One of the questions we frequently get while discussing audio options with our customers is, “Why shouldn’t I just do this recording myself?” And it’s a question that we totally understand. With the rise of smartphones and so many other technological advances, it makes sense that a discerning customer would wonder if they could save some money by doing their own recordings, instead of using a professional voice talent.
But take it from some experts: recording quality audio is actually much harder than it looks. For starters, there’s the actual method of recording. Trained voice over talents have professional microphones and soundproof booths to make sure their voices are recorded crisply and clearly, and to make sure that things like traffic, birds, appliances, other people, and every other conceivable daily distraction isn’t recorded as well.
With those sorts of distractions, suddenly what was meant to be a quick and painless task now requires multiple takes. Are you reading with the same levels of energy in each take? Or are some a bit faster and some a bit slower? And if these are IVR prompts, that will require being stitched together in your phone system, are the various component pieces of audio being performed at the same steady pitch so the finished project will fit together?
And then, after all that work, you listen back to what you have completed and realize that the sound quality is filled with static, the recording is littered with the sound of sighs, swallows, and pauses, and that on the whole the finished project sounds like, well, like someone trying to assemble professional product on their phone.
The Professional Path
Or, you could hire a professional voice talent.
This approach will cost money, but in terms of time saved and final production returned, the tradeoff is more than fair. A professional voice talent will only need one or two takes to nail a performance, delivering it with exacting technical specificity.
And professional voice over talents can also modulate their delivery to suit whatever the project might be. They can be warm and affable while performing a voicemail greeting or some friendly on hold messaging. They can be as prim and restrained as you need for more technical IVR prompts or other internal voice messages.
Just take a moment to review our library of available voice talents, and maybe peruse the various descriptions we have of each voice. We have a massive amount of talent on there, with the ability to cover an incredible range of tones and energies.
While there are pros and cons to both approaches it is our experience that clear, sharp audio is your goal. The quickest, easiest, and most successful way to achieve this is to hire a professional voice talent.
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