Open Mouth, Insert Voice

Folks, this is going to be a full-blown rant. Prepare yourselves!

Not too long ago, I went to a recording studio for a regular client. This particular project called for a round-robin recording session of both grown-ups and kids. We were called into the studio in various combinations, which is a nice change. That is, until I got in the booth with one of the grown-ups.

For considerations sake, let’s call him John. John is the type of voice actor we all have worked with before: he can’t keep quiet. Not won’t, can’t. John has this clinical condition that he is so desperate to impress and entertain everybody that he will blurt out a joke or comment in response to anything that anyone says, no matter how banal or cliché. And when some people laugh (I hope they were just trying to be polite) John thinks, “They love me! I’m gonna give ’em more!” And the cycle continues.

What did he say exactly? Once he started his standup routine, I quickly drowned him out, so I honestly don’t remember much, except for one thing: he called New Jersey “the armpit of the universe.” Oh, did I mention that this studio was in New Jersey?

What was that? How do I know he wasn’t from New Jersey? His Australian accent gave him away.

Even if I wasn’t from New Jersey, I still would have been peeved. You just don’t go around putting down people or places, especially when you have the potential to offend the client, the talent, and the owners of the studio.

So what did I do? I kept quiet. As much as I would have liked to put this gentleman in his place, we were in front of new producers, children, and my #1 client. And you know what? He probably would have thought that I was being a jerk. Sigh.

End of rant.

I, like many people, believe in the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In other words, treat people the way you would want to be treated.

With that in mind, here are three things you should NEVER, EVER do at a recording session:

* Don’t make fun of the script

* Don’t make fun of the session

* Don’t make fun of someone or something that could potentially offend somebody, especially when you don’t know everyone in the room

John was a master. He did all three in one session.

Tom Dheere is one of Edge Studio’s Business & Money and Marketing experts. To learn more about these classes, click here.