Career

Vida Ghaffari: Baklava and Apple Pie

by Paul Strikwerda in Articles, Career, International, Journalism & Media 1 Comment

Vida Ghaffari

Vida Ghaffari is a second generation Iranian-American, and her career has certainly taken off since she left the nest.

Actress, red carpet reporter, voice-over talent… Vida is as vivacious as she is versatile.

Vida comes from a famous and influential Iranian family of actors, directors, writers. That’s quite something to live up to. I had to ask her:

Is it a blessing or a curse?

VG I think before the revolution (the Iranian revolution of 1979, PS), it would have been a blessing as the Ghaffaris were well-known for their contributions to the fine and dramatic arts and were active in the media and the performing arts.

Sometimes, it’s a curse as a lot of other (Iranian) people expect me to do anything: paint, direct, be a scholar, rocket scientist, politician… the list is endless.

PS In what way has this rich family background influenced your career choices?

VG Well, my dad is in the sciences, but I always had an interest in the arts as my mom was an illustrator in the old country before she married my dad. My grandmother was a suffragist and she has been such a source of inspiration in my life. She was also a poet, so the house was full of art and impromptu poetry recitals.

I’m pretty sure that most Iranian families quote full verses of renowned poets such as Hafez, Saadi, Khayyam, and Rumi at the dinner table, but for me it was a constant. My mom also was a child actress. She performed in a play for the Shah and Ambassador Grady, the former US ambassador to Iran at the time, and many other prominent political figures of that era.

Unfortunately at the time in Iran, the performing arts weren’t highly regarded as a path for young women to pursue, so my mom was forced to quit acting at her father’s insistence at the tender age of 9. I’m sure she would have been very successful. So fast forward to years later, and my dad being the very practical mathematician and scientist, he wanted me to get a job at the World Bank, because he had friends there who got great salaries, benefits, and job security.

I suppressed my artistic side and studied Economics at the University of Maryland and minored in theater and journalism. Even though these weren’t my majors, I was very involved with theater at Maryland and wrote for the school paper. I even DJ’ed my own radio show on WMUC, the campus radio station. It was a tough pill for me to swallow as in high school, I was invited to enroll into a couple of great performing arts magnet schools, but chose to go to regular high school at my dad’s insistence.

After college, I had some stints on Capitol Hill, where I was awarded journalism and research grants from the Woodrow Wilson Center and the National Journalism Center.

PS Immigrants and/or political refugees usually have two choices when coming to a new country: assimilate or hold on to their own identity. It’s a choice between blending in or standing out.

You were born in the U.S. and you sound like an all-American girl. However, you seem to have embraced your heritage with open arms. How do you reconcile both worlds?

VG My parents have lived here in the US for many years (my dad was invited here in 1948 and my mom came here in the 1960′s), so I think they have assimilated very well and truly love this great nation. I was born and raised in the DC area and I have a sense of pride, being raised in such a historically significant and political town.

I’m often told that I have the warmth of an Iranian and the integrity of an American, whatever that means. I guess I’m a paradox of sorts in that I can seamlessly incorporate the two. I love baklava and apple pie!

I also feel very grateful and privileged to be born here in the land of the free, but I truly have a profound respect for my heritage. The pony express was created in ancient Persia and there have been countless contributions made to mathematics, the sciences as well as poetry and literature.

The renowned poet Saadi’s poem used to grace the entrance to the “Hall of Nations” of the United Nations building in New York, with a call for breaking all barriers:

“Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot retain.”

The first Declaration of Human Rights was created by Cyrus the Great. Also, Iranian-Americans have become so successful in this country, not only as businesspeople, but as doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals. It’s so inspiring to see how they’re making so many contributions to this society in such a short time. I know this is true of most Iranian immigrant communities internationally as well.

I’m very proud of the struggle of the brave Iranian youth in search of the freedom they so rightly deserve and have covered many protests in LA as a journalist.

PS I’ve heard that casting agencies sometimes list you as “ethnically ambiguous”. What does that even mean?

