How to Find Your Authentic Voice and Grow as a Voice Actor
with Rick Wasserman
Have you ever listened to your own voice and wondered whether it’s the right sound for the voiceover industry? Maybe you’ve been told you have a great voice, but you’re not booking the work you want. Or maybe you hear other actors getting hired and start thinking you need to sound more like them.
It’s easy to focus on how your voice sounds. But voice acting is about the choices you make, the story you’re telling, and the connection you create with the listener.
After years of coaching voice actors, I’ve seen how much time people spend trying to develop a particular sound instead of learning to use the voice they already have.
In a recent episode of the VO BOSS Podcast, Rick Wasserman and I explored what it means to embrace your authentic voice, strengthen your acting skills, and build a career that reflects who you are.
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Let Your Natural Voice Lead
Your authentic voice is the one you use when you’re completely comfortable. It’s how you sound when you’re talking with someone you know well, sharing a story, or speaking without thinking about how you’re supposed to sound.
That voice carries your personality, experiences, sense of humor, and perspective.
For years, voiceover training emphasized recognizable delivery patterns, particularly in commercial work. Today, there’s greater demand for natural, relatable performances that sound like real people communicating.
Rick has experienced that evolution throughout nearly three decades working in television, animation, video games, and commercial voiceover. He sees opportunities for actors to bring more of their individuality into the booth.
I love that because I regularly remind my students that having a beautiful voice isn’t the same as being a great voice actor.
You can have an incredible natural sound, but if you’re relying on that sound instead of understanding the story, something important is missing.
Think about how you speak when you’re genuinely interested in what you’re saying. Your personality comes through without you consciously creating a performance.
The goal isn’t to abandon acting technique. It’s to develop enough technique that you can communicate naturally while making intentional choices.
Give Yourself Feedback That Actually Helps
One of the biggest challenges in voice acting is learning to evaluate your own performances.
When you listen back to an audition, are you judging how your voice sounds? Comparing yourself to another actor? Deciding the entire read was terrible because you didn’t like one sentence?
Those reactions rarely tell you what needs improvement.
Instead, evaluate your storytelling choices.
Who are you talking to? What do you want that person to understand, feel, or do? Are your choices helping you communicate that intention?
I see this frequently when coaching students on long-form narration. They may begin a script with a clear intention, but several paragraphs later, they’re concentrating on getting through the words instead of communicating with the listener.
In e-learning, for example, I remind students that they’re playing the role of a teacher. Every sentence needs to help someone understand the material. You’re guiding someone through information, and that requires maintaining your connection with the listener throughout the script.
The same principle applies to commercial work, corporate narration, and other voiceover genres.
The next time you review an audition, shift your attention away from whether you like your voice. Listen for your intention, the story, and whether the message comes through clearly.
That’s feedback you can actually use.
Keep Audition Rejection in Perspective
Rejection is part of voice acting, and it doesn’t necessarily get easier with experience.
Rick has spent decades building a successful performing career, yet he admits that not booking a job can still be disappointing.
I think that’s important to remember. Even experienced professionals care about their auditions. When you put effort into a performance, you naturally hope it leads to work.
But most auditions won’t result in bookings.
That doesn’t mean every unsuccessful audition was a bad performance. Casting decisions involve factors you may never know about, and many auditions happen remotely without a director providing feedback.
That’s why developing a reliable performance process is so valuable.
Rather than spending your energy wondering why you weren’t chosen, ask yourself whether you understood the script, made clear acting choices, and delivered a performance you could stand behind.
If you receive useful feedback, learn from it. If you don’t, keep developing your skills and preparing for the next opportunity.
Your growth as an actor shouldn’t depend entirely on whether you booked the job.
Choose Work That Fits Your Skills and Interests
As your career develops, the kinds of projects you want to pursue may change.
Rick shared an experience from his earlier video game work, when recording characters sometimes required extended periods of intense screaming. Those sessions provided valuable professional experience, but they were physically demanding.
Eventually, he decided that kind of work wasn’t something he wanted to continue pursuing.
He also talked about voicing a horse in a commercial, an unusual opportunity that allowed him to explore something different.
Both stories illustrate an important part of building a career: understanding what you enjoy, what you can deliver, and where you want to spend your energy.
Voice acting offers opportunities across commercial work, animation, video games, corporate narration, e-learning, and many other genres.
You don’t have to pursue every opportunity to build a meaningful career.
Be willing to experiment, especially when you’re starting out. As you gain experience, pay attention to the work that interests you and the skills you want to continue developing.
Find Voiceover Coaching That Meets You Where You Are
One of the questions I hear most often is, “How many coaching sessions do I need before I’m ready?”
There’s no single answer.
Someone with years of stage experience may already understand character development, objectives, and storytelling. Someone without an acting background may need to begin with those fundamentals.
Your experience, goals, available time, and budget all influence the training that makes sense for you.
That’s why I don’t believe voiceover coaching should follow a one-size-fits-all approach.
