Barb Lyon
Voice Artist

I should have known it might go sideways. Sometimes, there are little signs at the start of a session. Nothing alarming, just enough to make you take note. Most of the time, everything settles out and you do the work you were hired to do. Still, every now and then, the day turns into an exercise in flexibility and direction. This job was a series of spots for a healthcare provider. Honestly? My sweet spot. The kind of work I genuinely love.

Just be yourself. Only the hardest-thing-to-do—EVER—when you “try” to do it. But that’s exactly what voice actors do when they’re really in the zone. Lately I’ve been thinking the problem isn’t so much Imposter Syndrome as it is the sheer effort we put into being someone else all day long. We’re constantly adjusting, smoothing, editing ourselves to please others. A polite smile for the barista when you’re already having a rough morning. Swallowing a cheeky comment because

This weekend, I had kind of a chill Saturday, which is always nice. I cooked a fabulous pork roast in the slow cooker, did some organizing, and spent some time teaching Friday a new trick…all of which puts me in my happy place. Being an obsessive planner, I also found myself pondering the auditions I needed to do Sunday. Bob Ross was on the TV, painting masterpieces that came together at an astonishing pace. (Seriously. Start a video, about five minutes in, look away for abou

I get teased sometimes because I like outboard gear. Buttons and knobs. See, if my Mac dies, I hook up a new one and I’m off and running. Easy. I’m also a fan of wired connections. I run a cable from my modem/router, through a hole in the media closet floor, across the basement, up through a non-functional cold-air return, and to my Mac.I know it sounds like a lot, but really the hardest part was figuring out how long the cable needed to be! Why go through that?

While I don’t miss the stress of compiling the list, printing the labels, licking the envelopes, and let's not forget paying for the postage, I do in some ways miss the tradition of sending holiday cards. It was a nice way to reflect on the year and recall awesome projects. My Mom loved sewing little embroidered ornaments to stuff inside, and creating the cards on Canva or Vistaprint with my own personalizations was always fun. In a way, the ritual made you slow down.

Some days I look at the calendar and feel like time is slipping past me at full tilt. It’s 2025. Depending on how you count it, I have maybe ten solid working years left in my voiceover career, give or take. And there are still so many milestones I haven’t hit yet. Not because I’ve been sitting still. But because creative work unfolds in its own rhythm. Clients come and go. Budgets shift. Algorithms do whatever algorithms do.

Gratitude. This time of year, everywhere you turn there are lists. Ewey, gooey posts dripping with sentiment. People naming the projects they were proud to take part in. Or the fabulous opportunity that propelled them forward. The support of family. Yes, truly, all those things are amazing, wonderful, and to be cherished. But let's get real...overall 2025 has been…a challenge. I mean, be honest. Many of us have felt like we’re dragging a hundred pound weight with us everywhe

The year was 2017. I had only recently gone full-time with my voice over business. I was auditioning on Voice123 and Voices.com, working from my home studio, and doing my best to make this dream career a reality. Back then, I didn’t know about the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) or Gravy for the Brain. I had no real guidance on how to quote voice over jobs or what standard voice over rates even looked like.

Somewhere along the line, most of us picked up the idea that our value lives out there. In someone else’s approval, in a job title, in likes and comments, in whether a client chooses us, or if we’re “in demand” this month. It’s subtle at first, but it creeps in, and suddenly we’re handing out calculators to everyone around us, letting them tally our value based on whatever criteria they find convenient. Here’s the truth: your self-worth never was an external measurement.

I first met Jen Sweeney back in, gosh, I want to say maybe 1995. She was the go-to talent for Wells Fargo through Walsh Media, where I worked at the time, was brought on to service the account’s telecom needs.Jen’s personality is positively infectious. She carries this joy with her that just lifts the whole room. She has the most wicked laugh, and she has no problem laughing at herself. I’m glad to say those good vibes rubbed off on me and we became fast friends.

I’ve been thinking a lot about pricing lately, probably because next weekend I’ll be running a booth at my dog training club's Obedience and Rally Trials for my mom, selling some of her quilting and embroidery. She’s poured hours into those pieces. Every stitch is deliberate, every pattern perfectly balanced. When she finishes one, it’s like holding a bit of her heart in your hands. So how do we price that? And it struck me: this is the exact same conversation that plays o

I was approached by a company last week to record 50,000 words for their text-to-speech (TTS) engine. The stated use? eLearning for kids and young adults. The money wasn’t terrible, especially since I’ve had a down year in the eLearning voice over genre, but a few things immediately made me pause. First, the company name wasn’t visible or offered. Now, I had recorded a TTS engine years ago for my previous employer, before I went full time into VO. The project never fully lau

Auditioning is an adventure to say the very least. Some voice over auditions ask for crazy spec, and when the voice direction is longer than the script itself, I have to wonder what they’re thinking. Maybe it’s a case of “direction by committee.” Sally wants it warm and endearing, but Bob wants it energetic, like a rallying cry. And Jamie, well, he wants something wistful, as though you’re standing on a beach, and like they’re your own thoughts rolling out of your head. By th

I’ve said it before, and I’ll stand by it today - the best thing ever is when a client wants to patch in on a recording session. For newer voice actors, that can sound a little intimidating. But truly, it gives you such a leg up! You don’t have to guess what the client wants — they’ll tell you right there in real time. And that feedback makes you better with every session. From your voice over home studio, there are several great options to make your setup “patchable,” and th

I'm having one of those days right now. I was out doing dog club things late last night, the event was frustrating. I got home late, so my sleep routine that I love was "off", and I woke up this morning thinking, I'd rather contemplate my navel all day than actually record. I even listed to a positive podcast while I showered, punched on my favorite Sirius channel while I finished getting ready (The Struts artist channel) and still my motivation level remains...subterranean.

Linda and I were thrust together because of a casting my former employer did, and just clicked. She is an inspiration and she's a big part of the reason for my voice over career. She's always been sort of a North Star for me. WWLD right? Some of the stories I got her to tell you I've heard before, some are new to me, but Linda's storytelling always bring a smile to my face.

In voiceover, and really, in any creative field, so much of what we do depends on mindset. You can have the training, the skill, the best gear money can buy, but if your head and heart are locked in a tug-of-war, everything tightens up. The read gets stiff. The flow disappears. And suddenly, you’re chasing something that used to come naturally. Doesn’t it seem like when you’re trying, and trying, and trying to do something, the goal gets farther and farther away?

Every voice actor dreams of being that person. The go-to voice. The one clients call again and again without having to be reminded, marketed to, or auditioned for. The relationship where trust has been built, workflows are easy, and communication just clicks. (Full disclosure: I have an actor's crush on Jan. You've known her from Toyota ads since 2012. Jan really is the poster child for rebookability! She’s been showing up for Toyota longer than most of us have kept a car.

Coaching. Everyone says you need it. Why? Is it because many of us grew up playing sports and we’re just used to having a leader to follow? Or is it because gyms have trained us to believe that if we really want to hit our goals, we must have coaching? Why has relying on our own gut instinct become passé? I’ll tell you why: because our gut is locked in time. Probably somewhere in our late teens or early 20’s. That’s when we played team sports, and when we most likely hit the

Does the thought of working outside your comfort zone make you pump the brakes? Why? What’s the worst that could happen? I don’t usually go in for character work as a voice actor. I’ve listened to plenty of talent in voiceover workouts who seem so much more skilled than I am, so I often just take a pass. I remember listening to Ron Perlman’s narration of The Strain (highly recommended!) and being blown away. Now that’s character work.