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Tucson Woman Wins 4th Annual Great Voice Company Voice-over Victory Contest

admin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:18:07 +0000

As a little girl, Kay Long spent hours performing make believe shampoo commercials in the shower. Recently downsized from her corporate job, she asked herself: “Kay, what do you really want to do?” The answer: voice-overs!

Unfortunately her initial efforts were misguided. She recorded a demo at her Marana, AZ home and attempted to email it to a producer. Unfamiliar with sending audio over the internet, she mistakenly sent it 15 times. He replied: “Sweetheart, please don’t stalk me with your demo. Once is enough.” Humiliated, Long realized she needed some guidance.

An internet search lead her to the Great Voice Company, an Englewood Cliffs, NJ based company where she could get tele-coaching from top voice-over talent Susan Berkley, the well known voice of AT&T.

“When I joined the Great Voice Inner Circle program, listened to the guest speakers and participated in the Q&A time, I felt as if all the dry, parched places of my voice-over soul were getting fed intravenously, ” said Long. “I began to own this voice-over dream. and doors started to open.”

Opportunity literally came knocking last summer when Long got one of her first jobs sitting on the examination table in a hospital gown waiting for a physical. The doctor walked in with her chart where she had listed her profession as “voice-over artist.” He said “Hmmm. I see you’re a voice talent. How much do you charge?” Long gulped before remembering Berkley’s words from a coaching call the night before. “I’d be happy to talk about my rates,” she said. “But first, tell me more about what you have in mind.” Within days she was the voice of her doctor’s new software venture.

Long landed a few more jobs after winning the door prize at a networking event. When called to the stage, she introduced herself as a voice talent and caught the attention of a business owner who hired her to voice his training videos and a local advertising executive who booked her for a radio campaign.

While Long now markets herself through her website www.specialkay.com. She doesn’t yet have an agent. She says: “What I do have is talent, ingenuity, people skills and my ‘little girl in the shower’ passion that has been rekindled thanks to Susan Berkley and The Great Voice Inner Circle.”

Sounding Presidential: Voice Artist Named Winner For Obama-McCain ‘Shouting Match’

admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:13:38 +0000

The Great Voice Co. Selects Mike Kaminski of Clearwater, Florida as the First Annual Voiceover Artist Celebrity Sound-alike Contest Winner

What would a no-holds-barred, in-your-face smackdown between Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain sound like? This year’s winner of the Great Voice Company’s Celebrity Sound-alike contest provides a hilarious look at what how such a confrontation might have gone—and what you would hear if your ear was to the wall in the next room!

The contest was announced earlier this week in the Great Voice Company’s “Inside Voice-over” e-zine. But according to Great Voice President Susan Berkley, Kaminski was the clear winner of the $150 prize.

“We had some passable Obama’s and McCain’s but Mike was the only one who did both. When I heard Mike’s dueling candidates I laughed so hard I cried, ” said Berkley.

Kaminski is no newcomer to voice-over. A professional comedian, his celebrity voice impressions are frequently heard on radio stations in the US and abroad. “To perfect an impression takes weeks” Kaminski said. “McCain is pretty similar to Bush, who I’ve been doing for the past 8 years Obama was tougher, but finally I nailed it.”

The Great Voice Company trains beginning and professional voice talent via tele-seminars and Boot camps. A famous voice herself, Berkley is the voice of AT&T and Citibank.

Berkley said voice impressions are a specialty that few people can do well. They are rarely used in commercials but are a perennial favorite on morning radio.” The world is filled with embarrassingly bad Arnold Schwartenegger imitators,” she says. ” Anyone can do Arnold’s famous ‘I’ll be back’ from the Terminator movies, but very few possess the skills to sustain the imitation with out sounding like an idiot.”

But voice-over wanna-be’s shouldn’t worry if they can’t do imitations. Most jobs are done in the talent’s “normal” street voice.”

The Great Voice Company offers a variety of free resources for those who want to explore opportunities in voice-over including a subscription to the “Inside Voice-over” Ezine and a CD entitled “5 Little Known Secrets Every Beginner Needs to Know About How To Get Started in Voice-over in 11 Months or Less.” For more information visit www.greatvoice.com

Audio of the winning submission is available

Voice-Over Talent, Susan Berkley, Launches New Website

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:40:07 +0000

President of The Great Voice Company, Susan Berkley, launches new website, www.GreatVoice.com, to offer assistance and information about the voice-over industry.

Orlando, Fla., October 13, 2008

Famous Voice-Over Talent, Susan Berkley, Announces the Redesign of Website

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:38:14 +0000

President of The Great Voice Company, Susan Berkley, turned to Dicks Nanton & Glass Media Group, an online marketing and search engine optimization firm, to redesign the web presence of www.GreatVoice.com.

Orlando, Fla. October 13, 2008

Speaking Expert Who Coached This Week’s Winning Team on “The Apprentice” Reveals Keys to Victorious Presentations

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:42:32 +0000

November 3, 2005 – With candidates’ fates riding on how well their team taught an adult education class on this week’s episode of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” a speaking expert who coached the winning team reveals the advice that proved key to the victorious team’s success.

“Your ability to get your message across depends on knowing how to use your voice effectively and what to say when,” says Susan Berkley, a former radio personality who is the author of Speak to Influence as well as the voice of Citiphone Banking and one of the voices that say “Thank you for using AT&T.” Berkley advised the Excel team on how best to structure their class and engage participants.

* Wherever possible, open your presentation with a brief humorous story or anecdote. Berkley taught them how to do this and encouraged the team to model Brian’s relaxed, self-deprecating style.

* If there is something obviously different about you, address it briefly and then move on, to avoid distracting the audience. Since Rebecca was on crutches with a broken ankle, she should tell the audience what happened and use it to build rapport, Berkley explains. “Audiences are always more comfortable with real people who are charmingly flawed, rather than perfect.”

* With limited time to convey tons of information, it’s essential to plan a fun, entertaining and highly interactive presentation – not necessarily to get across as many points as possible.

“Success in life, not only on TV, depends on understanding how to keep your audience from declaring you ‘Fired!,’” Berkley notes. “But that’s always a challenge. It’s definitely one reason ‘The Apprentice’ is still on the air in its fourth season.”

Susan Berkley’s firm, The Great Voice Company (www.greatvoice.com), performs training on vocal mastery as well as creating phone system messages in many languages. Based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the firm serves a client list that ranges from AT&T and Citibank to John Hancock and Freddie Mac.

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If you’d like more information, or to schedule an interview with Susan Berkley, please call 201.541.8595, x23, or email susan@greatvoice.com.