Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Away From the Mic

Exercise Your Creativity to be a Better Voice Talent

Creativity is not something that you wait for.
Creativity is something that waits for you.

— Neale Donald Walsch

A few years ago, Drew gave me a Valentine’s present of joint membership at a local pottery studio. While we weren’t envisioning a re-do of the famous scene from the movie Ghost, we had been interested in learning how to create some crockery. Instead, I learned something more valuable through the experience:

When I exercise my creativity in a new or different way, I’m more creative in other areas.

Each time I came home from the pottery studio, I might perform a voiceover audition with more inspired choices, play my harp more fluidly, or design a scrapbook page with lots of layers and textures. Any of these things make me feel even more pleased and give me the desire to do more.

I discovered this theory holds true when I attempt to draw in my journal. Even writing this blog, which itself is an artistic endeavor, causes me to feel more innovative when I finish each entry.

No matter how you express yourself, each way that you can be creative is scooping more good stuff into your life from the same bountiful well. Why use a teaspoon when you can use a jug?

In the last week, I’ve done a couple of things in marketing my voiceover business that allowed me to express my creativity in new ways. First, I created the book trailer video for an audiobook, which I included and discussed in my previous entry “Reasons to Create Your Own Stuff”. Many voice talent have written to me saying that they felt inspired by the ideas and marketing info that I presented, so I encourage you to read that entry if you haven’t already.

The other thing I did was enter the Voices.com photo contest on their Facebook page. They wanted pictures of voice talent in their studios with the Voices.com web site displayed on some sort of screen. While winning the prize would be wonderful, I entered because it was a direct call to action to be creative. After all, the judging criteria is the “most creative, coolest picture”.

I wanted to do something with recursion. In computer programming, recursion occurs when the program calls itself repeatedly. I also wanted the picture to be as much about me as Voices.com, making it good marketing material for both of us.

It only took a few minutes to come up with an idea that met both of those objectives.

Atlanta voice talent Karen Commins can’t get enough of Voices.com!

 
I have been most gratified by and grateful for the overwhelming positive response I have received in sharing these dips into my creativity well. I’m thrilled to have inspired others, but I also benefit since creativity feeds upon itself and manifests in my voiceover business. More importantly, I live an even happier and rewarding life!

What are you doing to feed your creative spirit? I’d love to get your comments on the blog!
 

Voice talent will *love* “The King’s Speech”

Screen shot from Teri Clark Linden’s Facebook status update 12/29/10

 
After seeing fellow voice talent Teri Clark Linden’s Facebook status last week, I was intrigued about the new movie “The King’s Speech”. Regular readers of my blog know that I often find hidden parallels to voiceover work in my life situations, as well as in books and movies. This is one instance where the similarity is obvious to anyone who views the movie, and, like Teri, I cannot recommend too highly that voice talent and actors go see this fantastic film.

Without giving away too much of the plot, King George VI (played brilliantly by Colin Firth, who should win an Oscar) is a quiet man who never wanted to be king. He was forced to take the throne after his brother King Edward VIII abdicated the crown in 1936 in favor of marriage to the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson.

People usually say the fear of public speaking is at the top of their lists of fears and stress-inducing events. In addition to the normal nervous sensation felt by everyone in front of a microphone, King George VI has a significant obstacle to overcome:  a stammer developed in childhood and exacerbated throughout his life.

Enter Lionel Logue (played impeccably by Geoffrey Rush), an actor and speech therapist who works with the King to help him become the kind of public speaker necessary to lead the British people through the travails of World War II. Aside from the historical relevance, much of the delight in the movie is watching a King and a commoner learn to trust each other and find the oneness that binds all of us together.

An underlying theme that was revealed in the film is that, while Lionel Logue had his own dreams as an actor, his greatest glory was achieved due to his service to others. Indeed, to quote Ralph Waldo Trine from his 1896 book What All The World’s A-Seeking, or, The Vital Law of True Life, True Greatness, Power, and Happiness, it is through service to others that we find ourselves:

The idea has prevailed in the past, and this idea has dominated the world, that self is the great concern,–that if one would find success, greatness, happiness, he must give all attention to self, and to self alone. 

