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CAREER
'VoiceOverWhelmed' After Your VO Atlanta
Conference Experience? What To Do Now ...
April 1, 2019

By Dave Courvoisier
Voice Actor

VoiceOverWhelmed: it's that heady post-conference feeling. Physically/mentally spent, and yet invigorated and inspired!

I didn't go to the VO Atlanta Voiceover Conference (March 28-31) this year, but I'm still walking a couple of feet off the ground from LAST year's event.

Overwhelmed may summarize your state-of-mind today. Or any number of other words: connected, refreshed, empowered, and part of something bigger than yourself, right?

Here's what to do now to capitalize on your VOA experience.

1. Make Notes!

Hopefully you took a lot of notes during the sessions. Or maybe you jotted down some quick "to-do's" while waiting in the airport - maybe a voice recording to yourself?

If not, do that right now to remember the absolute most important thoughts, nuggets, remembrances and people to follow-up with off the top of your head.

It doesn't have to be pretty, but if you start that list, you'll keep adding to it over and over for the next few days.

2. Sleep! Eat, Rest

And take Airborne 'cause conferences are notorious for sharing colds and bugs. 

Seriously, find a way to undo the tension and energy. 

Stop smiling for 5 minutes (heh). Do something mundane and mind-distracting that has nothing to do with VO.

3. Send 'Thank You's'

Someone, or MANY someones did or said something very helpful, personal, or affirming to you, and they deserve to know you were touched by that. 

Sending an email is the default, but maybe you should write a hand-written note, and put it in the mail. Or call (give it a few days - it'll seem more special).

4. Synthesize

Get out those notes from your sessions.
  • Scour them for nuggets.
  • Make more notes to yourself from THOSE notes.
  • Summarize. 
  • Create a doc to cement them in your mind. 
  • Swap notes with others in sessions that you couldn't attend. 
  • Make priority lists of impending tasks that are mandatory actions in the next few days. 
  • Get out your calendar, and break down goals to daily tasks. 
5. Do it! Get To Work!

If don't incorporate at least 75% of the great stuff you learned, you've wasted a bunch of money for a few expensive laughs, some selfies, and a so-so hotel room away from home.  
WHATEVER you soaked in, incorporate that into your studio, your work-flow, your self-direction, your agent search, your personal routines, your mind-set, your business plan, your upcoming demo.

WHATEVER you went there to glean, put it to work in real life! You just gave your career a gift. You invested your hard-earned money back into your business. Make it pay off!
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ABOUT DAVE
Dave Courvoisier is a full-time voice actor and audiobook narrator based in Las Vegas, where he was formerly an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, producer and the main weeknight news anchor on KLAS-TV, Channel 8, the CBS affiliate. A former president and a founding member of the World-Voices Organization (WoVO), he also writes Voice-Acting in Vegas, a daily blog of voice over adventures, observations and technology, and is author and publisher of the book, More Than Just A Voice: The Real Secret To VoiceOver Success.

Email: CourVO@CourVO.com
Web: http://www.courvo.com
Blog: https://courvo.com/blog
More Than Just A Voice: http://courvo.com/more-than-just-a-voice


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Comments (1)
Dan Hurst
4/1/2019 at 12:50 PM
Hey brother, we missed you at VOA!

You're right. It's a great event and if you "don't incorporate at least 75% of the great stuff you learned, you've wasted a bunch of money..." VOA is a definite investment in your career!

Sorry you couldn't make it, but it was great to see John Florian, et. al.

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