Dan Friedman

A Sound Connection: An Interview with Dan Friedman – Part 2

May 18, 2022 by Jodi Krangle

“It bothers me so much to see companies out there that are taking advantage of people or, you know, preying on their hopes and dreams. I mean, I have never, ever told anybody that this was easy, as being a voice actor, and I never told them that it was fast. I’ve always said that it’s a crock-pot career, it’s not a microwave meal.” — Dan Friedman

This episode is the second half of my interview with audio engineer, voiceover coach, and author Dan Friedman as we talk about voice performance, the changes the pandemic has brought to the voice recording industry, and how his family helps inspire him as a voice teacher.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

An Expressive Job

We start the episode with Dan’s practical vocal advice on everything from breathing through your diaphragm to staying hydrated, and a look at the differences between voice and television acting, something he’s particularly familiar with after filming a television pilot. “It’s expressive,” Dan says about voice performance. “This is an expressive job, so it doesn’t really work so well on camera, but it works really well for voiceover.” Dan also talks about how he’s working to preserve some of the unique qualities of voiceover that might get lost in the age of new media and streaming video. “I’m old enough that I can certainly help teach a new generation how to be the best that they can be at this and help communicate more effectively because we really are losing a lot of that in our society.”

Communicating Your Intentions

Dan tells us about some of the more memorable clients that he’s helped with communicating their intentions, and how a good performance brings the words on the page to life. “When you’re not communicating that and you’re just reading the words off the page,” he says, “obviously it’s not really moving anybody. But when you’re trying to present these things, let’s present them in a way that people want to connect with it emotionally.” We also look at how the pandemic has changed the home studio market and made the technical aspects of voiceover, from soundproofing to microphones, more accessible than ever before. “Now it really comes down to talent and the environment they’re in,” he explains, “and to how they ultimately sound and whether they’ll be able to do all that.”

No Day is the Same

As the interview comes to a close, we share anecdotes about how, in voiceover, no two days are the same, and Dan takes the opportunity to tell us more about his family. “I’ve got the platform,” he jokes, “so I’m going to brag on my kids for a second.” He tells us about his wife and children, and how their support has inspired him as a voice coach, “If I can turn out kids that are this good,” he says, “I must be able to teach somebody something.” We end the show with a look at some of his upcoming projects and how you can get in touch with him. As he puts it, “I love seeing great people being successful.”

Episode Summary

The distinctive challenges of video and audio performances
How streaming video and social media are changing voiceover
Effective audio communication and bringing a script to life
How Dan’s family has inspired him and how to reach out to him

Connect with the Guest:

Website: www.Sound4VO.com

Follow Dan Friedman on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dan.friedman.sound4vo

Connect with Dan Friedman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfriedmanvo/

Dan has also very kindly offered a $30 discount on your 1st coaching session with him – or 1 free session if you book 12 –
through The Studio resources page that you gain access to after subscribing to the podcast newsletter at https://audiobrandingpodcast.com .

Get your complimentary mini e-book and learn how to create your personalized and branded audio branding strategy with my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy.

Do you need a voice talent for your next project? Visit my voice-over website to find out more about how my voice can help you with your audio brand. You can also subscribe to the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube to watch the show’s latest episodes.

Please leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review or a spoken review so others can find the show on their favorite podcast player!

This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.

A Sound Connection: An Interview with Dan Friedman – Part 1

May 11, 2022 by Jodi Krangle

“But we do have to remember that when we are communicating, when words are coming out of our mouths and reaching somebody’s ears, that’s a connection, that’s a strong connection, and if we are not really believing in the things that we are saying, or feeling the things that we are saying, or able to create a feeling that’s strong, then that connection won’t be strong enough. And that’s really important in both communicating and advertising and providing information, and all of the things that we do as voice people. We are communicators first and foremost, always.” — Dan Friedman

This episode’s guest has been in the voiceover industry for nearly two decades, voicing projects for Crowne Plaza Hotels, Hulu Plus, Walmart, Hardees, Aetna, and many more, and a professional audio engineer for twenty-five years. He’s produced, directed, and provided his voice to thousands of audio productions, and in 2010 he published a book called Sound Advice: Voiceover From an Audio Engineer’s Perspective. A first of its kind in the industry, the book covers audio engineering and studio session etiquette as it relates directly to voiceover talent.