VG Ethnically ambiguous means that one is ethnic, but not categorizable as what nationality he/she actually is. There are more and more casting notices looking for “ethnically ambiguous” actors, so for me and many of my friends and colleagues, it’s a good thing as there are more roles and opportunities out there for us.

PS Actors from Middle Eastern countries are often typecast as terrorists or as the stereotypical submissive women. In other words: as caricatures. Do you think that’s fair?

VG Not at all. After all, the renowned poet Ferdowsi referred to them as lionesses. I think Middle Eastern women are very strong and silently brave, considering the sexist culture(s) they live in.

As for me, I can’t even get seen for any Middle Eastern roles as many casting directors don’t think I look ethnic enough. There’s such a strong stereotype of what a Middle Eastern person should look like. I usually go in for Caucasian roles. I even used to be a translator back home in DC and I worked for Persian TV here, so my Farsi is pretty good if the role calls for it.

PS At some point everyone in the entertainment industry faces a tough choice: Should I specialize and make it easy for the public to put me in a box, or should I diversify and risk being accused of a lack of focus. What’s your answer?

VG As a character actress, I have a little bit more room in terms of the variety of the roles I play. I feel very blessed and lucky about that. As an artist, I like widening my range.

PS You’re a big proponent of networking. Why is it so important to make the rounds and make sure you stay in the picture?

VG Because we’re in a business of referrals and contacts. It’s very important to network and put yourself out there. But I also love meeting new people, especially other folks in the arts. I guess I’m a people person! I do have to add that what I spent the most time on is my craft first and foremost. I’m either in a class, workshop, acting workout group, staged reading, et cetera.

PS At what point does networking become a nuisance?

VG It doesn’t really become a nuisance, but it can be very time-consuming… meeting like-minded people, staying in touch with them, planning meetings with them. It’s very hard to schedule things properly also when one takes into consideration this crazy LA traffic!

PS It must be nice to have a Rolodex full of contacts, but then what? What tips do you have for maintaining these relationships?

VG Staying in touch via email is great. Let folks in the industry know what you’re up to by updating on Facebook and Twitter, but not so much that you’re doing status updates 24/7!

I also give back to my friends as much as possible if they need a referral, advice, or I inform them of a project they’d be right for. I even give free voice-over lessons to some actors from time to time who really want to study voice-over, but can’t afford it. I think it’s so important to be a part of the community and give back, especially in an artistic one.

PS You’ve also mentioned that you think it’s important to have a mentor. What does a mentor mean to you? Who’s your mentor and what’s the most important thing you’ve learned from him/her?

VG A mentor for me has been like a total career guide. I was lucky enough to meet mine by chance. I enrolled in instructor Doug Rye’s excellent voice-over class at LA Valley College and soon he became my mentor.

There’s also, Ivy Bethune, a legendary character actress, whom I consider to be a dear friend and she’s like a mentor to me. I aspire to be like her one day! She’s one of the sweetest, most generous, talented and humble artists I’ve ever met.

I met her in my voice-over workout group and I’ve learned more from watching her read her copy in the booth for a 30 second ad that I have in many years of classes, workshops, et cetera. I also was on the planning committee for the Ivy Bethune Tri-union diversity awards that were named in her honor.

Speaking of volunteer work, I contribute to various causes such as voicing many charity events as well as the NOH8 campaign (a silent protest photo project against California Proposition 8, PS). I even acted in their PSA.

PS You’re not only an actor, reporter, presenter… you’re also a voice-over professional. You’re obviously comfortable in front of the camera and an audience.

Voice-over talents usually hide in dark studios and talk to an audience that’s not there. Yet, you say it’s your passion. What do you like about it? Is it easier or harder to do than the on-camera stuff?

VG Voice-over is a lot of fun. I love that I can play a wider range of characters from sultry leading ladies to sassy bosses to pushy soccer moms. You name it. And don’t even get me started on dialects!

Voice-over actors tend not to get typecast like on-camera actors as they’re not being seen, just heard. Voice-over is a different medium, so I can’t really compare it to on-camera work, but I have fun doing both.

