ATTENTION NEWBIES!!! The art of LISTENING!!!

PJHawke · 05-06-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Tone

The ones who DO make it are what matters, not focusing how many don't. Scott gave solid help, but I would recommend not adding how difficult it is to a new person with nothing but their dreams for the moment, unless the goal is to get rid of possible future competition.

I disagree. And that's not coming from a jaded career pro but from a total n00b who hasn't been paid for any VO other than a podcast. In the process of lining up my ducks I can see that I'm in line to spend a good bit of money; mostly on coaching, some on revamping my recording outfit. And a lot of time. If someone only showed me the successful VO's out there, I'd be inclined to go gangbusters into this and assume success. And then get extremely discouraged when the jobs didn't come raining down on me, and then depressed, and then angry, and then paranoid about some conspiracy against me when everyone else is doing so well and I'm not. I need to know how hard it is, and how many people fail at it -- and, most importantly, WHY they failed -- or I won't have a realistic understanding of how to work my way through this. And I'll end up wasting a lot of money, and a lot of valuable time that could have been spent pursuing something more beneficial to me.

I would be enraged at any coach who took my money and didn't prepare me for the inevitable disappointments or show me the bones littering the path. If s/he tries to scare me off at first, I know it's because they want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into and don't want to see me blindly take a fall. Naivete is not a good cornerstone for a career undertaking. Show me the corpses; I'm a big boy, I can take it. If I can't, I won't last in the business anyway.

Just my $.02 from the opposite end of the spectrum, for whatever that's worth.

Paul Plack · 05-06-2009, 04:37 PM

It's possible to encourage someone while still communicating the difficulty of the task. I try for that balance.

But if someone breaks out in tears when told what he really needs to change to be competitive, he probably lacks the requisite skin thickness to do this. Wait till he pays his $200 for a P2P membership and his first 100 auditions go unacknowledged.

shenecke · 05-06-2009, 04:56 PM

Being a newbie myself, I think the biggest mistake most newbies make is not having a business plan! After all, it is a business and one should treat it as such. Without a well defined path, it's no wonder most get frustrated and quit. I started one year ago and am learning more every day! Haven't earned a dime yet, but I'm still executing my plan, ie training, practice ect.

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05-06-2009, 04:37 PM	#22 (permalink)
Paul Plack User Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Murray, Utah, USA Posts: 492	It's possible to encourage someone while still communicating the difficulty of the task. I try for that balance. But if someone breaks out in tears when told what he really needs to change to be competitive, he probably lacks the requisite skin thickness to do this. Wait till he pays his $200 for a P2P membership and his first 100 auditions go unacknowledged.

05-06-2009, 04:56 PM	#23 (permalink)
shenecke Steven Hennecke, Voicer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Central California Posts: 239	Being a newbie myself, I think the biggest mistake most newbies make is not having a business plan! After all, it is a business and one should treat it as such. Without a well defined path, it's no wonder most get frustrated and quit. I started one year ago and am learning more every day! Haven't earned a dime yet, but I'm still executing my plan, ie training, practice ect.