3 Ways a Perfectionist’s Attitude Can Kill Your Voiceover Career

Many would claim that a perfectionist would be the best sort of employee.  This is the person who simply must do the best, be the best at every turn.  However, that desire for absolute perfection can get a person in trouble, not just with co-workers in the traditional office, but also in the voice over industry. 

If you are a perfectionist and attempting to make your market in voice over, then you could be harming your own chances of success. Here are three reasons why:

The Need to Impress Could Impress No One

When you spend every moment trying to impress the client, the sound engineers, and anyone else who may be listening to the recording, you are apt to leave your personality behind. When you get too caught up in making everything perfect, you forget that the characters you portray in the readings are human and, therefore, flawed.

Obsessing Over Every Little Lull in Activity

While it would be wonderful if we, as voiceover artists, could count on a steady flow of work and therefore a steady paycheck, it rarely works that way. Even the best will admit that there are both very busy periods and also slow spells. Rather than panic every time things slow down, you must be able to see these as opportunities to boost other areas of the business (i.e. marketing campaigns, blog writing, demo preparation, etc.). If you allow your perfectionist tendencies to bog you down, you’ll miss such occasions. Particularly within my voice, I find that sometimes technical flaws become a selling point in my performances. ie. cracking, raspiness, pitch change and breaths.

Failing to See Those in Your Cheering Section

It’s true that this is a competitive industry, but that doesn’t mean that you are on your own. A perfectionist can make the mistake of believing that he or she cannot let go of any of the control of each and every scenario encountered. This, however, is a job that will require that you accept the support, encouragement, and, yes, critique of clients, directors, engineers, producers, and more. The good news is, though, that these people want to see you excel, which will, ultimately, serve your personality well.