PS Pretend for a moment that I am a budding actor/voice-over talent. What mistakes have you –Vida- made that I could learn from, and what are those lessons?

VG I’ve made more mistakes on-camera than in voice over, probably because I’ve done it longer. I would have probably invested more time and money in my career early on. I would also reach out to more people in the industry more often and try to maintain contact with them.

As I mentioned earlier, I think the most important thing to do as an artist is to continually work on your craft on a daily basis, be it on the stage, in a booth, or even in your living room. I think it’s also to find a community of like-minded people you can collaborate with.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, finding a mentor would be great thing to do, especially in a career path like this one that is constantly changing and evolving.

PS If I could offer you a dream job today, what would it be and why?

VG I think being a correspondent for “the Daily Show” would be the perfect fit as I have a strong background in journalism, news, comedy, acting, and sometimes I hear the correspondents do voice-overs. Besides John Hodgman, I think I’d be the only correspondent with a journalism background and I think with my unique point-of-view

I could add a lot to the show. Did you hear that Jon Stewart?

Paul Strikwerda ©nethervoice

Headshots by Robert Kazandjian and Courtney Beckett

How it all began

by Paul Strikwerda in Career, Promotion 4 Comments

As a blogger and rather visible voice-over person, there are three questions I get asked a lot.

- How did you get started in the voice-over business?
- What challenges did you encounter in your career and how did you overcome them?
- What advice do you have for beginners?

Well, I could write a book about that, but a while ago, colleague Peter Kinney O’Connell asked me those same things in his “5 Questions” series. Let’s start with Peter’s first question.

1. The beginning: When did you know you wanted to be a voice-over talent; how did your career begin (please include what year it started) and then when did your passion for voice-over develop into something professional?

When I was six years old, my parents gave me a Philips cassette recorder. It didn’t take long before I discovered how to capture the sound of my own voice. That’s when it all began. In 1969.

I can still see myself sitting on the front porch with a copy of “King Arthur and the Black Knight.” It would become my very first audio book. Actually, it was more of a radio drama. Around me were all sorts of self-made instruments I used for sound effects. Every character had a different voice. Every voice had a different character.

The tape I made that day was used over and over again, and eventually it broke. What didn’t break was my love for painting pictures with sound.

Eleven years later I auditioned for my first job in Hilversum, the heart of Dutch broadcasting. A public network was recruiting a group of promising teens to start producing radio and television programs. Veterans would coach them in all aspects of the business. I just knew I had to be part of that program.

In the years that followed, that program became part of me. I produced and presented documentaries, talk shows, music specials and radio plays. The microphone became my best friend. It was the beginning of a career in broadcasting that would take me to a number of national networks, the BBC and Radio Netherlands International.

In 1999 I made a bold decision: I would leave Holland and start a new life in the New World. In a matter of months I was represented by Mike Lemon Casting in Philadelphia. My European accent seemed to be a welcome addition to their talent pool. It took me a number of years to build a client base that would sustain a full-time voice-over career, but eventually I became the Chief Artistic Officer of a company I named Nethervoice.

2. What is the one thing you know now that you wish someone had told you when you first started out in voice-over?

If someone had warned me that this job could easily turn into an obsession, I still would have applied for it. It’s true though, but it might also have to do with my personality. When I’m passionate about something, I want to immerse myself in every aspect of it, and learn to do it well.

I realized early on that it takes more than a good voice to make a good living in this field. Success needs to be carefully planned. It’s like a flower bed that has to be protected, watered and fertilized regularly (more about that in Jonathan Tilley’s “Voice Over Garden“).

Because I have a home studio, I’m always at work. It seems ideal (and it really is), but for someone with an obsession it can be dangerous. It’s tempting to become a boring recording recluse who lives and breathes voice-overs. And you know me… When I don’t read and record, I write about it in my blog.

Life Coaches always advocate finding a balance between work and play. But what if your work is your play? At some point in the day, the headphones have to come off and we must leave our soundproof studio. Without sunlight, there’s no growth. Our job is just a means to and end.

