Some people feel they can never be voice actors because they lack the talent for it. There has been plenty of debate about talent vs. skill, with some people claiming that talent does not exist and that it’s all about the person developing skills through hard work.

There is some truth to the “talent” aspect in the case of voice acting. Each person has a unique voice, and some are more suited to voice acting.

Still, one also develops a voice through practice and hard work. And often, the practice comes in many unconventional ways. We’re not talking about doing warmups and saying tongue twisters before you perform. We’re talking about unconventional ways you can develop your voice skills.

Here are some ways you can practice voice acting.

Read Books Aloud and Develop Voices for the Characters

Do you remember reading stories aloud in class? Some kids would make funny voices for the characters, making people laugh or cringe. Now that you’re an adult, you probably don’t read aloud that much, but you should if you want to be a voice talent. Read some books with colorful characters aloud and make different voices for them. You may even find that as you read, the voice evolves. That’s the magic of voice acting.

Dub Over TV and Films

Don’t just rely on books. Watch a movie or TV show with the sound off and subtitles on, and make up your own voices. It’s even better if you watch something related to whatever voice-acting niche you want to break through. It can also help you to time your performance in sync with the characters.

Or Go to Video Games

Gaming is also a way that you can develop your voice. Play an old RPG video game that doesn’t have voice acting, and make up your own voices. For example, Final Fantasy VI is a video game that has many, many playable characters, but due to it being on the SNES, it has no voice acting. Or, play a Mario game and dub over the game with a funny voice. For modern games, simply turn off the voice audio and dub your own voices in.

You don’t have to make an exact impression; for example, you don’t need to make a perfect impression of Charles Martinet’s Mario. You can have your own take on the character or something new entirely.

Play D&D or Other Tabletop Games

One way to create a role and immerse yourself in it is through the power of tabletop gaming. Play Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or a similar game and voice your own character. Everyone there is a nerd who is just playing for fun, so don’t feel too embarrassed. If anything, this can be a great place to collect feedback.

You can look at local comic shops or other nerdy hangouts to find a group. Of course, some groups are tight-knit, and finding members can be difficult. If that’s the case, you can look to online communities and have D&D groups digitally.

Join Voice Acting Activities, Including Impressions

Many voice-acting forums and Discord groups have activities designed to practice one’s voice acting in a judgment-free zone. For example, some voice-acting groups play a game where you spin a wheel, and whatever character it lands on, you have to make an impression of it. If you can’t find any groups, you can put some characters on a wheel and try it on your own.

Impressions are something that is frowned upon in the community, so some aspiring actors avoid doing them. The idea is that you should be doing your own voice, not someone else’s. However, impressions can help you develop your delivery. Also, many people use impressions as a springboard to develop their own acting styles.

Be Inspired By Social Media

Social media is a place where you can develop several voices if you look hard enough. For example, if you open up Facebook, you may start to read someone’s sad status in a tragic voice. If you go to X, you may begin doing dramatic readings of the many fights over nothing that happened there. Go to YouTube, and read some comments with different voices.

The internet is filled with a cast of colorful characters just waiting to be dubbed over. Have a laugh, especially if it’s a hate comment directed at you!

Freestyle

Sometimes, you don’t even need a character or a prompt to practice. Go to your recording studio, or maybe in the privacy of another room, and just freestyle. Speak random words with random characters. It may come off as gibberish at first, but you may find a unique voice in the chaos that comes out of your mouth.

Mess Around With Robocallers

If you’re like most people, you get robocalls from scammers looking to steal your information or sell you a bogus product. Most people block them or ignore them, but if you’re bored, why not put on a show? There are many channels dedicated to stringing along scammers or scambaiting. The scam baiter usually has a character they play. Since many scammers target the elderly, this is your chance to do a grandpa or grandma voice. This also teaches you how to improvise and think of creative ways to mess with the scammers’ heads. You’re also doing a service, as the scammer could be speaking to someone who would fall for their tricks.

Find Other Points in Your Life to Practice Voice Acting

In truth, there are many ways you can develop your skills further. You may be driving, then narrate the lives of those who pass you by. At work, you may do a dramatic reading of an email you received. Normalize this mindset, and it can help you develop your voice-acting skills further.

Best of all, these methods allow you to practice without the fear of judgment. However, you should go back to your recordings, listen to them, and be critical when you can. With that said, we hope this article helped.