• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Nethervoice

  • Home
  • VOICEOVER
    • VO & Demos
    • Faq
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
  • COACH
  • AUTHOR
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Career
    • Conferences
    • Dutch
    • Freelancing
    • International
    • Money
    • Media
    • Pay-to-Play
    • Personal
    • Promotion
    • Reviews
    • Studio
  • Contact

Meet Me In Atlanta

Career, Conferences, International, Promotion

https://www.womensmarch.comLast week, thousands of people went to an inauguration, and millions marched for women’s rights.

There is strength in numbers, and power in groups of people. 

Even though I can see the point of bonding together for a common cause, I have an admission to make:

I hate being in the middle of a huge crowd.

Crowds are noisy and smelly. Somehow I always end up next to a loudmouth man-child who hasn’t used deodorant since puberty, or a Southern Belle who just bathed herself in Curve Crush By Liz Claiborne. For the lucky uninitiated: that’s a perfume I utterly detest. 

Crowds infringe upon my sacred personal space, and they test my patience more than I can bear. They move according to the slowest common denominator, and they rarely go to where I want or need to be.  

My nightmare scenario is being stuck indoors when a fire breaks out, and everyone is running for the nearest exit as they’re screaming their heads off. Of course only one exit is open, and the mob trapped inside starts trampling one another to escape the deadly fumes. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. 

BEING ANTI-SOCIAL

Does all of this mean that I suffer from social anxiety, or that I’m anti-social? I don’t think so. My fear might have to do with a natural need to be safe. I prefer having meaningful conversations in quiet corners, rather than losing my voice yelling over the masses to reach a friend. 

In the past I have described myself as a “reluctant extrovert,” and I still feel that way. I’d rather spend three hours with someone one-on-one, than fifteen minutes in a large group. I feel lost in a crowd, and I don’t want to be lost. 

Why am I even bothering you with this pitiful confession? It’s because I’ve used my unease with crowds as one of the reasons to stay away from voice-over conferences bringing together hundreds of colleagues from different countries and continents. Today I am happy to tell you that this is about to change.

MAKING AN APPEARANCE

Over the years, literally hundreds of readers have asked the same question: “Where and when can I meet you?”

Those of you attending VO Atlanta from March 9th -12th, will finally have a chance to run into me, as well as over 550 colleagues from 35 states and 15 countries who have come to enjoy over 150+ hours of top-notch programming. It’s the largest annual voice-over event for our community.

This year’s keynote speaker is Bill Farmer, and some of the other speakers are Dave Fennoy, Elaine Clark, Celia Siegel, Joe Cipriano, Johnny Heller, Jonathan Tilley, Lori Alan, Scott Brick, Anne Ganguzza, and David Rosenthal.

There are sessions about audio books, business and marketing, gaming and animation, narration and eLearning, performance and improvisation, and promo & imaging. There are also workshops (labeled as X-sessions), as well as a Spanish, and a youth program. You can see the full program on the conference website.

ETHICS PANEL

On Saturday, March 11th at 7:30 pm, I’ll be on a panel led by J. Michael Collins, discussing Ethics for Voice Actors and Demo Producers. Speakers are Rob Sciglimpaglia and Cliff Zellman, and the other panelists are Dave Courvoisier and Bev Standing. If you’re a subscriber to this blog, you know that I have written extensively about some of the moral guidelines voice talent and clients should live by, and I can’t wait to hear what others have to say.

Now, I didn’t want to come to Atlanta just to be on a panel, so you’ll be able to track me down from day one. The welcome reception starts Thursday 3/9 at 5:00 pm, and I really look forward to meeting you in person! I have only one request:

Gentlemen: please use deodorant, and ladies: leave your bottle of Curve Crush at home, and we’ll survive the crowds together. 

See you in Atlanta!