3. What do you see as the biggest professional or personal obstacle you face that impacts your voice-over business and how are you working to overcome it?

I wasn’t born to toot my own horn. The Calvinistic Dutch preach modesty and frown upon anything that may be perceived as vanity. Why? Because human talents are seen as a gift from God, so we shouldn’t take too much credit for our accomplishments. Many centuries have passed since the spirit of Calvin touched the Netherlands, yet, some of his principles are still present in our DNA, the Dutch National Attitude.

Looking back, I really believe that this mindset kept me from promoting myself properly. But there was something else. Coming from the relatively safe world of broadcasting, I never needed to market myself. I was hired by a network to do a number of jobs, and I left it to the PR people to sing my praises.

After I’d left Holland, I had to learn that it was okay to be proud of what I had achieved and use those achievements to attract business. To this day, I try to do this in a veiled way, by offering advice and entertainment in my blog. That’s where clients and colleagues get to know me as someone with a certain level of experience and pizzazz. Well, that’s the idea…

4. What personal trait or professional tool has helped you succeed the most in your career so far?

One thing that has helped me tremendously is a toolbox called Neuro-Linguistic Psychology. It’s a mix of positive attitudes, beliefs and strategies to help people design and live the life they’ve always dreamt of.

At the basis of NLP is the process of modeling. I’m not talking about the catwalk in Milan, but about the study of exceptional people: business tycoons, sports icons, therapists, artists et cetera.

The idea is that these people -in order to achieve something extraordinary- have set themselves up for success. They have carefully (and often unconsciously) conditioned themselves to accomplish amazing things. The question is: How did they do that?

NLP tries to break it down into bits and pieces: the ingredients of a recipe. Once the recipe is uncovered, it can be taught to almost anyone. The finest and fastest way to mastering something is to start teaching it. That’s why I eventually became an internationally certified trainer of NLP, and that’s the reason I started coaching voice talent.

5. In your development as a voice over performer, who has been the one particular individual or what has been the one piece of performance advice (maybe a key performance trick, etc.) that you felt has had the most impact on your actual voice over performance and why?

Find something that defines you but that does not limit you.

In other words: you want to box yourself in, to emphasize what sets you apart, but you want that box to be big enough to attract a wide audience. If you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to no one.

In my case, I describe myself as a European Voice. Not British. Not American. Not even Dutch, even though that’s my native language. I tell my clients that I specialize in intelligent international narration. For that reason I get to do multilingual projects and jobs that require someone with a more global, neutral English accent.

WANT MORE ME?

Recently, my old Radio Netherlands colleague Constantino De Miguel interviewed me about the voice-over business on Voice Over Plaza. If you want to take notes, get pen and paer ready!

Paul Strikwerda ©nethervoice

PS If you feel you are benefiting from my stories, ideas and suggestions and would like to show your support, kindly consider this. Make a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society today. When you click on this link, you will be taken to my Walk MS page. Scroll down to the Donate to Paul-button, and surprise me.

So far, readers of this blog donated an amazing $2,313.00. My goal is to raise at least $2.500 by the end of April. Right now I’m at 92% of that goal, but I believe we can do even better than that.

Ways to win an audition and nail the job

by Paul Strikwerda in Articles, Career 13 Comments

On paper it sounded so easy.

“You have been hired to record the voices of five different guys for a new interactive game.”

After I had signed a contract and a comprehensive non-disclosure agreement, I took a moment to reflect on what I had gotten myself into.

I had wanted to break into this segment of the voice-over market, but there were at least three minor complications with this assignment.

One: I had to play all five characters.

Two: These guys were supposed to be teenagers.

Three: I am 49 years old.

As soon as I signed the papers, I started having second thoughts. Could I pull this one off? Was I really the right person for this project? Who was I kidding?

All along I have been telling you never to accept a job you think you can’t handle. Why did I choose to ignore my own advice?

Then there was this.

Part of me believes there’s something creepy about a guy my age pretending to be a thirteen-year old. Shouldn’t I be going through male menopause, instead of trying to relive my teenage years?