This has been the great mistake, this the fatal error, this the direct opposite of the right, the true as set forth in the great immutable law that–we find our own lives in losing them in the service of others, in longer form–the more of our lives we give to others, the fuller and the richer, the greater and the grander, the more beautiful and the more happy our own lives become. 

It is as that great and sweet soul who when with us lived at Concord said,–that generous giving or losing of your life which saves it. This is an expression of one of the greatest truths, of one of the greatest principles of practical ethics the world has thus far seen. In a single word, it is service,–not self but the other self. 

We shall soon see, however, that our love, our service, our helpfulness to others, invariably comes back to us, intensified sometimes a hundred or a thousand or a thousand thousand fold, and this by a great, immutable law.

We also usually don’t know the impact that we are having on others when we generously share our gifts and talents with them. After seeing the movie, I did a little on-line research and discovered that Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) wrote a letter praising Logue’s tremendous assistance to her husband:

I think that I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but, through that, his whole life, and outlook on life

Just as the King’s speech affected his subjects, every voice talent has the ability to influence someone whenever we take the microphone. You’ll note that some of Logue’s coaching to the King are the same techniques that we continue to use in our field.

Even if you aren’t a voice talent or actor, the King’s courage, determination, and persistence in fighting his battle and Logue’s ever-optimistic attitude and problem-solving skills are traits worthy of emulation. Go see this movie!

10 Law of Attraction principles in creating a job shift

Today’s story is not directly related to my usual topics of voiceover, marketing, or audiobooks. Instead, it’s a Law of Attraction story that I hope encourages and inspires you to do what you love and pursue your dreams because you just never know where they will lead! In addition, you’ll be able to see some Law of Attraction principles at work that you can use in building your voiceover career or pursuing any other passion.

First, it’s important to note that many people confuse the Law of Attraction with instant gratification. It’s not enough to WANT it. You have to DO SOMETHING about it! If you look at the word ATTRACTION, you’ll observe that the root word is ACTION, not GRATIFY. As this story illustrates, the results of the Law of Attraction are evident only after taking consistent action over a period of time.

1. If you have an idea to try something new, try it — you might like it.

Drew started scuba diving in 1983 just because he and his college roommate thought it would be a fun thing to do. Since we live in Atlanta, you can imagine that his opportunities to go diving were somewhat limited. However he took special diving trips as often as possible and would go diving on our vacations. He didn’t seriously pursue diving until we went to Hawaii in 2000.

I see many introductory, 2- or 3-hour voiceover classes offered these days. I always encourage people to take these kinds of classes and read books on voiceover to get a taste of what the job is like.

2. If you like it, take specialized classes to learn more about it and master new skills.

As the number of his dives increased the past few years, Drew kept taking specialty classes. He talked for years about getting a Dive Master rating even though he had no place to use it.
Note that he continued to take classes in an interest that was merely a hobby. If you are planning to enter a new career, such as a job shift to voiceover work, additional instruction will be necessary to gain subject mastery.

3. Even if your dream seems impossible, don’t give up. The forces of the Universe may conspire to help you achieve it!

In 2005, the world’s largest aquarium was built in — you guessed it — Atlanta. Yes, Atlanta! Almost unbelievably, land-locked Atlanta, which is at least a 5 hours’ drive to any ocean, is the home to the world’s largest aquarium, with mammoth exhibits housing some of the world’s largest marine life. The largest exhibit holds OVER 6 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER and 4 whale sharks, which will grow to be the size of city buses! These whale sharks came from Taiwan, and most people would never have the opportunity to see them and the other amazing animals that are all living at the Georgia Aquarium.

4. The right people and information will come into your life when you least expect it.

Long before the Georgia Aquarium opened at Thanksgiving, 2005 — in fact, in 2003 or 2004 when construction was still underway — a friend mentioned to Drew that he was going to apply to volunteer at the Aquarium. He hoped to be a scuba diver.

Until that day, we hadn’t heard much about the Aquarium, but that one sentence was all Drew needed to hear. He immediately contacted the Aquarium and started the volunteer application process.

5. Persistence of follow-up action is a key ingredient to success.

Thousands of people applied to be volunteers, and the resulting screening process was often disorganized and chaotic. Drew repeatedly followed up with the coordinators when he didn’t hear anything. He made sure that his application was processed and that he did everything he needed to do in order to become a volunteer. He had to pass a background check and drug test before they ever cleared him to take classes on the animal habitats and guest relations.