Paul Strikwerda ©nethervoice

Related Posts

  • The One Voice Awards: More of the Same, or Setting a New Standard?The One Voice Awards: More of the Same, or Setting a New Standard?
  • The Cost of Having a Conscience: the Ethics of Voice-OverThe Cost of Having a Conscience: the Ethics of Voice-Over
  • HOW JAMIE MUFFETT FOUND HIS VOCATIONHOW JAMIE MUFFETT FOUND HIS VOCATION
  • One Voice Conference. Two Countries. Changing Lives and Careers.One Voice Conference. Two Countries. Changing Lives and Careers.
  • Voices Dot Com is Giving Your Rights AwayVoices Dot Com is Giving Your Rights Away
  • In Sickness and in HealthIn Sickness and in Health
  • Do Less, Make MoreDo Less, Make More
  • Celia Siegel’s Voiceover AchieverCelia Siegel’s Voiceover Achiever

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Filed Under: Career, Conferences, International, Promotion Tagged With: Anne Ganguzza, Bev Standing, Bill Farmer, Celia Siegel, Cliff Zellman, Dave Courvoisier, Dave Fennoy, David Rosenthal, Elaine Clark, fear of crowds, J. Michael Collins, Joe Cipriano, Johnny Heller, Jonathan Tilley, Lori Alan, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, Rob Sciglimpaglia, Scott Brick, VO Atlanta, voice-over conference, voiceover, voiceover blog, voiceovers

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Paul Stefano says

    January 26, 2017 at 9:56 am

    Can’t think of a better representative for the Ethics Panel. See you at registration!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      January 26, 2017 at 10:01 am

      We finally get to meet, and it’s not even in Easton… BTW, we’ll still grab that pint in our neck of the woods!

      Loading...
      Reply
  2. Patricia Corkum says

    January 26, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    Love the lead-in to your post, Paul; “pithy” observations, needless to say!
    Wish I could say hi in person at the Atlanta conference; unfortunately I’m still working the ‘day job blues”. Maybe next year, but best of luck!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      January 28, 2017 at 9:48 am

      It’s smart business not to quit a day job, until your side job allows you to do so. If Atlanta is a success for me, I’ll probably be back next year. Hope to see you in 2018!

      Loading...
      Reply
  3. Paul Boucher says

    January 27, 2017 at 4:40 pm

    Paul – I’ll look forward to meeting you there – and will be speaking to some of your favourite causes while discussing the business of eLearning alongside Christi Bowen and Laurel Thomas as a presenter.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      January 28, 2017 at 9:49 am

      Save me a seat, s’il vous plaît!

      Loading...
      Reply
  4. Kent Ingram says

    January 27, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    Love this installment, Paul! I’m okay with sports crowds but, even those can be irritating, at times. I’ve been in crowds, like you, where the armpits and bug-spray-cologne along with somebody’s dragon breath are enough to make you want to flee for your life. Fortunately, I’ve been in enough locker rooms in my life, that it doesn’t smack me upside the head quite so bad.

    I would definitely be honored to meet you in person, but that won’t happen for awhile, unfortunately. However, I’ll keep that as a goal, down the road. And, I’ll make sure not to make you gag! LOL!!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      January 28, 2017 at 9:50 am

      Knowing you, you will reach your goals one step at a time.

      Loading...
      Reply
  5. Drita Protopapa Dumont says

    January 28, 2017 at 9:39 am

    So happy to read this and I can totally relate! I love your term “reluctant extrovert” – it describes ME too! I have never been to a VO conference and plan to be in Atlanta. SO looking forward to meeting you and listening in on your panel. Cheers!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      January 28, 2017 at 9:51 am

      Super! “Two reluctant introverts meet at a conference.” Sounds like the start of a joke. All we have to do is think of a punch line.

      Loading...
      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Blog Stats

  • 938,052 hits

Categories

Archives

Disclosure

In this blog I may discuss/review products or books that I believe are relevant to my readers. As a service to them, I often provide links to those products or publications.Instead of having a tip jar, Nethervoice is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. In other words, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • HOME
  • VOICEOVER
  • COACH
  • AUTHOR
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT

Privacy Policy

©2024 Nethervoice // Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites
Website Hosting by UpperLevel Hosting

  • Home
  • VOICEOVER
    • VO & Demos
    • Faq
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
  • COACH
  • AUTHOR
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Career
    • Conferences
    • Dutch
    • Freelancing
    • International
    • Money
    • Media
    • Pay-to-Play
    • Personal
    • Promotion
    • Reviews
    • Studio
  • Contact
%d