On the other hand, the director had selected me based on my demo, so, if he was convinced I could do this, why should I worry about my acting abilities?

Self-doubt never leads to a solid performance. If anything, it sabotages it.

To cut a long story short, I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead with the recording. Looking back, four key elements helped me get the job and do the job:

Timing, Pricing, Preparation and Direction

Let’s start with timing.

Quite often I listen to something a voice-over colleague recorded and wonder:

“How the heck did he or she ever land that job? I know at least ten people who could have done that so much better!”

Well, here’s a not so secret “secret.”

We live in a world where “okay” is often good enough. Producers under pressure have time to listen to the first ten to twenty submissions and must make a choice. Those who win auditions aren’t necessarily perfect for the part, but they got their demo in before the rest of the pack. Take my advice:

Be fast but don’t hurry.

If your custom demo sounds too rushed, you won’t be considered. If you take too much time to perfect every second, you’ll miss the boat. More on timing a bit later.

KA-CHING!

In an ideal world, money should never be an issue, but it always is. The difference between winning and losing an audition has just as much to do with your quote as with your qualities, especially when you’re responding to one of those online cattle calls.

I’ve compared the auditioning process to playing darts in the dark. Some clients expect us to hit the bull’s-eye while giving us a minimum of information and listing the budget as “undefined.” It’s a stupid strategy.

Ideally, your price should give the client confidence that he’s not hiring an idiot and confirm that you’re not ripping him off.

ARE YOU READY

The best way to increase your competence and calm your nerves can be summarized in one word: preparation. Obviously, there’s not much time to prepare for those last-minute auditions, but once you’ve got the job, remember this:

Don’t wing it. Bring it!

Going back to my story for a moment, I made sure to get the script and the specs on my five characters a few days before the recording session. I was lucky. The producer sent along five pictures of the teens I was supposed to voice, as well as a few lines about each character. With this in hand, I started experimenting.

To me, this is not just a mental exercise. It’s very much a physical process. Think of your body as an instrument. As soon as you transform the shape of that instrument, you transform the way it sounds.

I need to step into a character’s skin and imagine what the world looks like through his eyes. I don’t have to know everything about the character. I only have to pretend I know.

When I do that, my posture changes, my breathing changes and my facial expressions start to change. Only then do I dare to open my mouth.

This, however, is not enough. Once I’m in character and I’ve practiced my lines, I need to hear myself the way other people hear me. I need to record my voice in order to fine-tune my performance. Here’s what still amazes me:

The way I think I sound is very different from the way I actually sound. That’s what makes self-direction so tricky!

I also discovered that the best time to record these five characters was around 3:30 PM. I’ll tell you why.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

In order to sound like a teenager, my voice needed to be about an octave higher. Being a tenor, that’s fine with me, as long as I would pick the right time to read my lines.

I usually get to my studio around 7:00 AM. Early in the day, the voice isn’t warmed up yet and the lower register comes naturally. Factor that in, the next time you need to sound older or more authoritative. Plan these recordings for early in the day.

As the hours pass, our voice gets progressively lighter and higher. Because this is a gradual process, we don’t notice it, until we try to match a morning recording during an evening session. It usually doesn’t work, does it?

When we’re just out of bed, our facial muscles aren’t as flexible either, and until we’ve completed our warm-ups, our morning face isn’t always willing to bend to our will.

Then there’s the food-factor.

BAD EATINGS

I don’t like to record before breakfast because my stomach behaves like Audrey II from “The Little Shop of Horrors.”

It yells: “FEED ME!“

I don’t like to record right after breakfast either, because my digestive system always insists on making a guest appearance on my audio.

Right before and after lunch this drama repeats itself again, and if I don’t plan my recordings carefully, I end up wasting tons of time editing all kinds of stomach noises out.

So, for me, the ideal time to record is from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. My voice is sufficiently warmed up; lunch is out of the way and my body isn’t craving for dinner yet.

I’m not a big fan of post-dinner recordings. After talking all day long, my voice usually isn’t at its best anymore, and I also value my downtime.

