Be Quick But Don’t Hurry in Voiceover
The John Wooden quote holds true in VO, although I’ll modify it slightly.
It should be, “Be quick, but don’t SOUND like you’re in a hurry.” Unless the character you’re portraying is racing out the door for some reason.
Speed With No Sacrifice: Why Human Voiceover Still Wins in Corporate Narration
I didn’t write anything on this site yesterday which broke my December resolution to write something every weekday. I’m not beating myself up over it though because if there’s directly booked work that needs to be handled, that ALWAYS takes precedence over other supporting elements of the business.
Yesterday, there was work that needed to be handled. A 30 minute open enrollment voiceover project for a multinational telecommunications company. And they wanted it back the next day.
So, I got it back to them the same day.
Do you think it’s a coincidence that the same production company that Ericsson uses to produce its open enrollment videos has utilized my services six other times in the past 18 months?
In the age of AI, you need to make a decision, especially when it comes to longform voiceover narration. Be as fast and MORE reliable than a voice clone or get left in the dust.
Can I complete a 30 minute voiceover job faster than AI? Technically, no. AI can spit something out faster. And I do mean spit something out. For the foreseeable future, you will catch a clone doing something very inhuman within a few sentences of listening to the initial product. Most of the stuff you marvel at, if you’re marveling at all, comes after a significant amount of manual tweaking by a human user to coerce and cajole the clone out of a bad pronunciation, weird attempt at saying numbers, acronyms, or some other cyber screwiness.
One of the (few?) advantages of being human is that we come fully equipped without syntax errors. Human errors? There are still plenty of those. But not the kind that will keep a project from getting across the finish line on time with the right voice actor.
In fact, a lot of auditions are encouraging human-generated slips, ums, and uhs, to prove to the world that they’re actually using real, live, actual humans in their productions.
Not yet for long-form corporate narration jobs.
The Real Cost of AI in Corporate Communication
Let’s talk about what actually happens when you choose AI for your corporate narration. Picture this: Your HR team has spent weeks crafting the perfect open enrollment presentation. The slides are polished, the information is crucial, and your employees’ benefits understanding depends on this communication.
You opt for AI narration to save time and money. Three hours later, you’re listening to a voice that pronounces “HSA” as “hissa” and turns “401(k)” into a string of numbers that would confuse a mathematician. Now your production team is spending valuable hours trying to fix these issues, piece by piece, segment by segment.
Time is Money, But Credibility is Priceless
When major corporations trust their message to my voice, they’re not just getting quick turnaround. They’re getting:
- Natural handling of industry terminology
- Consistent energy throughout long-form content
- Authentic engagement that keeps viewers listening
- Zero time spent fixing robotic pronunciations
- Same-day delivery on most projects under 30 minutes
Why Production Companies Keep Coming Back
That Ericsson example isn’t unique. Most of my clients become repeat clients, and there’s a simple reason why: reliability meets efficiency. When you need a 30-minute corporate narration done right and done fast, you don’t want to gamble with AI or wait days for another voice actor.
The Hidden Efficiency of Human Voiceover
Here’s what many don’t realize about professional human voiceover: We’re actually faster than AI when you consider the entire production process. Why?
- No post-processing needed for basic pronunciation
- Real-time adjustments during recording
- Natural understanding of context and emphasis
- Built-in quality control from years of experience
- Direct communication about any script concerns
Making the Smart Choice for Your Production
When you’re producing corporate content, especially long-form narration, the voice is more than just audio – it’s your company’s ambassador. The right human voice brings:
- Natural credibility that AI can’t match
- Consistent quality from start to finish
- Quick turnaround without pronunciation fixes
- Real understanding of corporate messaging
- The human touch your audience expects
Remember that modified Wooden quote? Being quick without sounding hurried isn’t just a skill – it’s an art form that comes from years of experience. And it’s what keeps major corporations coming back for their most important communications.
And, yes, this isn’t the first time I’ve referenced the quote from Wooden.