The VOHeroes Podcast

Hey there, hero! When the audience looks at the end result of what we create, there are some interesting impressions they might walk away with. They might think that it’s an incredibly difficult undertaking with a huge amount of effort - like with a 10 or 20 hour audiobook that’s never recorded in one fell swoop, but in a series of lovely sessions that are much easier to accomplish. They might thi...

Hey there, hero! This George Strait song title was shared with me for the first time in my life by a fellow VO talent at a mixer last night. Thanks, Nadia Ahern. Mind blown. In a quiet, satisfying way. And a great reminder of what an awesome choice we’ve all made. Do you sometimes need to remind yourself of the fun of being a creative? Let me know in the comments below. REQUEST: Please join this v...

Hey there, hero! I was just on a call with a potential VO client, and the conversation got around to limiting beliefs in general, and in particular, those excuses we come up with so we don’t have to try. This is nothing new. People have been afraid of failure since humans became humans. We look at the potential for failure, and then spend a lot of time creating a story or seven around why we can j...

Hey there, hero! Just want to get your opinion on this apparently very controversial issue. I have my own thoughts, but I want to know yours. Let’s discuss. Scroll down and fire away. Is listening to an audiobook “cheating?” Is there something wrong with only listening to (or only being willing to read) whichever version of the book you prefer? Let me know in the comments below. REQUEST: Please jo...

Hey there, hero! I know that some VO talent and actors (and even my author peeps who want to narrate their own books) shy away from the prospect, mostly because it looks like a gargantuan undertaking. You might be one of them, imagining a lot of planning, a lot of work…and a lot of stress. I would like to help you reframe that with some much more positive positioning, around learning, proficiency,...

Hey there, hero! I created this podcast episode moments after jumping off being a guest on Chris Barry’s podcast, Coaching Uncovered. (You can find my episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOpiI02rjNI ) He asked a very common question: how do you build your business? It’s something my personal business coaches have been hounding me about for years, and it prompted me to share with you what...

Hey there, hero! Simon Sinek recently reminded me of a story I’d heard for years: two, not three. Ben Prober, a successful shoe salesman, found that fewer choices made the decision about which shoes to buy easier. In the 1950s, he limited customers to two pairs of shoes at a time, taking away a pair if the customer wanted a third. This idea connects to a psychological principle: more choices can o...

Hey there, hero! The question comes up often, and it shows up in various forms. This time, a client wrote this: “David…I cannot believe that in today’s cultural environment, that there are authors who expect me to say the n-word. I can’t understand why they’d even write it! How do I make it clear to this rights holder that they need to edit that word out of their book? Do you have a message in you...

Hey there, hero! Everybody loves baseball. And the language of baseball is part of cultures around the world. And over the course of time, I’ve settled on one question when I’m trying to serve a client, a peer, an affiliate, a family member or just a friend who needs my support. More often than not, they react with surprise and delight, and proceed to answer the question with depth and detail. The...

Hey there, hero! The title of this podcast episode comes from the words of author Michelle Rozen (not Rozer, as I misspoke at the beginning of the podcast), who wrote The 6%, a book on high achievers. And when I heard it, it struck me that we kinda face this dilemma all. the. time.  We can worry that no one wants to see or hear or read what we’ve created. And that can stop the effort to create…dea...

Hey there, hero! Wow. That’s dark. A BTS look at my updated audition background, and why I chose to simplify my look. (I’ll likely be back to the bricks next episode.) But why the severe change? Because I look for any distraction from my acting and try my best to remove it. And I do it so that all the casting director has to pay attention to…is my acting. That’s it. So…what have you been adding to...

Hey there, hero! The perfect server not only gives you great service… …they are actually nowhere to be found when they aren’t needed. Ever notice that? It’s an art and skill to know when you’re needed and when you’re not - and that applies to us when we’re auditioning and pursuing the work. I have some thoughts, and how to make our “level of appropriate service” rival that of our fave bartender, h...

Hey there, hero! A marketing mashup…what the heck is that? It’s what I call those quick little phrases that give someone a clear idea of your creative essence: who you are, how you sound, what kind of characters you play…that sort of thing. What’s my marketing mashup? “Paul Giamatti meets Uncle Fester.” Simple. Direct. To the point. And maybe, for all the profiles and bios and headlines and signat...