A SENSE OF DIRECTION

If I have a choice between a low-tech, cheap solution or some high-priced gadget, I am very frugal. So, when the director joined me for the recording session, we used Skype and a smart phone to stay connected.

I can’t emphasize enough what a delight it is to have someone on the other end of the line who can give you immediate feedback. Assuming the director knows what he or she wants, you no longer have to guess what you think a client might hope to hear.

At one point in time, all of us have heard back from a client after we’d completed a recording, and we received a new set of instructions. “Could you do it a bit faster? Could you read the second line a bit slower? Make it more conversational and less of a hard sell.”

Back to the drawing board you go, knowing this could have been avoided if only the client had been more specific in the first place. In the end, a directed session always saves time and leads to a better result. Besides, it’s fun to hear someone respond and cheer you on when things are going well. It helps to have a real person to talk to. You stop acting and begin interacting.

That’s exactly what happened during my session. We made sure I recorded at least three different takes of the five teenagers. That way, the client had something to choose from. Once we were done, I cleaned the audio up, separated the files and I uploaded them to a Dropbox.

It was invigorating!

You see, that’s one of the things I love about this job.

It keeps me young.

In spirit, at least.

Paul Strikwerda ©nethervoice

PS If you feel you are benefiting from my stories, ideas and suggestions and would like to show your support, kindly consider this.

Make a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society today.

When you click on this link, you will be taken to my Walk MS page. Scroll down to the Donate to Paul-button, and surprise me.

So far, readers of this blog donated an amazing $2,158.00. My goal is to raise at least $2.500 by the end of April. Right now I’m at 88% of that goal, but I believe we can do even better than that.

photo credit: HckySo via photopin cc

Call Me a Narcissist

by Paul Strikwerda in Articles, Career 21 Comments

A few days ago, I announced that I was pulling the plug on my blog. As soon as the news started to spread, all kinds of reactions poured in.

Narrator Jeffrey Kafer wrote:

“If this is an April Fools joke, it’s the most narcissistic one I’ve ever seen. Hope you got all the attention you were after, Paul.”

He was probably just kidding, but in a way, Jeffrey was right and he was wrong.

My April 1st post about me quitting blogging was indeed a prank, but was it narcissistic?

LOOK AT ME

Narcissism is characterized by egotism, vanity, and selfishness. At worst, it is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration.

If I were to have an inner need to be admired and an inflated sense of self, I have definitely chosen the wrong career. Voice-over artists are the invisibles of the industry. We are servants of our scripts. If we’re doing our job right, people pay more attention to the message than to the messenger.

Unlike on-camera actors, we don’t get recognized when we’re walking down the street, and our craft doesn’t get much recognition either. No network will ever think of broadcasting the Audie Awards to a global audience.

There’s no Academy Award for the best voice-over performance in a motion picture. Name one narrator who’s made millions pimping his pipes… I just did my taxes and I can tell you with utmost certainty that it’s not me.

Contrary to popular perception, our work isn’t glamorous either. We voluntarily lock ourselves up in a padded box, dressed in sloppy clothes that won’t make any noise, and we talk to people who aren’t even there. Normally, that sort of behavior would warrant a psychiatric evaluation.

BIG EGOS

Are voice-over people self-centered? Well, if you and I don’t take good care of ourselves, it becomes hard to take good care of others. Since we personify our product, it’s in our best commercial interest to stay healthy. That doesn’t make us egotistical, does it?

If anything, our small community is the most selfless group of professionals I’ve ever been part of. It is a caring community and a sharing community. There are no industry secrets. Go ahead and try it out. Go to a Facebook or LinkdIn group and ask a VO-related question. Within the hour you’ll get a number of responses from people who know what they’re talking about, free of charge.

Every week there is a plethora of blogs, podcasts, articles and webcasts to choose from, packed with valuable industry insights and practical tips. Again, you don’t have to spend a penny to receive priceless information.

Here’s another remarkable thing.

