Voice Over is About Communication: Guiding Listeners With Empathy and Intention

Voice over is about communication, right?

The story you’re telling. Or the message you’re sharing. And how you tell it matters.

We’ve all seen the comparison: “Let’s eat, Grandma” v. “Let’s eat Grandma.”

Okay, it makes you chuckle. But that simple example proves an important point. Every comma, every period, every declaration prompts the listener to do something—or feel something more. Punctuation changes meaning. Intention changes experience. You're guiding listeners with empathy and intention.

And voice over lives right there.

As a voice actor and storyteller, you need to exist in that copy and in those spaces. Not just reading words, but inhabiting them. Listening for what’s underneath them. Respecting the rhythm, the pauses, the places where the message breathes.

You’re leading the listener on a journey, so it’s worth asking: what do you want them to feel?

Choose a starting point. Where are they coming in? Are they unknowing? Energized? Confused? Skeptical? Curious? A good read doesn’t assume the listener arrives fully formed. It meets them where they are.

Then, as I like to say, take ’em on a ride. You want your story to go somewhere. If it doesn’t, you risk being boring—or worse, forgettable. A flat read flattens the message, no matter how good the copy is.

Start by reviewing the text.

What’s the intent—the meaning behind the message? Why does this piece exist at all?When you read it to yourself, what happens? Did you smirk? Shrug? Gesture wildly with your hands? Did something land emotionally, even before you could name it? Keep that in your recorded take. And pay attention to the pauses. What happened there? Were you having a realization? Did you nod in agreement? Did you lean in?

Those moments matter.

You’re leading the listener, guiding them by the earlobe. And the way you shape the message leading up to its culmination will determine whether they’re on a straight path or winding through twists and turns. Are you building tension? Anticipation? Comfort? Wonder? You get to decide where the listener goes by how you shape the story.

If you fully appreciate how you received the words—and keep that in mind—I’m confident it will elevate your read. Because if something moved you, there’s a good chance it will move someone else.

Peter Drucker said, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”

• It means listening—or in our case, speaking with an empathetic ear to the topic or issue at hand. 

• Paying attention to cues that come from the listener, just as they did for us when we first read the piece. Their reactions to our words. Those shrugs. The pauses. The shifts in attention. 

• And understanding not only what’s being said, but how to say it in a way that gets the desired response from the audience. 

  
  

Pull these components together, and your message will truly land.

That applies beautifully to voice over. Often, the power isn’t in the words themselves, but in what lives between them.

So sit with the intention behind your piece for a bit. Don’t rush it. You’ll be better able to find the path forward and lead your listener exactly where the client needs them to go—whether that’s a sunny meadow, a finish line, or a mountain peak.