My VO Journey: Perfectionism and Perspective
I’ve always been a very details-oriented and organised person…
…So when I went freelance and started my own business in 2014 (centred around Digital/ Social Strategy and Marketing) I knew that these qualities would serve me well. Skip to 2020, after just 6 months of part-time VO (alongside my existing - and thriving - career as a Social Media Strategist) I decided to take the plunge and go full-time with my VO career.
Not making it wasn’t an option, and throughout my adult life I’ve always encouraged friends and family to take risks when it comes to work, as I strongly believe that life is too short to spend most of your time working a job that makes you unhappy in return for stability (which, since the Coronavirus Pandemic I think we can all safely say that any job has since kissed goodbye to the notion of been stable or reliable). There are downsides, however, to being a risk taker as well as being your own boss…
I can confirm that, like many VO Artists, I sometimes suffer from Imposter Syndrome, but more problematic than that, considering everything I’ve listed above, is my tendency to strive for Perfectionism (or at least, to expect what I later come to realise is probably way too much of myself and ultimately unrealistic).
As VO Artists, we mostly work alone, and thanks to brilliant home studio setups and the ability to work almost entirely remotely, the seldom contact we get with producers and other collaborators is on the end of a video call or phone line. In what is largely considered to be one of most isolating creative professions, its really important to establish a community with other VOs and people in related professions, as this is sometimes a sanity saviour. Not only has making friends with my VO peers given me a great professional boost, but also a personal one.
Sometimes you get so bogged down with the day to day and never-ending ’to do list’ that you lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve and why. Discussing this with other people in the same profession can really help you gain a sense of perspective in terms of your efforts and achievements when you’re feeling a bit lost. Not only that, but everyone I’ve met in the Voiceover Community so far has been absolutely lovely, and very generous with their time, help and advice.
So, if like me, you sometimes struggle with the ability to put things into perspective and feel like you’re not achieving as much as you’d like to - reach out to one of us and chat - and you’ll find that you’re almost definitely doing better than you thought you were, and remember, a career in Voiceover is a Marathon, not a Sprint!
