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Avoid odd word choices and direct translations: get help from a professional voice-over agency

There are many times when you can benefit from a voice-over, for example, when you need an audio recording in different languages and you want to be sure that the quality meets your high demands. But a voice-over can help with more than just a voice. Translations, for example…

You have sales material to be translated: perhaps a quote or an advert which you want to use internationally. The problem when you have to translate your material from business- or industry-specific Swedish into other languages may be that you don’t really know what the language and industry talk sounds like in everyday life. Do you know which industry terms are used within the field or in the country where you’re going to launch your sales material?

The importance of using an authentic voice-over agency

 When you translate from Swedish to, say, English – unless you’re bilingual – you’ll often end up somewhere between textbook English and TV English, which may work in some cases. But if you’re going to launch your brand to an American audience, the everyday slang and industry jargon differs quite a lot from textbook English. There are also significant differences in the language, depending on where in the country you’re going to market your brand. If you’re not familiar with your target group’s language use, you risk not reaching them with your message and weakening your company’s credibility.

Make a credible impression with a professional voice-over agency

 Instead of investing resources into making new material for each country you’re marketing your business in, you can have a voice-over agency translate your business texts or adverts. Business documents are often translated into languages your employees don’t use on a daily basis, which can be a difficult nut to crack internally. This work takes time to do and day-to-day tasks are pushed to the back of the queue.

With a professional translator, you save both time and money, while you get an authentic result. Instead of imposing the responsibility for translation on a multilingual employee, you can make it easier for everyone involved by letting a voice-over agency do the work. We can translate your material into more than 100 languages through our network of certified translators. As a voice-over agency, we offer high-quality voices for many different types of assignments. It can be anything from the translation of documentaries to radio adverts and corporate films. Do you want to know more about how you can use our voice-over services?

In the course of recording, there are a lot of things that voice-over artists need to think about. In addition to good equipment that we at Voice To Me have, the voice-over artist needs to be well prepared and rested. Here are just a few things to keep in mind to succeed when recording. In this article, we give you the tools you need to succeed in the best way possible.

A well-executed recording is hard to beat and can make all the difference in the success of your project. A well-recorded voice testifies to professionalism and perhaps conveys more than anything else what your business, company, or organisation stands for. With regard to recording itself, perhaps the most important thing is preparation. Make sure to work through your script carefully before recording. A good guideline is to “write it as you say it”. The idea is not to use overly complicated words or formulations, which you may use in writing. Speech and writing are very different in that sense. Of course, you should adapt the recording to the target group and purpose, but don’t be afraid to keep it simple. As long as you’re not giving a lecture to Mensa’s board of directors, you can probably use a simpler language in your recording.

Be well prepared for the recording

Making a recording takes effort. As with other occasions when you make need to perform well, such as runs, football matches, or whatever it may be, your state of mind needs to be right. Use your influence where you can. Make sure you arrive on time for your recording session. Come rested and refreshed. Eat well and do everything else you know is important. Do your best to be as ready as possible. Once you’re behind the microphone, it’s time to deliver, and everything you do is measurable and a result. Being prepared can’t be faked, especially when recording.

Technology is equally important. There are numerous types of microphones, and even more possible settings for them. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are or how amazing your script is if the technology lets you down. Make sure you review carefully how your microphone is set up, which tone of voice you want to use, and how loudly you should speak. It’s very complicated to save a bad recording, and that’s if it’s even possible at all. If you’re unsure about how to handle it all technically, we recommend using the option of professional recording in a studio.

Below are seven concrete tips on what you as a voice-over artist should think about in order to do as well as possible with your recording.

 Recording – 7 tips for success

1. Preparation
   Read the text carefully, preferably several times, and get to know any special characters and context. Being prepared is extremely important for a successful recording.
   
   
2. Underline
   Are you unsure of a word or how to pronounce something? Mark those words and check what they mean or how to pronounce them.
   