Our friend, in contrast, filled out an application and simply waited for someone to get back with him. Since he didn’t follow-up, he is no closer to volunteering that he was 5 years ago. Meanwhile, Drew’s volunteer work started during the pre-grand opening days for annual pass holders. He was in on the ground floor of this amazing new Aquarium!

6. Volunteering is a great way to get more of your passion in your life, as well as gain experience needed for a job shift.

Drew did anything he could to get his foot in the door, hoping that maybe at some point he would be allowed to dive with the Aquarium. Everyone told him that he would have to volunteer for at least a year before they would even consider taking on volunteer divers. He originally volunteered primarily in the IT and Special Events departments.

In February, 2006, after the Aquarium had only been open for 3 short months, Drew received notification that he could apply to be a volunteer diver!

The Aquarium has extremely strict rules about its dive staff as the Aquarium must comply with OSHA requirements. If Drew had not continued to take diving classes and upgrade his certifications in the preceding few years, he would not have been eligible for consideration for the dive team. Even so, he still had to take some Red Cross first aid classes and pass a grueling swimming test. Once he passed those tests, he had to pass a physical exam.

We both were beyond thrilled when he passed all of the requirements and was certified for diving with the Georgia Aquarium!

I am a firm believer in volunteerism. Before I ever took the first voiceover workshop, I volunteered for 5 years as a reader and producer for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Through my volunteer work, I gained clarity about my desire to become a full-time voice talent.

7. Get a support team in place to cheer you on.

Some of you know that Drew was laid off in July 2009 from his position as a lead senior software engineer by ADP, his employer of 12 years. We thought his job was secure and never saw the layoff coming.

He was let go at lunchtime on a Thursday, and he called me while on his way home. From the moment he told me the shocking news, I told him that the layoff could be the best thing that could happen to him. I encouraged him to do what he wanted to do instead of feeling that he had to take a job just to make money.

My positive reaction was no surprise to Drew. We have always been champions of each others’ dreams. I’ve written previously about relationships that change or disappear in the pursuit of your dream. For this reason, you need to be careful about the people in whom you confide your deepest dreams. If your family and friends are not supportive of you, it just makes your success more difficult to achieve. In the voice-over world, you can join numerous on-line forums to discuss your progress with and learn from peers. You’ll find several of these forums listed on the right panel of my blog.

8. Investing in your dream is an investment in yourself and a life you will love.

Initially, Drew said he would still pursue a job in software development. At the same time, though, he decided to fulfill a long-held dream to get his Dive Master rating. ADP paid him for his unused vacation time, and Drew used that money to take the certification class even though he didn’t have a specific plan to use the certification. He finished the certification in March.

I also have cashed in vacation time and money to progress my voiceover career. It may seem like a sacrifice to give up a trip in exchange for a career-enhancing workshop. However, I have never regretted any decision made in favor of my dreams.

9. Listen to that small, still voice in your head, and let it guide you in times of doubt.

After going on an interview in the fall for a developer position that seemed if it had been written to match his qualifications and was located only 3 miles from our house, Drew confessed that he did not really want to go back to corporate software. I encouraged him again to find a job he would enjoy rather than one done for the money.

We decided he should consider himself retired from corporate software and concentrate on getting a job at the Aquarium, where he had been steadily volunteering as a diver for over 4 years. We restructured our finances to pay off some obligations, which allowed us to live comfortably on my income.

I heard Joel Osteen say recently that our creator does not give you the vision without also giving you the provision for making it happen. In 2008, the Aquarium started the Dive Immersion Program, where members of the public pay a fee for the opportunity to swim or dive in the main exhibit with the whale sharks, sharks, manta rays, and other exotic creatures.

Drew had wanted to be part of that program since its inception, but he couldn’t participate as a volunteer. Until he changed his mindset about the salary he could accept, he felt he couldn’t work there, especially since most of the staff only works part-time.

10. Continue moving in the direction of your dream, even if you can only take baby steps.

Drew had expressed his interest in the job and maintained contact with the department manager during his volunteer stints. Once he finished his Dive Master certification, he notified her about his upgraded qualifications.

