One of the areas that I have focused on as a professional voice-over artist in recent years, has been to embrace my own core values. This perhaps has become more apparent when developing relationships with new clients. ‘Trust’ is a value that I often hear from clients and I can personally relate it to an existing client of mine who emailed me about several e-learning voice projects. The first thing that she mentioned was that the deadline would be tight and wondered if I could get the projects recorded as a matter of urgency. I believe that because I had previously voiced other projects with tight deadlines, she trusted in my ability, to get the job done ahead of schedule.
I was also reflecting on some of the reviews from my own website, which provide further clues as to the importance of core values. Perhaps what struck me the most, was the review from one client who mentioned importance of ‘professionalism, dedication and reliability’ I believe that these core values are not just important within the voice-over industry, but in life in general. I firmly believe that developing one’s core values, should be at the heart of everything voice-over artists do as part of their businesses.
Often I draw from the wisdom of my own parents and elders from the African community that I originate from. One of those sayings that always sits well with me was to ‘know thyself, understand your essence and let it shine in the world.’ These poignant words, were echoed by my parents and are cemented in my heart. Hopefully as voice-over artists, you will continue to strive to stand by your own core values as part of your own tool-kit, when developing and nurturing relationships with those new leads or clients.