   
3. Read out loud
   Although many people read the text several times, they make the mistake of reading it silently to themselves. You should read the text aloud before recording instead. Partly because it’s easier to hear what the result will be, but also to practice those underlined words that you had difficulty pronouncing.
   
   
4. Replenish your energy
   Eat properly and have a lot of energy before the recording. Also, make sure that you’re rested and have slept well. It keeps you and your brain alert and fresh.
   
   
5. Use good posture and don’t move too much
   Sitting correctly and comfortably, with both feet firmly on the ground is important for the voice to sound as good as possible. It’s also important to sit still, as the microphones are very sensitive, and the slightest movement can be heard when recording.
   
   
6. Don’t stress
   Take it easy when you read. It’s easy to get stressed if you have a lot of text and information to read out. But don’t take it too easy – read the text aloud in the right rhythm.
   
   
7. Try to read naturally
   Imagine that you’re going to tell or read something to a person sitting across from you. Mean what you say and think that everyone who’s listening is doing so because it’s you and your story they want to listen to.

 
These are just a few of the things you need to keep in mind when recording. Are you unsure of what you need for the best possible end product?

Get help with recording

A successful recording requires some preparation. It may seem simple to start with, but it involves a lot of preparation, good timing, and steady performance. Do you want help with your recording? At Voice To Me, we’re happy to help you and have a wide range of voices in our bank. When you choose one of our voices, we’ll help and support you throughout the production, so that the end result is as good as it can be. You can feel completely at ease with us. Read more and pick a voice here!

The next time you listen to a radio programme with a famous on-air personality, think about what sort of thoughts or memories they evoke in you. A recurring and familiar voice means more to us than we think. Now you probably understand how important it is to choose the right voice for your advert or radio programme.
Using the same voice in a programme or in different adverts creates a sense of security and, as a listener, you know little about what you’re getting. But it also creates a kind of recognition for the advert or radio programme. It also makes the listener create their own image and perception of what the radio presenter looks like and what they’re like as a person, unless you know who they are. Of course, in addition to this, the voice reflects the message or advert in question.

When talking about a radio voice and what it should convey (depending on what kind of an advert it is), we think it should combine knowledge and credibility, create the right feeling, and get the listener to react. For example, do you have something you want to sell and want the listener to make a purchase after listening to the advert? If so, place emphasis on the credibility of the voice, the right voice that reflects what you sell, and information on how one goes about buying your product or service.

Of course, although the content of your advert or programme is important, on the whole, the voice is even more significant. To make this a little more concrete, we’ve done a little exercise for you below.

Exercise

• Listen to five different recorded voices HERE. Select “voice age” in the drop-down menu on the far right of the screen, and listen to the top voice in each category. (Middle-aged, teenager, child, old, and young)
• Imagine that you need to get the listener to donate money to a charity for children.
• Which genre and what voice would you choose?

Click here to listen to our voices or contact us directly at info@voicetome.com

What’s a voice-over and have you listened to one before? You most definitely have, but perhaps without even thinking about it. When you listen to radio and TV commercials, audiobooks, play digital games, watch animated films, and much more, you’re probably listening to a voice-over. A voice-over artist is a person, a voice actor, a speaker who is an expert in conveying messages and emotions with their voice. They read out your text and elevate your message to new heights.

Working as a voice-over artist

What do you need to think about if you’d like to offer voice-over services? In addition to just having a voice, there are lots of points to consider. Below, we’ve collected some tips for you to stand out and offer a good voice:

• Health! Live a healthier life. Exercise often and refrain from smoking and alcohol.
• Experiment with your voice and develop yourself.
• Book an appointment with a voice and speech coach.
• Use abdominal support, so you don’t wear out your voice.
• Sing away!
• Exercise and practice talking at the same time.
  

Voice To Me

In our voice bank, we have more than 2,000 voice-over artists who are specialists in TV advertising, audio books, radio adverts, teaching materials, cartoons, computer games, and more. Yes, it’s quite a long list. Our voices have different characters and reading styles. In the voice bank, you can either use filters or our search feature to find the voice that suits your project. Listen to our voice bank, and select and download the voice samples you think are best suited. You can also ask us for personal casting. We’re here to help you! Once you’ve made a selection, it’s easy to book a recording with us.

