VO Workflow: Attention vs. Focus – Tuesday VO Tech Tip

Attention.

Focus.

Are these actually different things?

This thought hit me the other day when I realized it was a bit after 2:30 and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. On the best days, this would be a result of the flow state. Unfortunately, while I had delved deeply into some rather weedy details, it wasn’t actually the problem I needed to be focused uponv. 

Those pesky shiny objects. How dare they surface within my field of vision.

When running our own VO business, the To-Do list can feel as though it only gets longer. Balancing the urgent versus the important often feels like an elusive goal. 

The difference between “focus” and “attention”? After finally taking that calorie break, I had to admit that while I gave my full attention to the problem, my focus would have been better spent elsewhere. One of the reasons I recommend and reread James Clear’s book, “Atomic Habits”, is to build toward that practice of aligning my longer term goals with the actions taken in each day. 

I think most of us have good days and bad days in this respect. The world often throws up new obstacles and unexpected variables. Some of those must be solved, but many may not actually matter. 

Our ability to “Focus”– even if just for the timeframe of a 30 second commercial script – has likely brought us to our current level of success in VO. When you see a great voiceover performance, it becomes clear how “in the moment” it is. Every talented voice actor I’ve known shows exceptional focus behind the microphone. 

“Attention” could perhaps be thought of as the guard rail for our process. We can direct our attention more generally. However, anything we can get done grows from the focus we employ. Making the conscious choice about where to place our attention can often seem a struggle. Once focus gets truly engaged, it tends to be self-energizing. 

Putting these ideas into practice within the home VO studio is one of the reasons I like simple setups and clear work areas. Visual simplicity means there are no distractions waiting to hook the eye. Something as simple as a oddly hanging cable can snag my attention, which might cause my focus to be inappropriately applied. 

Distractions in the studio matter because that is when we need to be focused.  A clean and creative space for your process and workflow provides an arena where the focus can be engaged to the task at hand. 

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