Hey there, hero! The concept of open loops has come up so much in the last few weeks for me that I wanted to revisit an episode from 2019 that explained open loops and how powerful they can be for you. Writers use open loops to create cliffhangers. VO talent can use open loops in their profiles and bios. Actors can use open loops in their slates and “tell us more about yourself”s. And on and on it...

Hey there, hero! In another episode, I threaten you with harsh words if I ever catch you minimizing yourself. And it’s not just in how you describe yourself, it’s specifically about how you set your fees. And, of course, there’s a TED talk on this: Casey Brown gave that talk over a decade ago, and it’s timeless. And she has two big takeaways that are so on point for performers like you that it’s a...

Hey there, hero! I was at a party a couple of years ago, and someone in our group was asked, “What do you do?” In Los Angeles, it’s rare that the answer to that question isn’t “I’m an actor.” In this case, the woman answered with a bit of a twist: “I'm a bit of an actor." Please don’t let me catch you saying this. That would be an issue. And I’ve heard versions of that: "I dabble in...

Hey there, hero! Lagom is not “just OK.” It’s not “good enough for government work.” It’s actually a cultural concept in Sweden that is really useful in lots of different ways. In a nutshell, it means “not too much, not too little, but just right.” Kinda like Goldilocks and her interaction with those three bears. And we, as performers, can embrace lagom to help us try just a bit harder… …and not g...

Hey there, hero! You’ve likely heard many times in life the pithy quote, “Winners never quit!” (And sometimes, the additional converse of “Quitters never win!”) Yeah. You can safely ignore that. This episode is all about the truth: winners do sometimes quit. Let’s discuss a bit deeper when and how and why. When do you decide to give up? What are your personal standards for abandoning an effort? Le...

Hey there, hero! If you’re at all like me, I’ve often wondered if I’m the odd man out. A left-brained person in a right-brained body. See, I’m a creative…but I’m also proudly analytical and organized. I hear you. “Freak!” Yep. And guess what? Turns out you are too. My evidence? Two different authoritative videos on YouTube that dispel the left-brain/right-brain myth. From Encyclopedia Britannica:...

Hey there, hero! What is your reaction when you see someone you know on TV? When a colleague pops up on the screen in a movie? When you hear that familiar voice in a spot? When you see the byline, and it’s not you, but someone…just…like…you? And further, what kind of feelz well up when it’s for something you submitted an audition? I’m sure there is a whole rainbow of reactions - and I’d love to kn...

Hey there, hero! Actors, voice talent and writers often face the question of whether they should run their creative practice as an individual, being paid as an employee, or as a company, paid via invoicing on a more formal basis. And the answer is… …it depends. In this episode, I take a look at the options you have in either case, not as a professional business manager, but from both sides of the...

Hey there, hero! I ran across a quote by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz that called out a huge difference in how feedback/criticism/adjustments land with kids…as opposed to how that can land with adults. And it comes down to what he called “...the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem.” Adults don’t like to be questioned about their choices. Kids? They usually don’t give a rat. They...

Hey there, hero! Short and sweet: six words that might make your day a bit more impactful, and give you a bit more moxie and courage to do what we do as professional performers. (I ask my students at the end of each of our live workouts if they had anything resonate for them during the session - a #1 takeaway - and as I traversed the web yesterday…Ms. Anjelou, in just those six concise words, hand...

Hey there, hero! So… …you didn't get the gig. They went with someone else. You're disappointed, and that's understandable. But what are you missing from the experience? It can be a lot of valuable information and factual results. I share some of the gifts we get when we don't get the job. Were any of them forgotten? Are any of them a bit more valuable than you thought? Let me k...

Hey there, hero! As you sit there at the moment of creation... With a blank page... Nothing yet recorded for an audition... A blinking cursor... Not even a countdown to begin recording, or an unclicked record button, not even a cleared throat... ...how do you handle that moment? Are you frozen? Or do you make a mess and then make it better? That's a phrase I didn't include in the episode...