How Do You Handle a Live Directed Voiceover Session?

Short answer: A live directed session is you recording in real time while a director, producer or client gives you notes, usually over Zoom, Teams, Google Meet or Source Connect. You handle it by practicing the script until nothing trips you, testing your software the day before, hitting record five minutes before you join, calling out every take, asking the client to mark their selects, and staying loose enough to pivot when they send you somewhere the audition never went. And if you are new, offer them for free. It is the fastest training in voiceover and you get paid for it.

I have done hundreds of live directed sessions, probably more than a thousand, and I learn something in nearly every one. Here is everything I wish someone had told me before my first.

Why are live directed sessions the fastest way to get good?

Because coaching and solo practice show you what a read could be. A director shows you what a client actually wants, in real time, with your voice. Nothing else does that. The finished spot almost never sounds like the audition. It is a mix of what you bring, what the director brings, and what the writer or producer brings, and you jam it out together like a band until you land somewhere none of you could have gotten alone. That is also why I tell people to take audition directions with a grain of salt. The brief is a first draft of what the client thinks they want.

Should you offer live directed sessions for free?

When you are starting, yes. Once you have been awarded a job, say: "I have a good handle on this script, but if you would like, I am happy to offer a live directed session at no charge so we can work it out together." Nine times out of ten they will jump at it. You get an hour with a working director, which is better than any class you could pay for, and it makes every dollar you spent on coaching suddenly make sense. Once you are established, charge for your time. In the beginning, get the reps.

What software do you need?

Zoom is the most common. Then Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Source Connect. Whatever they choose, test it before the session: that you can hear them, that they can hear you, and that your DAW is recording locally at the same time. Do it the day before with a friend or the built-in test tools. The one thing you never want to discover live is that your audio is not routed.

How do you prepare the script?

Read it out loud at least five times if it is under a thousand words, more if it is longer. You are hunting for the word combinations that trip your mouth. Find them now, not in the session. I once discovered a tongue twister mid-session with a client watching, had to step out of the booth to collect myself, and came back to finish. Once. After that I practiced every script to death, and you should too.

Practice it more than one way. They are going to ask for conversational, then more energy, then an announcer read (making a comeback), then pickups of individual lines that make no sense on their own because they plan to Frankenstein your takes together in the edit. Be ready to pivot. Also come in with an idea of your own. If they ask "what is your take on this?", have one. They might say no. That is fine. Confidence is what they are hoping to see.

What do you do in the first five minutes?

Start recording before you join. Five minutes before. Then, once you are in and the hellos are done, say "give me one second to check my levels." You are not checking your levels, you already did. You are confirming the record button is red. I have finished an entire session and realized I never hit record, and had to ask a CEO and his team to redo it. They were gracious. Do not count on that. Record locally even on Source Connect, because they will want your file as a backup.

Ask them to mark their selects. Say "as we go, could you note which takes you like?" If you do not, they may assume you are tracking it, and at the end ask you to "just send the selects," and you will have no idea which ones they meant.

Call out every take. "Full read, take one." Then section by section: "First line, A, B, C." Reading a line three ways is standard. Calling takes makes their edit easy, and it makes you sound like someone who has done this before, which is the whole point.

What is the session actually like?

Relaxed, usually. You might have an engineer, a director and a producer on the call. Chat a little, be polite, joke if you are funny, be quiet if you are not. Sometimes they are in a time crunch and want to go straight in; you can tell right away and you just follow their lead.

A 30-second spot typically runs 30 to 60 minutes. A tagline might be five. Long e-learning or medical reads take longer, and a medical read might have a doctor on the line checking your pronunciation. In all of that, remember: you already got the job. They picked you. They like you. Breathe.

You will make mistakes. They expect it. If you flub the same line five times, say "let me take that back a couple of lines," and go again. They are on your side. They want this to be excellent and they know that takes collaboration, not perfection.

You will hear direction like "can you go down at the end of that line" or "let's hear it going up." That is inflection. Down sounds confident and final. Up sounds brighter, and too far up sounds like a question. Sometimes they ask for something that is clearly wrong just to rule it out. Give it to them. Play.

How do you end the session?

Even if it was rough, say "thank you, I really enjoyed working with you, I hope we get to do it again." Do not say "I learned a lot." That tells them you are green. Then ask where to send the files and where to send the invoice. I use WeTransfer; it is fast, cheap and businesses are used to it. If the project was a good one, ask if you can get a copy of the finished piece. They love that, you post it and tag them, and now you are top of mind for the next job.

Do you need Source Connect?

Eventually, yes, if you want the big studio work. Source Connect is a direct line from your booth into a professional studio, so they can record you to picture and finish the spot while you are still on the line. It is a great experience.

The rule: do not list Source Connect on any profile until you own it and have tested it. It is notorious for setup problems, port mapping, echo, dropouts, and the fix usually involves their support team. If you claim it and book a session for tomorrow morning at 5pm today, you will not get it working and the client will remember. Buy Source Connect Standard, set it up on a quiet week, test it with someone, and only then add it to your profiles.

How do you deliver the file?

Ask up front whether they want it raw or cleaned up. Most want raw. If they want basic cleanup: light background noise removal, trim the long silences, a gentle de-click (in something like iZotope RX, set below the default), normalize to about minus 3, and export a WAV at 48k. That is it. Send it, and you are done.

What if you are scared of them?

Everyone is at first. Some people in my community skip jobs that mention live sessions because they are afraid to mess up in front of a client. Do not. Run toward the cannons. The sessions are where you get good, and if I had to pick between a new voice actor coaching with me or doing a live directed session, I would tell them to do the session. Do both if you can.

The checklist

• Practice the script five plus times, out loud, more than one way
• Test Zoom, Teams, Meet or Source Connect the day before
• Record locally five minutes before you join, confirm it once you are in
• Ask them to mark their selects
• Call out every take and every ABC
• Pivot, play, and relax; you already have the job
• Thank them, get the delivery email and invoice email, ask for the finished spot
• Never list Source Connect until it works

Want to practice before it counts?

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