I speak a few languages to varying levels of proficiency. For a long time, I wondered if there was any monetary use I could make of this skill, besides being able to order food in different languages or impressing people at dinner parties. I was not keen on being a translator and I wouldn't know where to start with that anyway. Were there other areas where I could apply my language skills?

Cue in one of my early voiceover jobs. A client wanted me to do a live directed voiceover recording. This is a voiceover job where they would be on the call with me as I recorded the lines of the script so that they could give directions on how they wanted the lines delivered. It was my first live recording and I really wanted to do it well. I did as much prep as I could before the session by asking my trusty friend google "how to do a live directed session" and got a lot of information.

I got to the session, with butterflies in my belly and with adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was going to put in my best performance. Good thing it was just voiceover, they couldn't see my facial expressions, nor my makeshift home studio that worked but was rather inexpensive 🙈. These were the very early days. I upgraded to a better setup later.

The voice director on the other end of the call was encouraging and gave great directions. He kept saying wow, it's great working with experienced voiceover artists who just do the work well... I didn't bother telling him I was still somewhat new (in my eyes at least), but I guess my preparation helped.

All of a sudden the client threw me a curve ball. "That was a great read, now can you give me triplets on that last line?" 

Triplets? Triplets??? What does he mean by triplets? 😳 That didn't come up in my google search! I had to think fast... No time to google. I figured he must mean I should say the line 3 times in 3 slightly different ways 🤷🏽‍♀️. Triplets after all, may look alike but have different personalities... So I went for it.

After the third read, I asked tentatively... "Was that alright?" The moment between my question and his response seemed longer than the actual second that passed. 

"Brilliant, looks like it's a wrap!" I exhaled the breath I had not realised I was holding.

He continued "That was really good and we finished in record time. Do you speak any other languages? We would like to record it in french later as well."

I was not expecting that. I stuttered. I had not thought about doing voiceovers in french even though I could speak the language. I managed to mutter something along the lines of "I speak french but I don't know if I would be the best person for it but I would be happy to try"... Suffice to say I don't think I inspired confidence in the client.

He said, thanks, we'll get in touch... He never got in touch... But it was okay. The client just opened up my mind to another possibility and revenue stream. I could provide voiceovers in English AND French. After that live session, I began practising doing voiceovers in french and the next time opportunity came knocking, I was ready. 

Thanks to that client who asked me to give him triplets, I discovered a new niche and expanded my portfolio. Now I offer voiceovers in both English and French, and I love the variety and challenge of switching between languages. If you need a bilingual voiceover artist for your next project, feel free to contact me. I can give you triplets if you need them!

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About the author

Hi 👋, I'm Ore Apampa. I am an entrepreneur and voiceover artist based in the UK but I do love to travel so I'm not always there. I share stories about my experience being a voiceover artist whilst doing a PhD. I'm hoping sharing the things I learn on my journey will help other people on their journeys. Subscribe to my newsletter - Ore's Gist to be notified when I post something new.

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