She told him to submit an application even though they currently had no vacancies.

However, things moved FAST from that point! She called him the day after his birthday to tell him he was scheduled for the preliminary — and intense! — swim and diving skills test. (Happy birthday!) After passing the tests, he had to give a small presentation as if he were meeting the public.

At that point, they invited him and 2 other people who had passed all the tests for an interview.

He had the swim tests, presentation, and interview on Monday 7 June. At the end of the week, he had the DREAM JOB!

In truth, Drew never really dreamed of being a professional scuba diver. He just didn’t see how it could work out given our distance from the ocean and the part-time nature of the work.

His story shows that when you give up the HOW and focus on the WHAT of your desires, the Universe can fulfill the order in a way better than you could have dreamed possible! It also shows that you can do what you love as a volunteer, but you may be able to convert that volunteer gig into a paying gig.

If any of you are in Atlanta, you don’t want to miss a trip to the Georgia Aquarium. If you decide to experience the animals up and close and personal as a diver or swimmer in the main exhibit, it just might be my husband who acts as your tour guide in the water!


 

The intelligence of water crystals

Today is Blog Action Day. On 15 October each year, bloggers from more than 100 countries come together and blog about a single important issue, and this year’s topic is clean water.

Living where I do, I don’t even have to think about clean water. It’s something I often take for granted, especially while constantly sipping from a large bottle of water during my voiceover sessions. Through this blog article, I doubt that I could even cause a ripple of action that could cause improvement to the 70% of the earth that is covered in water. However, I want to raise your consciousness about the power of water to reflect the words you speak and enhance your life.

(I admit that the rest of this post may sound like a bunch of New Age woo-woo, but I hope you’ll keep reading!)

If you’re a long-time reader, you know that I believe firmly that nothing is more powerful on this planet than the words that you think and speak. Wars have been fought over words. Love is expressed through words. The power of Blog Action Day comes from the fact that words from around the globe are written, read, and discussed about a single, unifying topic.

Recently, I saw fascinating research about water from Japanese researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto. He discovered that crystals formed in frozen water look different based on the specific thought directed at the water. According to some of his literature:

I always stress the energy is vibrations, and vibrations are life. Words are vibrations. Words, therefore, are life … The sounds of words are nothing less than a divine gift from nature. Water crystals are illustrating this divine gift in their design.

Water is a medium that receives and understands even the subtlest vibrations. Water captures vibrations naturally. Even when these vibrations are characters, or letters representing language, water shows us the energy they contain in the forms of crystals. Water is attempting to communicate something to us. Negative emotions prevent the water from crystallizing. Positive emotions allow it to develop to beautiful hexagonal shapes.

Water makes up 70 percent of our bodies, and there is little doubt to me that the information in the water goes a long way in the formation of our health, as well as our attitude toward the world and the attitude of the world around us.

Dr. Emoto explains on his site how the photographs are made. I respect his position in not giving permission to reprint his pictures on other sites, so you’ll have to look at them on his site or do a search to find them elsewhere. The frozen crystals either have perfect symmetry and immense beauty or are misshapen blobs, depending on the words associated with each one.

For instance, a picture representing LOVE AND THANKS is awe-inspiring perfection. A picture made for the word WAR is quite startling because it kind of looks like an explosion from an atomic bomb.

The pictures for tap water in various cities are quite illuminating. Even though you think your drinking water is clean, the water crystals tell another story. Based on the pictures of the crystals, we should all move to Vancouver for the cleanest water!

I have a deck of Dr. Emoto’s Water Crystal Oracle cards. On one side of the card is the picture, and the word appears on the other side. In the past, I have kept a card under my water glass to focus attention on some aspect in my life that I wanted to improve or heal. In writing this post, I’ve decided to use the RESONANCE, HARMONY, TRUTH, and PROSPERITY cards in my voiceover booth. Since water mirrors the vibrations of our words, I want the words that I speak as a voice talent to be in service of those 4 things.

As I said at the beginning of this essay, I don’t have to think about clean water for myself. Thank you for joining me and others around the world in using the power of our words today about in promoting clean water for everyone. This one blog post may not cause a ripple of action, but together, we are a force of nature!
 