As voice actors, we often compete against one another for the same jobs, yet we manage to remain friends. If there is a cutthroat mentality in voiceoverland, I haven’t encountered it. Sometimes we tease one another, but we don’t badmouth colleagues. If anything, we’re “goodmouthing” each other. We recommend and refer colleagues to clients and agents. And if one of us lands the gig of the century, we celebrate!

A CHARITABLE BUNCH

Not only are we generous with our advice and support, we give freely to worthy causes and to those in need. With one month left, I’ve already reached 86% of my fundraising goal for my annual MS Walk, thanks to readers like you. One audio book narrator wrote to me:

“I just received a nice royalty check from my last four books. I’m glad to donate part of it to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.”

I almost cried when I read those words!

Now, if you’ve followed my train of thought closely, you’ve no doubt noticed that I addressed Jeffrey Kafer’s comment by focusing on our community. But as you know, Kafer wasn’t talking about our community. He was talking about me. This put me in an interesting bind.

If I were to respond to his characterization, I’d be forced to talk about myself, thus running the risk of coming across as a narcissist.

If I were to let it rest, I’d be evading the issue.

MASSIVE RESPONSE

What happened after I published my made-up story on April 1st, blew me away. It took no time for this blog post to gain traction. People read my sad story, they shared it and they started commenting on it. I received thank you messages. People emailed me and said they understood why I had decided to quit. Some wanted to know if I was okay, because I didn’t respond to the comments that were posted on my website.

There were a few skeptics among the commentators, but the majority of readers seemed to buy it and wished me well. By the end of the day, almost 700 people had read my farewell-article. An all-time record. What did that tell me?

If we trust the source, a story doesn’t necessarily have to be true to be believed, as long as it is plausible. Apparently, lots of people see this blog as a reliable source of opinion and information. That’s the best a blogger could hope for!

I was also overwhelmed by the unexpected outpour of appreciation. Reading all the comments almost felt like listening to a eulogy. I also felt a bit guilty because I knew I was pulling people’s legs.

KING OF THE HILL

Most narcissists are interpersonally exploitative. They take advantage of others to achieve their own ends. If you know me well enough (and I think you do), you know that that’s not me. I blog because I enjoy sharing my experiences with whomever is willing to listen. To me, it’s a way of giving back to a community that is giving so much to me.

Narcissists wish to be recognized as superior and they’re preoccupied with fantasies of success and power. I don’t see myself as superior. I’m proud of my achievements and I know what I’m capable of. I’m also very much aware of my limitations and my weaknesses.

I don’t need power, but I strive to empower.

And what about success?

I measure my success by the number of people who tell me they have benefited from something I wrote. Here are two examples:

“Paul, I not only read your blog, but like a lot of the readers, I await the blog, which should be appearing in 41 minutes, with great anticipation. Why, because it’s (A) loaded with content (B) stimulates me to action, changes my thought processing or introduces me to things I didn’t know existed (C) it is directly relevant to me and most of my friends.”

and

“Paul, in my 50 years of voice work, this is the best and most practical advice I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Thank you many times over for the wonderful insight.”

I didn’t add these quotes to give myself a public pat on the back. You’ve already done that by the way you responded to me supposedly pulling the plug on this blog.

My point is this.

If something I wrote somehow contributed to someone’s success, I feel successful.

If you believe that makes me a narcissist, so be it.

I much prefer tulips over narcissus flowers.

PS If you feel you have benefited from my blog posts, ideas and suggestions and would like to show your support and appreciation, kindly consider this.

Make a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society today.

When you click on this link, you will be taken to my Walk MS page. Scroll down to the Donate to Paul-button, and surprise me.

So far, readers of this blog donated an amazing $2,158.00. My goal is to raise at least $2.500 by the end of April, but I believe we can do even better than that.

Creating a Wave

by Paul Strikwerda in Articles, Career, Freelancing, Internet, Promotion 26 Comments

You and I, we walk a fine line when it comes to drumming up business.

Here’s the situation.

Clients won’t hire us unless they know we exist.

Colleagues won’t recommend us if they have no idea what we’re capable of.

Agents might think we’re yesterday’s news if we don’t prove ourselves every once in a while.

