Barb Lyon
Voice Artist

I don't know about you, but I’m the kind of cook who adapts a recipe until it works for everyone at the table. Swap this, skip that, taste as I go. So when a recent client sent me feedback that reads like a recipe I made, I noticed. Here’s what they wrote: “Barb was an absolute pleasure to work with! She took our direction wonderfully and delivered three varied, high quality takes that matched the tone we were going for beautifully.

Ask ten people to describe a Chicago voice and you’ll get ten answers, and most will involve a Bears-superfans sketch. That’s not what I mean here. When producers ask for a “Chicago read,” they usually want something harder to name. It’s a voice that sounds like a real person talking to another real person. It’s warm without being syrupy, and it has a little dry humor underneath. It’s confident without sounding like it’s selling you something.

In nearly every voice over session, the director, client, or project manager will say, “That’s great. Can we try one more? I’d like to get an A, B, and C.” I love that moment, because it means I’ve delivered what they asked for, and now we can explore what else might be hiding in those words. A take that meets spec is useful. It’s clear, on time, and on brand. But the read that perks up a client’s ears usually isn’t the one the team planned.

Every summer, the planning meetings start. A hospital is mapping out its holiday patient stories. A nonprofit is shaping its year-end giving appeal. A family brand is building a spot around the table, the kids, and the chaos of the season. And somewhere in each of those meetings, someone says, “We want it to feel caring.” Of course you do.

If the client doesn’t connect with the shortlist, nobody blames the talent. They question the person who picked them. Tuesday morning, or really any morning...You open your inbox and there they are. A few hundred voice over auditions for one project, a deadline that was yesterday, and a client waiting to hear who you recommend. Somewhere in that pile is the right voice. Your job is to find it, then narrow everything down to the handful you’ll actually present.

Last week I recorded three projects back to back. Different audiences, different messages, different directions. The one thing they had in common was warmth. Warmth isn't one feeling. It changes shape depending on what the project needs it to do.

I’ve been trying to implement all the coaching advice I’ve received recently. It's great and it works. But, it definitely slows things down. By the time you determine what you're looking at, carve it out, and add some ad libs…well…the clock is ticking. Last week, I had someone else tell me “Don't overthink it. Just get as many auditions done as fast as you can.” (Granted, she was talking about P2P sites.) On one level it’s very freeing to turn off my brain and just do the

After taking Labor Day weekend off it was a little hard to get back in the groove. Tuesday morning came, I sat in my booth and felt thoroughly unmotivated. So I did what I sometimes do before I hit record: I went surfing around, listening to other people's demos looking for a little inspiration. I pulled up Talent A first. Big name. Touted as a high-booking pro. An expert people turn to. I listened through a few clips and thought, huh. I wasn't feeling it. Not bad, just...

We are always being told to just be ourselves in auditions. The problem with that is that there are these pesky audition specs to meet! And these are usually words we’d never say. In fact we spend all day twisting ourselves into pretzels…excited over here, confident over there, oh and now why not let me hear you as an angry leprechaun.

It's a very badly kept secret that I love motivational speakers and am moderately addicted to business insights. Well, last week I was listening to a Mel Robbins podcast. Her guest was Seth Godin, and part way through I hit pause and immediately signed up for his daily newsletter. I love Simon Sinek and I’ve tried to find my “Why”. But putting a fine point on it is really tough. I do voice work because I’ve always had a fascination with audio.

I enjoy art. Not like a collector or anything, but I do appreciate it. I was one credit away from an art minor in college. Personally, I gravitate to the California Impressionists. They make me think of a time when the country was unspoiled, when you might gaze across a vista and see a herd of elk drinking at a stream. I get lost in those paintings.

“Get in the Hole” my favorite quote from the fabulous Gabrielle Nistico. If you're not familiar, Google her. She’s fantastic. She was talking about actors who worry that if they work too much in one genre, they'll never get booked because they're limiting opportunities. Then she showed a list of actors who work within their type and we all love them for it…and they keep getting booked! Think about pretty much anybody from “The Sopranos.”

I’m working on a personal project and was reminded that motivation is in no way a straight line. I know! It sucks, right! Why can’t every day be filled with jet fuel and unicorns? Picture it: You’re really excited about this amazing career you’ve chosen. It's inspiring to think that you might be coaching learners, or selling a great new gadget. That's the hype.

Let's talk backlinks. It's one of those techy things that feels like the impossible item in your checklist. What the heck are they anyway and what do you do with them? Well, a backlink is just another website linking back to yours. Simple as that. But to Google, every one of those links is a little vote of confidence — "hey, this site is legit, other people trust it too." Enough of those votes, from the right places, and your site starts ranking higher.

I have two loves. My mic. And dog training. One requires focus, concentration and energy. And the other? Well. Same. Turns out, voice acting and dog training have more in common than you'd think. Voice over can actually make this weird slide into the Obedience and Rally rings.

I was listening to a Marc Scott podcast and he advised someone going through a VO dry spell to focus on the things they can control, beyond auditioning. It's a good reminder that running a voice over business isn't just about finding auditions. It's also about improving the business assets that support your career. That’s solid advice for all of us. We spend a lot of time tossing our kite in the air hoping it catches wind, so it makes sense.

Creative directors, executive producers and instructional designers hire me as a professional voice actor to record their projects. But that's not the value I deliver. It's really the reliability, trust, consistency, collaboration, and problem-solving that drive the booking. Delivering clean, clear audio with fast turnaround and a pleasant voice matters, sure. But those “other” qualities are where you really stand out.

I ran across this quote the other day and burst out laughing because yeah, that very thing just happened to me. “You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” — Bill Watterson Yah know that feeling when your day’s moving along, everything’s right on track, but there’s this little tickle in the back of your brain telling you you’re forgetting something?

Of all the genres we work in, making technical copy conversational is one of my favorite challenges in voice over. Yeah, I know it's not “glamorous” and that a lot of the time it’s harder to attach to the concepts, but who doesn’t like a challenge!? The trick is that, unless you’re training someone new to the technology, odds are it’s all native to them. The audience doesn’t need you to sound smarter than they are. They need you to guide them clearly through information the

I’m working on a bunch of new demos right now. It’s exciting… and honestly, a little stressful. Exciting because of the potential. Stressful because of the pressure. What kinds of spots should I feature in my quest to deliver authentic voice over? Can I reuse a spot from my main commercial demo on something more authoritative? How do I create enough variety without sounding forced?