1 “Oh s***” can wipe out 1000 “Attaboys!”

The title of this article is a saying I heard early in my IRS career. Sorry if it offends you, but it really gets to the heart of stellar customer service. No matter how many great and wonderful things you do for your clients, the thing they will remember most — and tell the most people about — is the thing that got screwed up.

As Drew and I continue to repair and renovate our house, I’m finding no shortage of contractor stories to share with you that illustrate this principle. By observing other business operators, we can determine how to better service our clients in our voice-over businesses….and hopefully avoid some of those “Oh s****” moments.

Today, I actually have 2 contractor stories. First, I have an example of fantastic customer service from start to finish.

We decided to install some recessed lighting in Drew’s man cave. Drew called his friend Tommy Dunaway, an electrician who owns a business named Tommy’s Lighting and Electric. Tommy came out to discuss options and give us an estimate. When he came back to install the lights, he exceeded our expectations because:

1) He arrived exactly on time, which is a rarity for service provider at one’s home. Punctuality is key in voiceover as well. When I started my voiceover business, I assumed that all voiceover talent were punctual. Over the years, I’ve been surprised to read about people who didn’t show up or were late to sessions, didn’t return phone calls, etc.

2) He suggested features we hadn’t considered, like a dimmer for the recessed lights and a remote control for the ceiling fan. I do the same thing with my clients. For instance, if I was hired to narrate a marketing video for a trade show, I’ll also let the client know that they may want to use the same voice on their phone system, e-learning modules, and web site to enhance and solidify their brand. It may seem like a self-serving piece of advice, but it’s really about helping my clients achieve consistency in all of their communications.

3) He finished the job in LESS time than he estimated, so our bill was less than expected. He told me he always builds in enough time in the estimate to troubleshoot any problems — a tactic that voice talent would do well to emulate.

4) He cleaned up after the job was finished. (Remember this point because I’m coming back to it in the next story!)

Tommy told me that his business is mostly through repeat business and referrals. In my voiceover business, I always want to make it easy for my clients to refer me. With his terrific attention to detail and exemplary customer service, it’s truly a pleasure to refer Tommy to other people.

My second story is about my new roof. We learned about Everdry Roofing because someone there follows Drew on Twitter, which just goes to show you the growing importance of social networking in attracting clients.

I thought Everdry was going to be a second success story of stellar customer service. After all, they showed up when promised, explained shingle options, worked with our insurance company on our claim, and did a great job of cleaning up the nails and other debris from the yard.

They were providing exceptional customer service — that is, until the “Oh s***” moment.

In the picture below, your eyes are not drawn to my new roof, with its lovely architectural shingles and new ridge vent. No, instead you see the massive steel container stretching over half of my driveway. In fact, Everdry’s sign in my yard points directly to it.

The “Oh s***” moment from the roof installation has lasted all weekend.

 
The roofers were here Thursday and part of Friday. I wasn’t at all happy about the container staying overnight on Thursday since it blocks the garage. The project manager assured me at 6pm Thursday that the container would be removed Friday. Today is Sunday, and the container is still here. I haven’t heard from Everdry about their plans to remove it.

If Drew and I had 2 cars like every other household in Atlanta, one of those cars would be trapped in the garage or parked on the street all weekend. As it is, we have to cautiously back out over our grass to clear the side of the container.

To make matters worse, the smell of 23-year-old shingles removed from the roof and the other materials in the container is akin to the putrid stench of animals killed in the road. Every time I walk out of my house, that nasty smell hits me in the face. We’re still having 90-degree days, so you can just imagine how the smell grows as the day progresses.

As a voiceover talent, I always think of how to provide the best level of service to exceed my clients’ expectations. I certainly don’t want them to incur any inconvenience as a result of my actions!

For instance, it may seem like a small thing, but the manner in which you name and transmit your recordings to your agents and clients can be either an “Oh s***” or an “Attagirl!” moment:

  • If they have given you a file naming convention, use it.
  • If not, be very descriptive with your file names so that the purpose or script for each file is immediately evident.
  • If you have to revise a file, add a revision number to the file name so that you don’t inadvertently write over an existing file. Sometimes, the client may decide the original file was best after all or wants to make some other change to it.
  • Compress multiple files into a zip file so that the client only has to download one file.

