Once you have identified your audience, you can create a voice outline that will best connect with that target audience.  Begin with a basic personality and ask yourself “who is this voice (person) and what are they hoping to achieve?”.  In the same way that a screen writer or novelist would begin to create a character in a film or book.  Read your script again and this time think about the tone, delivery, and your intended audience.  A good piece of copy (script) lets you know who the voice should be.

Most voice artists are extremely versatile and will almost always have a voice in their head that will best suit the personality in your script.  Read your script carefully and listen to what it is telling you. Your script will define the character that you need.

Ask yourself if the script requires an older grandmother type voice passing on years of experience and advice, a fashionable twenty-something giving helpful information, or a youngster exhibiting excitement during an entertaining experience?  Consider your target audience.  Would a male or a female voice best set the tone of your message and bond with your audience?  In some projects gender and age are key considerations but sometimes how the message is delivered is much more important than the character’s gender or age.

Will a delivery that is warm and welcoming connect with your target audience, or should it be authoritative and official?

Today many companies are looking for a delivery that is genuine, or “real,” if you consider the amount of television commercials that introduce normal looking actors as opposed to the Hollywood style Adonis ads which were so all-encompassing a few years ago.  That same impression of reality can be expressed by a skilled voice over talent.

Put a lot of attention into this process, that way, you will not be inundated with auditions from voice talent that do not meet your requirements.  That is a waste of their time and even more importantly, yours.  Identify the voice of your script and make a written note of it in one or two sentences, or make a list of bullets points, and keep it handy as you listen to each audition.