From Doing to Sharing to Teaching

Whenever I tell anyone that I’m a working Voice Over Artist most people give me one of those all too familiar blank looks that generally mean “Huh? What’s that? I have no idea what you’re talking about mate”.

Fair call I guess, after all, I probably wouldnt be able to tell you what a  Derma-Pigmentation Technician does either….not really my industry.

You see, it turns out that most folks I come across in everyday life don’t have a clue about what a voice over artist does, and for a small number of folks who manage to avoid the blank look and seem to think they know what that means, well, for some reason they all seem to think I spend my time making silly cartoon voices.

Geez, if I had a dollar for everytime someone asked if I “do cartoons” I’d have  probably paid off my mortgage by now!

The truth is, I haven’t voiced a cartoon character in my life, but that’s not to say other voice over artists around the globe don’t voice cartoon characters (someone has to voice them!). I know a few folks who DO voice cartoon characters, and they’re pretty good at it too, but that’s just not what I specialise in.

You see, like many folks in my social circles I’ve spent most of my adult life as a “corporate warrior”. I suspect if you’re reading this right now you too have probably been a corporate warrior at some point, or at least know someone who has. During my corporate career I’ve worked for some of the biggest corporate names in Australia, toiling away across a number of functional areas and divisions in roles like Corporate Accounting, Controls & Internal Audit, Systems Implementation, Shared Services Implementation, Organisational Change Management and last but not least, Corporate Training (or as it seems to be called these days, Learning & Development).

Yet, no matter what my job title seemed to be, I always somehow gravitated towards roles that involved training and coaching others…..call it fate, call it kismet, call it what you will, it just always worked out that way. Which isn’t such a bad thing actually, because that’s one of the things I enjoy most – training and coaching others, sharing what I know with folks who may find it useful.

I’ve delivered face-to face training to hundreds over the years, but as the number of people who needed training grew, especially as a result of large-scale technology roll-outs I’d worked on, it became harder and harder to rely solely on face-to-face training to deliver timely results to an ever increasing number of trainees.

And that’s when I first encountered e-learning, and if truth be told, I’ve been  enamored with the concept ever since.

Since my first introduction to e-learning (or CBT, Computer Based Training as it was known back then) I’ve gone on to work both sides of the e-Learning development fence, both in Training Development (as a Trainer, Developer and Script Writer) and in Training Delivery (as a Corporate Narrator and e-Learning Voice Over Artist).

Working both sides of the fence has given me some amazing insights into both realms, and I’m hoping to share some of these viewpoints with with you all here on this blog.

Every day, you and I learn something new, whether its something in our professional lives, or even in our personal lives…(Lord knows my kids teach me something new every day!).

Some choose to take that learning, reinforce it through action and then help others do the same thing. These people transition from being a “Doer” to a “Sharer” to a “Teacher”…and in doing so, help more people begin their own transition. Imagine what this little planet of ours could achieve if we all traversed this path.

Have you started this transition?  Let me know how below.

Speak Up. Be Heard.

Con

6 Comments

  • igor Griffiths

    Reply Reply March 11, 2014

    Well hello Con, glad you clarified which element of voice over you specialize in, I was thinking adverts initially.

    Having started the voyage of self discovery its interesting that the more you know about yourself the more you want to help others do the same of course without getting all weird and mystic about it.

    iogr

    • Con Dolmas

      Reply Reply March 16, 2014

      Hi Igor,

      I loved your line about wanting to help others “without getting all weird and mystic”….that made me crack a smile.
      Yes, my voice over specialisation is in the corporate narration and online training domains. Having said that, I’ve voiced adverts in the past, and have no problem doing that, but my passion lies with narration and training.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

      Con

  • Elaine Summers

    Reply Reply March 14, 2014

    Hi Con
    I have recently been involved in delivering training in the organsiation that I work for. It was a very enjoyable few months it is a great feeling being able to give to others and watch them grow.
    I am hoping that following this programme my skills are going to grow in different areas and can not wait to be able to share them.
    Great blog

    • Con Dolmas

      Reply Reply March 16, 2014

      Hi Elaine,

      It’s an amazing feeling isn’t it?! I’m glad to hear your training experience was a positive one.

      I look forward to hearing what you have to share 🙂

      Con

  • Pauline

    Reply Reply March 16, 2014

    Wow Con.

    What a powerful post. Not sure about being a voice over for something, I hate hearing my own recorded voice. This could be a problem when I want to make video presentations. People will not know what I am talking about.(LOL),

    I suppose in my posts I have tried to share my journey so far. So maybe I am mid point in this transition to a ‘teacher’.

    Take care
    Pauline

    • Con Dolmas

      Reply Reply March 16, 2014

      Hi Pauline,

      You’re not alone in hating the sound of your recorded voice…in my experience most people feel the same.

      Believe it or not, there’s actually a rational explanation why…

      You see, the sound you hear in your head comes from two sources. Not surprisingly, the first source you’re hearing is soundwaves hitting your ear drums. But perhaps unexpectedly, you’re also hearing sounds “inside your head” through a type of hearing called bone induction.

      Much of the sound you hear when you speak is via bone induction, so that tends to skew what you think you sound like.

      For many people, that “inner sound” tends to be quite rich in bass, so when they hear themselves on a recording, that “inner bass” is missing, so it sounds less resonant and less like they “think” they sound like.

      Bottom line, the recording sounds different to the sound in their head and they don’t necessarily like what they hear.

      The beauty of recorded sound however, is that you can manipulate it, so if you really wanted to, you could use software tools to make the recording sound a little closer to what you hear in your head.

      I would love to hear you record your own video presentations, so, far from being a problem, I just think its a challenge to face head on 🙂

      Great to hear from you – and good luck with the transition to “Teacher”

      Con

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