Weekly VO Workflow: Stepping Back

It feels good to step back into the studio after some time away. Though a few errant auditions flitted through the inbox in the last weeks of 2025, I shut  things down for the final two weeks of the year. Perhaps that is a reaction to many years in retail, where December meant long hours and frantic days, compounded by seasonal stress. Instead, I now get to spend time with family and catch up a bit on household, non-VO tasks. This is the time when it becomes obvious that time away is an important asset.

Most of us are a company of one – managing the creative, marketing, and financial ends of our business in a way that can easily blur the boundaries between personal time and the demands of the job. We get in the swing of things, pushing to meet deadlines and build momentum.

Unplugging and stepping away provides the opportunity to notice what is redundant, distracting, or simply a blindspot when we are in motion. It can reestablish a sense of the big picture. That time away helps establish a separation from our repeated actions. It can also be a critical skill to maintain as we begin auditioning once again.

In that sense, stepping “back” can allow us to find the perspective of the listener. In those earlier retail days I would try to understand how the store displays and layout might appeal to someone walking into the store for the first time. It can be helpful to appreciate the perspective of that person making the decision on our audition.

When we’re behind the mic making performance choices, balancing tone, timing, and crafting the conversation, there’s a strong tendency to dig deeper and notice finer and finer points in our work. That can lead to the “endless take syndrome” where we spend more and more time and focus on things that just aren’t that important.

Stepping away – ideally outside – for even a few minutes before we send things off can clean the slate and let us find fresh ears. While it can be compelling to just hit RECORD and go again, immediately diving back into performance mode can just create the same result with only minor differences. One of the benefits of recording to analog tape – nothing could happen during the rewind. Pausing – however slight – gave an opportunity for reflection and perhaps regaining the outside perspective.

That’s a critical skill in what we do. In most situations, there’s no one there to tell you when it’s time to send the audition. Developing that ability to reset and assess remains with us. We’re the ones who say “it’s time…” Not that it will be “perfect.” Not that you won’t do better the next time.  But there’s a point when our work is ready and does what it needs to do.  When it stands out in a good way and represents the best you could do with the skill set you possess today.

posted 1/13/26

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