The remedy to anonymity is self-promotion. However, we all know people who are constantly promoting themselves. They hijack threads on Facebook to toot their own horn. They pop up in LinkedIn groups to talk about themselves. They spam your inbox with “newsletters” that glorify their latest accomplishments.

They must believe they’re very interesting.

If you’re one of those people, I have this to say to you:

I’m happy that you seem to be successful, but do you have to rub it in ad infinitum? The louder you talk, the less I will hear. The more you post, the sooner I’ll ignore you. Is that what you had in mind?

A LOSING STRATEGY

Plastering your achievements all over the web is counterproductive. Think about it. Why would I send you a job lead when it looks like you’re doing pretty well on your own? Why would I encourage you, if you show no signs of modesty and humility? I’m not going to pump up an already over-inflated ego. Think of the mess when that bubble eventually bursts!

But seriously, when we expose ourselves on various social media, we deliberately open up a window into our lives and we invite the world to watch us. But not all windows are created equal. Here’s a critical distinction.

Those unstoppable self-promotors have covered that window with a silver layer, effectively turning it into a mirror. When they look out, they merely see their own reflections.

When you and I are looking through our windows, we see a world of connections.

This means that if you’re one of my friends or fans, I do want to hear from you. I want to applaud you when you’ve done something special. I want to help you if you need my advice. I’m interested in your opinion. I might even take a moment and look at a picture of one of your children or pets.

But when you reach out, do me a favor.

Don’t just take.

Give!

Don’t just talk.

Listen!

Dialogues excite me. Monologues bore me to tears.

THE FLIP SIDE

Let me ask you this: Should we be suspicious of all forms of self-promotion? Is it better to stay under the radar than to annoy our circles with propaganda?

Not exactly.

At times, modesty is not going to propel your career. As a voice-over, you embody your product and you are the head of your sales department. If you want to sell, you need to advertise, but you need to do it wisely.

Overexposure kills. Underexposure doesn’t create any traction.

So, when would be a good moment to stop hiding your light under a bushel?

Whenever you’ve done something extraordinary, that is the time to create a wave.

Pick something surprising, artistically stunning or deeply personal and moving. A milestone. Something you’re really proud of. Make sure it shines and let the world know about it.

Take a look at this video.

You might have seen it before because you and I are already connected. It was created by Studio Smack in the Netherlands for the online magazine of Greenpeace. It’s an organization I’ve supported for years, and when I booked this job, I knew it was going to be something special.

I have no problem posting this video on outlets like Facebook and Google+, because doing so promotes two things: the message and the messenger. I also did something else.

I made sure this video went out to each and every one of my agents. Normally, I leave them alone because they’re too busy balancing many plates in the air. But I know that I’m not the only talent in their roster, and I didn’t think it would hurt to send them a subtle reminder of what I have to offer.

Some agents contact me more frequently than others. By sending this video, I’m telling those I haven’t heard from in a while that I’m (still) booking jobs. Ultimately, that’s the only reason why they should represent me. I can make them money. This video proves the point. Well, I hope it does.

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

A while ago I wrote that there are no guarantees in this business. I have to modify that statement slightly because it’s only partially true.

If I’ve learned anything in the years I’ve been a full-time voice-over, it is this:

Doing good work leads to more work.

Guaranteed.

As long as people know about it.

Just as a writer needs to get in front of potential publishers and a painter has to exhibit his art, we need to show good work to those who can make things happen.

Before we can ride the wave of success, we have to create one.

In all modesty, of course.

PS If you feel you have benefited from my blog posts, ideas and suggestions and would like to show your support and appreciation, kindly consider this.

Make a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society today.

When you click on this link, you will be taken to my Walk MS page. Scroll down to the Donate to Paul-button, and surprise me.

So far, readers of this blog donated an amazing $2,007.00. My goal is to raise at least $2.500 by the end of April, but I believe we can do even better than that.

Thank you so much!

PPS Be sweet. Please donate and retweet!

photo credit: Lotus Carroll via photopin cc