A voice-over from Voice To Me is made by a certified voice and recorded in a professional recording studio. Thanks to our extensive experience, we’re an obvious choice when it comes to voice-overs. During our time in the industry, we’ve supplied voice-overs to world-leading brands.

Read more about how voice-over services work!

Do you agree that a voice for recording adverts has to sound interesting and credible in order to capture a person’s interest?
Working in advertising and finding the perfect voice for the right purpose requires you to think about what it is that you want to convey.
If you don’t really know what you’re looking for, ask us directly – we’re happy to provide tips and advice for finding the perfect voice. Click here to read more about voices for recording adverts.

Three tips for finding the perfect voice for adverts:

1. The voices that you use for your advert should be professional
   We work with high-quality voices, which is a cornerstone of a successful advert. All our voice-over artists have at least two years of experience and use professional studio equipment, so they can guarantee a fantastic result. Sound quality is at least as important as the voice to keep the listener engaged throughout the advert.
   
2. What kind of feeling and message would you like the advert to convey?
   Think about it and pay attention to the narrator’s voice the next time you listen to an audiobook. Book publishers often choose popular people who all have one thing in common – voices that you want to listen to!
   It’s incredibly important that you categorise the type of message you want the advert to convey and what kind of feeling it creates. The significance of the voice has always been fascinating. The listener should be able to easily understand the information and find it credible.
   
3. If the voice makes the listener believe in the content and want to listen further = it works!
   You can lose your target group already at recording stage if you make the wrong choice. If the listener gets tired of the voice or of poor sound quality at the beginning of the recording, that could be it. In the worst case, although they might be listening, they don’t find your product or service credible. That’s not what you want!
   That’s why it’s important to capture the listener’s interest as early as possible and establish credibility.

Click here to listen to our voices or contact us directly at info@voicetome.com

Head & Footer Code

We at Voice To Me work with sound and spoken information in all its forms. We mediate and produce over 8000 jobs on an annual basis. It can be a telephone exchange, an elevator message, an advertising jingle, a podcast or a long e-Learning course in a variety of languages.

One category that has grown explosively in recent years is Audiobooks. Together with its own production company Audio To Me, Voice To Me is today Sweden’s largest supplier of audio books in the education sector. Over the past 10 years, we have made thousands of books for elementary, high school, and college.
In the sign of Pandemic, the demand for audiobook novels has also increased explosively, something we at Voice To Me think is great fun.
Sometimes we receive requests that are a little out of the box and that require a little extra from everyone involved. Something we think is extra fun and challenging.

The author Bengt Bohm contacted us on Voice To Me a couple of weeks ago and was looking for a voice that could read his book. Since the book took place in the 17th century, it was important that the reader could live into the story and understand the meaning. We came up with some suggestions for voices that we thought were suitable for the task and together with the customer came to the conclusion that our talented voice Lars was a perfect match.

Lars really understood the assignment and delivered exactly the style the customer requested.

Here you can read the review from the customer:

A big thanks you to Lars who worked very well with this book and thanks to the customer for a fun collaboration.

Here you can listen to the audiobook:
https://bokon.se/ljudbok/spetalet_bengt-bohm-2/

Do you have an audiobook you want help with? Or do you have any questions or ideas you want to discuss with someone?

Do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to help you. As we said, we love audio books ..

Have you thought about the different voice recordings you interact with daily? Such as when you visit a hospital or supermarket, or when you travel by public transport. There are multiple channels and communicators in the public sector have to reach out to several target audiences. How does someone who works in communication make sure that target audiences follow restrictions or receive the correct information?

Voice recordings can accommodate important messages

Please stand clear of the doors and mind the gap between the platform and the train; keep your distance and consider other customers; your call has been queued or your number has been called; you have been sent to another platform or department. There are countless voice recordings that reach you through announcements and messages. Sure, it’s great when you understand them all. But have you thought about the extensive work behind those messages? You usually only register what you, yourself, understand, as well as your target audience. That being said, announcements that are read out in a language you don’t understand are subconsciously filtered out in the flow of information.

