1. Commercials are the backbone of the voice over industry. The vast majority of both auditions and work in voice over are for commercials. When looking for new additions to their rosters, most voice over talent agencies will first look for commercial talent. In order to get decent representation, it is of utmost importance that voice actors are skilled in commercial voice over technique.
   It will be important for you to learn (yes, get it in your soul!):
2. What exactly a “commercial” voice over acting performance is and how it differs from other forms of voice acting.
3. How to identify advertising styles, particularly as they pertain to specific products, brands, and target audiences.
4. How to analyze and “quick-map” commercial VO copy by learning to identify form, style, and meaning.
5. What your voice type is and which industries and products are best served by your specific type.
6. How to integrate truthful acting into the commercial form to create performances that are vibrant and engaged, while servicing the product being advertised.
7. What a “non-announcery” or “conversational” commercial announcer read is and how to create one.
8. How to create commercial characters that are clear, truthful and entertaining.
9. How to act truthfully in dialogue scenes when doing one-sided dialogue without a partner.
10. How to give your performance a proper dramatic arc and rhythm.

Commercials with voiceover are regularly used in radio and television, as well as other forms of digital advertising such as online video ads and audio ads for music streaming platforms. Regardless of the client, the voice actor’s job when reading for a commercial is to capture the audience’s attention, discouraging them from switching the channel, lowering the volume, or exiting off a page – no easy task! Not only that, voice actors also need to successfully encourage and persuade the listener to take action and purchase, try, call, participate, join, etc.!

One important thing to know prior to submitting auditions is that there is always a strict adherence to timing. All broadcast (network and cable TV) commercials and terrestrial radio commercials are 15, 30, or 60 seconds. Voice actors must carefully pace their performance to fit the needed timing. With digital and streaming platforms, commercials come in a greater variety of lengths (some even as short as six seconds).

Scripts often include specific instructions and requirements (called “specs”) for the type of voice actors a client has in mind. This can include a particular race or gender, a tone of voice, an age range, or even certain words and phrases they’d like to hear emphasized. Knowing how to easily adapt to the needs and style of a particular script and sounding spontaneous while doing so, has much to do with a commercial voice actor’s success.