Audio Academy – a joint initiative of radioinfo and Abe’s Audio.
Learn from experienced professionals across the audio industry.
Yannick Lawry is an experienced voiceover artist who began his career in the UK. We talked to him about how he got started in the industry, what makes a VO performance cut through, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
Tell us about your career. How did you start doing voiceovers?
Did you get any formal training, or just learn ‘on the job’?
I trained as an actor in London, and I’ve worked in radio in the UK and here in Australia as a broadcaster. In London back in 2004, I was doing a mid-dawn shift on a radio station that was part of London’s Capital Radio Group.
The radio station’s live stream played in the building’s corridors, and a producer from another station heard me on air, tracked me down, and asked if I’d considered voiceover. I told him that I had, but thought the industry was a closed shop. He offered to make my demo for free if I signed with his agency for three years. It was a win-win situation, and I was very fortunate given the cost of producing a demo in those days!
He taught me the industry and how my acting and broadcasting translated to voiceover, plus gave me representation. I know how blessed I was to get this opportunity offered to me on a plate, and that’s why I now train others, giving them skills, techniques and industry knowledge to succeed.
What makes a voiceover stand out and cut through the ‘noise’? What takes a VO from good to great?
Voiceover that cuts through ALWAYS has skin in the game. When narrating a documentary or audiobook, you’re not adjacent to the story. You need to be fully in it and lure us into the work.
The same applies to commercial voiceover. You embody the product, service or idea and become – essentially – the ambassador for it, even if you don’t fully understand what it is/does!
How do you approach a script & VO session?
I always think about three letters: audience, tone, and emphasis. A-T-E.
First, I define one specific person as the audience I’m reaching. You’re not speaking to lots of people when you’re a voiceover artist. It’s one person specifically, which counterintuitively gives it broader appeal because each listener feels special… like they’re the only one you’re talking to.
Then I consider the tone I’d use to speak to that person.
Finally, I look for what to emphasise, balancing the client’s needs with what resonates most with the audience member I’ve defined. I used to mark this up rigorously on scripts. Now it’s second nature.
What’s a common mistake you made early in your VO career?
Early on, I assumed I was being judged from the second I stepped up to audition or deliver a read. That’s frustratingly common for many of us across the creative and performing arts. But people in the room want you to do well. They’re rooting for you. Once I realised that and believed it fully, my reads came alive.
This is true for straight commercial reads and longer-form work like animation, gaming, docos, or audiobooks. Be confident in what you’re bringing to the table (and humble enough to collaborate with others connected to the project, because we’re all on the same team and want to create the best result we can).
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing for copywriters, what would it be?
Copywriters and clients sometimes write delivery directions like (aggressively) or (intriguingly). It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it can feel a little prescriptive and create a clash of interpretation. It can send a voice artist down the wrong path.
Voiceover artists need to respect copywriters’ brilliance in their field and not criticise or alter their words – our job is to make the copy come alive using our skills and authentic interpretation (whilst also working collaboratively and enthusiastically with the direction we get in the moment).
The best results come with mutual trust and respect for each other’s skills in both directions!
Do you have a spot you’ve voiced that you’re proud of?
About five years ago, I voiced a campaign about good nutrition for Kellogg’s. I played anxious gut bacteria reacting to the lack of fibre in its human’s diet, whilst waging a Game of Thrones-style battle against poor nutrition.
It’s one of my favourites. It shows you can use all your artistic skills as a voice artist in the commercial space, as well as do good and communicate important ideas with warmth, authority and playfulness.
Listen to the spot below. (You’ll hear Yannick from 37”.)
Like to hear (and see) more of Yannick’s work? Click here.
Listen to our full chat below.