The importance of accessible voice recordings

When you work in the public sector, it’s important for both safety and security that everyone can understand and absorb the relevant information. This information includes referrals and social information. Sometimes it can even be a matter of life and death, such as when a fire alarm goes off and you’re told how to evacuate the premises. It’s incredibly important that everyone understands how to act and how to get to a safe space. The less you as a recipient think about the voice itself the better, because the message is received – loud and clear.

Have you got the right language resources for an authentic voice recording?

Working in the public sector often, if not always, requires a degree of multilingual understanding. This then means you have internal access to greater language resources. But there are actually few businesses that do this. Even if you work in a multicultural workplace where you are enriched with multilingual colleagues on a daily basis, it isn’t certain that they’re best suited for a voice recording job. Since it takes time to find the right people internally, as well as create scripts so the message is understood and record and launch messages for specific channels, it’s important that the final product is of the highest quality. It’s a job that can be both easier and more fun if you get help. The secret behind all public announcements is that it’s the voices and translators behind the message that are received by an external party. The senders simply create a voice recording and translate their messages into different languages which can then be used across a broad range of channels.

External help with voice recording

Those who complete these translations are experts in voice recording – just like our team at Voice To Me. We work on voice-overs for supermarkets, telephone switchboards, or public transport, and make sure that all messages are played back in the native language so that the language is as authentic as possible. This is because it’s incredibly important for you, as a listener, to absorb the reference, warning or information and react accordingly.

Do you need help with voice recording?

Commissioned by Bonnier Audio, Audio To Me has produced the audiobook for Renata Chlumska’s book När bergen kallar. A very special audiobook production where we had the honor of having Renata at our studio in Jönköping.  We had the privilege to up close hear Renata tell about how she was the first Swedish woman to climb Mount Everest, and then her journey towards becoming Sweden’s first woman to meet the challenge Seven Summits. An incredibly inspiring story that at least made us at Audio To Me want to aim for new heights.

The audiobook is now available at Storytel and Nextory.

Here you see what it looked like when Renata read in our studio

Did you know that we at Voice To Me also offer children’s voices?

Recently, we were commissioned to produce a couple of readings with children’s voices for a campaign like Erikshjälpen.

Feel free to take a look at the video below and read about the important work that Erikshjälpen does.

Every second child in the world is exposed to domestic violence. Three out of four children between the ages of two and four are exposed to systematic violence for educational purposes. Half of all children between the ages of 13 and 15 face physical punishment at school.

This is a reality in several countries where Erikshjälpen operates. During the corona pandemic, violence against children has also increased, as a result of increased stress in many families.

The voices that are part of this campaign:

Oliver: Listen here

Ida: Listen here

Lovisa: Listen here

 If you want to book any of these voices, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Through an innovation procurement, four proposals have developed solutions that can contribute to more people traveling actively in a safe way. All solutions are based on the sustainability goals in Agenda 2030.

To stimulate the development of smart solutions for active travel, the Swedish Transport Administration has carried out an innovation procurement together with the municipalities of Skellefteå and Uppsala. In March 2020, four proposals received research funding to further develop their ideas.

We at Voice To Me have been commissioned to make the voice for one of the contributions, namely to RSI Bike. RSI Bike is an innovation that proactively wants to reduce bicycle accidents. In the video below, you can hear more about this through our wonderful voice EwaMaria.

On the Swedish Transport Administration’s website, you can read more about the procurement and vote for the grant that you want win the procurement.

https://www.trafikverket.se/resa-och-trafik/forskning-och-innovation/aktuell-forskning/gang-och-cykel/aktivt-resande–det-ska-vara-enkelt-och-sakert-att -go-cycling-and-aka-collective /

Do you want to book EwaMarias or another one of our talented voices for your next project?

Do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to help you.