooth flowing and lots of hurdles will be experienced and how you keep on even though the face of adversity, will determine how far you will go in your career. Stay driven, be positive that better days are coming and continue working hard and going for auditions. It will definitely pay out eventually.
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