A productive coaching relationship begins with understanding where you are and what you’re trying to accomplish.
Do you need help analyzing scripts? Are you struggling with self-direction? Do you want to explore a new genre? Are you developing the performance skills you’ll eventually need for a professional demo?
Rick and I share the belief that voice acting is acting. The storytelling fundamentals used on stage or in front of a camera also apply behind the microphone.
A good coach helps you develop a process for approaching scripts, making choices, and responding to direction. It’s also valuable to learn from different teachers, because sometimes hearing an idea explained another way creates the understanding you’ve been looking for.
The goal isn’t to make every student perform the same way. It’s to help you become an independent actor who can make confident, informed choices.
Give Yourself Permission to Learn Through Experience
Voice acting involves much more than reading words into a microphone. You need to interpret scripts, understand direction, communicate with clients, and navigate professional recording sessions.
Some of those abilities develop through coaching. Others come from experience.
Rick shared a funny story from an earlier HBO recording session. A producer asked him to deliver an “ABC” on a title read.
He wasn’t familiar with the terminology and didn’t want to admit it in front of everyone.
Eventually, he learned that the producer simply wanted three different versions of the read.
It’s funny in hindsight, but it illustrates something every voice actor encounters: moments when you don’t know exactly what someone means or how to approach a request.
That doesn’t make you unprofessional.
What matters is being willing to listen, ask questions, and learn.
Rick explained that experiences like this helped motivate him to become a coach. He wanted to share what he’d learned so other actors could avoid some of the mistakes he made along the way.
I appreciate that perspective because no amount of coaching can prepare you for every situation you’ll encounter.
Training gives you a foundation. Experience teaches you how to apply it.
Build a Career Around More Than Your Voice
A sustainable voiceover career requires performance skills, preparation, professional relationships, and the ability to connect with people who need your services.
Networking and social media can help expand your reach, but visibility alone doesn’t replace the work you do in the booth.
The same applies to producing a professional demo. A polished recording can help introduce you to potential clients, but you need the performance skills to consistently deliver what that demo represents.
And remember that everyone’s path into voiceover looks different.
Some actors bring years of performance experience. Others discover voice acting after careers in completely different fields. Some pursue it part-time, while others want to build a full-time business.
Your path doesn’t need to look like someone else’s.
Your authentic voice is already part of who you are. Learn to use it with intention. Understand the story you’re telling, develop your acting skills, and find teachers who help you grow.
The more confident you become in your choices, the more of your individuality you can bring to the work.
For more insights, join Rick Wasserman and me on the VO BOSS Podcast as we explore authentic voice acting, coaching, performance skills, and building a sustainable voiceover career.
10 Key Takeaways
Embrace your authentic voice. Your natural sound reflects your personality, experiences, and perspective. Learn to use those qualities instead of imitating another actor.
Focus on storytelling rather than sound. Effective voice acting comes from understanding the script, making intentional choices, and connecting with your listener.
Learn to evaluate your own performances. When reviewing auditions, consider your objectives, storytelling choices, and whether your message comes through clearly.
Keep audition rejection in perspective. Even experienced professionals don’t book every audition. Focus on your preparation and performance rather than allowing each outcome to define your abilities.
Choose work that aligns with your interests. Explore different genres, recognize your strengths, and pursue opportunities that support your professional goals.
Find coaching that meets your needs. Your experience, budget, available time, and career goals should help determine the training that’s right for you.
Develop your own acting process. Learn from different coaches, strengthen your self-direction skills, and discover techniques that help you make confident performance choices.
Prioritize acting skills before equipment. Invest in your performance foundation before spending heavily on microphones, recording gear, or a professional home studio.
Be willing to learn through experience. Every audition, recording session, and professional interaction offers opportunities to improve. Ask questions and remain open to learning.
Build a career around more than your voice. Strong acting skills, preparation, professional relationships, and consistent performance are essential to long-term voiceover success.
Episode Chapters
00:00 – Meet Rick Wasserman
02:22 – Finding Opportunity in Your Authentic Voice
04:29 – Dealing With Rejection as a Voice Actor
07:16 – How to Give Yourself Better Performance Feedback
10:21 – Knowing When to Say Yes or No to a Job
13:16 – Why Your Authentic Voice Matters
16:34 – How Much Voiceover Coaching Do You Need?
19:22 – Finding the Right Coach for You
21:22 – Train Before You Invest in Gear
23:54 – Persistence and Realistic Career Expectations
27:32 – Networking Without Forcing It
30:44 – Using Social Media to Expand Your Reach
36:42 – When Are You Ready to Make a Demo?
38:28 – Why Voice Acting Is More Than Reading
40:19 – Rick’s Biggest Advice for Voice Actors
Listen to the Episode
Join Anne Ganguzza and Rick Wasserman on the VO BOSS Podcast for a conversation about finding your authentic voice, handling audition rejection, improving self-direction, choosing the right coaching, and developing the acting skills needed to grow your voiceover career.
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