How To Choose The Right Kind of Voice Over For Your Explainer Video

Audio works on a slightly more subconscious level than video does – meaning that it isn’t as obvious how it influences a message. But, the tone, the voice, the accent, and audio effects and background audio all play a key role in how effective and well-received your explainer video will be. And, as the voice over (VO) is one audio aspect that most explainer videos simply can’t do without, we’re going to focus on choosing the voice for your video. For, an explainer video can bomb with your audience if you choose the wrong kind of VO for it – no matter how great your video is.

So, to avoid that scenario, here’s how you can choose the right kind of voice over for your explainer video:

View things from your target market’s point of view:
First and foremost, you need to understand what your target market is and what appeals to your target audience. For this, you’ll need to stand on the same side as the market you’re trying to reach and connect with your video and look at things from their side.
The main goal here is that, if you understand what appeals to your target audience, you will understand what kind of voice over(s) will best appeal to your target audience.

Pick the right voice accent and language
Depending on the geographical location of your target audience, and the primary language that the demographics of your target audience engages with, you’ll need to pick a voice over artist that knows the language well and also have the appropriate accent that will best appeal to the target audience. Don’t underestimate how much a familiar accent will engage the audience with the video.
Plus, even more than the accent, make sure your voice over artist has good pronunciation, pacing, and voice control (in the language of the video). Also, if your target audience stretches over more than one language, it’ll be a good idea to have videos with voice overs in all those languages as well. More than anything, the voice over should appeal to your target audience. And the correctness of the VO and the audience’s familiarity with the VO will go a long way in making your explainer video appealing to your audience.

Match the tone of the VO to the tone you want to represent your business
Is your video meant to shed a formal, emotional, humorous, or carefree light on your business? What kind of appeal and tone are you trying to evoke with your target audience? How do you want them to see your business and feel about it?
Depending on your answers to the above questions, you should accordingly choose the right tone of voice you want for your video. In fact, after you’ve made your choice, pick a couple of videos that match the tone you want for your own video and send them to the voice artist so that he or she knows what you’re looking for. Then, don’t stop with one take of the voice over recording for your video. If you’re not satisfied, go for multiple voice over recordings until you get the right tone for the video. Remember, the voice over represents the business in the minds of the target viewers just as much as the video does.