By being organized and forward-thinking, you can rack up the “Attaboys!” and “Attagirls!” in providing stellar service to your voiceover clients. If you have other examples of stellar service, please leave a comment on the blog!
 

Make it easy for your clients to want to refer you

Since Drew now is a Divemaster in the Dive Immersion Program at the Georgia Aquarium — a job, by the way, which seems to beat out voiceover talent for the coolness factor in the minds of other people — he no longer needs a home office. We are converting his office to a man cave, and we need some additional storage space.

We decided we could accomplish our storage needs by adding one more cabinet to our garage. A few years ago, in our ongoing quest for beautiful organization, we hired Premier Garage to renovate our garage. As repeat clients, we thought it would be a quick, easy, and painless process for them to install the new cabinet, especially since the company has an office and manufacturing facility about 2 miles from our house.

What could be simpler than installing a new cabinet 
in a beautifully organized garage of a repeat client?

 
To date, Premier Garage has been to my house an astonishing 4 times over multiple days, with a 5th trip scheduled next week, for this cabinet installation! Yes, the job should be simple, but this company is too disorganized to plan and execute it.

1) The tech arrived with the wrong size of cabinet and no door handles. What happened to the adage of “measure twice, cut once”?

2) The tech came back another day with a replacement cabinet, which was STILL the wrong size. I wondered why they didn’t bother to check it before they left the office.

3) On the third attempt, the tech came with the right size of the cabinet shell, but the doors were the wrong size. He also didn’t have the interior shelves.

4) This morning, the guy was were here to install the correct doors. Again, we have no handles and no shelves! In addition, the cabinet has holes in the back wall caused by incorrect drilling that must now be filled. “Measure twice, cut once” is definitely a foreign concept to these folks.

In addition to the various screw-ups with the actual cabinet installation, the techs have irritated me in 2 other ways that demonstrated a lack of respect and concern for their customer:

  • On 3 of the 4 visits, we were given an arrival window of a 30-minute time period, yet the techs still showed up late without even a courtesy call.
  • Today, the tech backed into the driveway up to the garage threshold and left his truck running while he worked, which filled my garage with the lovely smells of gas fumes and truck exhaust on a day that promises to be quite hot.

The easiest and most gratifying voiceover job for me is one with a repeat client. I look at the last session for that client and copy the same Pro Tools settings to the new session. I know the type of file transmission that the client prefers. I communicate about the turn-around time at the project outset and then work to beat the deadline. The client has no concerns about the quality of my recordings or my speed and efficiency in completing the job for them because I proved myself to them the first time and pride myself on maintaining a consistent high level of service.

In short, a job with a repeat client is an opportunity to exhibit consistency and reliability. If you are reliable and consistent, a client will turn to you automatically when they need voice talent. What’s more, they are happy to refer you to other people who could utilize your services.

In his excellent and highly recommended book titled Work Like You’re Showing Off: The Joy, Jazz, and Kick of Being Better Tomorrow Than You Were Today, Joe Calloway refers to consistency as the gold standard:

You can count on me. You can believe in me. If I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it. Put it in the bank. Bet the farm on it. It doesn’t matter whether or not I’m in a good mood, have a headache, forgot to pick up my clothes from the cleaners, had a fight with my daughter, lost my keys, or didn’t sleep last night. If I said I’ll do it, then I’ll do it.

What’s more, I’ll do it every time.

If you can say all of that, and back it up, that’s more than showing off. That’s delivering the goods. That’s the gold standard. If you consistently do what you say you’ll do over a long period of time, the world will beat a path to your door. Nothing demonstrates the essence of showing off, in the most positive sense of the phrase, than rock solid consistency. There’s an old saying that goes, “Amateurs work until they get it right. Professionals work until they can’t get it wrong.”

We love people who do what they say they will do. Consistency is the foundation of success and the great business builder. Consistency is the definition of integrity.

I told the tech on-site today that Premier Garage is not making it easy for us to want to refer them due to their inconsistent, unreliable, and sloppy approach on this job. Hopefully, you can learn from their many mistakes and make it easy for your clients to want to refer you! If you have other tips about gaining referrals, please leave a comment on the blog!