He continues to write a popular blog on his website, Sound4VO.com, and he’s a well-known voiceover coach, teacher, and home studio consultant., as well as a certified coach in the Roger Love Voice Method. His name is Dan Friedman, and I’m looking forward to sharing his perspective on how we can learn to better communicate. He’s seen it all, from both sides of the glass, so I know he has lots of golden nuggets to share.

Hearing and Getting It

We start things off with a look at Dan’s earliest memories of sound. He tells us about the first song he ever fell in love with and the chills that Mary Clayton’s voice in “Gimme Shelter” still gives him. He recalls his early career, and how a surprise job opportunity as an audio engineer inspired him to pursue a deeper understanding of the science of sound. “Here I was,” he says, “working for these big acts at times, and just thinking ‘I get it, but I don’t get it. I can hear it, but I don’t get it.”

An Emotional Connection

Dan tells us about his experience becoming a certified Roger Love Voice Method coach, how he discovered an unexpected talent for singing, and the further insight it gave him into the different elements of voiceover and voice performance. “All of these things,” he explains, “are interesting nuances that I can add to my repertoire of coaching and direction, and that’s just really been transformational.” But the most important aspect of voiceover is something less tangible: “To be successful,” Dan says, “you have to have an emotional connection in some way.”

We Are Communicators

We continue as Dan elaborates on the emotional core and personal connection that voice can provide between the speaker and listener. He explains how a voice coach can help with forging that connection, and talks about some of the mistakes that even highly trained professional voiceover artists can make. As he puts it, “people don’t hear their own voices that way. So when you work with a coach, when you work with a director, they’re able to steer all this so that it’s a cohesive package.”

All the Pieces of the Puzzle

The first half of our interview ends with a look at how a flexible tone and sense of nuance can bring a script to life, how experienced performers can sometimes find the process even more of a challenge than artists who are just starting out, and how a voice coach can help them both. “Part of the benefit of coaching,” Dan says, “is that we get you to slow down and think a little bit, so that we can make sure that you’re putting together these things so that all the pieces of the puzzle are there.”

Episode Summary

Dan’s first musical love and how he became a sound engineer
His experience with the Roger Love Voice Method
Forming an emotional connection with the power of voice
How directors can help create a more dynamic performance
Finding the heart and the story inside each script

Be sure to tune in next week for the second part of our interview as Dan offers some practical public speaking advice, as we talk about the differences between video and audio roles and how social media is blurring the lines. We also take a more personal look at his life as a proud husband and father.

Connect with the Guest:

Website: www.Sound4VO.com

Follow Dan Friedman on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dan.friedman.sound4vo

Connect with Dan Friedman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfriedmanvo/

Get your complimentary mini e-book and learn how to create your personalized and branded audio branding strategy with my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy.

Please leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review or a spoken review so others can find the show on their favorite podcast player!

This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.

In the Clubhouse: The Power of Voice & Communication with Dan Friedman – Part 2

March 23, 2022 by Jodi Krangle

“You set the tone for your podcast by how you sound and how you interact with the audience. So there are a lot of elements to it, you know, obviously preparation and planning and practice, all those things.” — Dan Friedman

This week continues our Clubhouse discussion as voiceover artist and sound engineer Dan Friedman answers questions about voice training, keeping listeners engaged, and overcoming stage fright.

An Audio-Driven World

We continue the Clubhouse chat by talking about how subtle changes to pitch and tone can change a listener’s impression of your voice, and the challenges and successes that artists coming from different audio industries, such as radio and lecturing, can find in voiceover work. “Because we are in such an audio-driven world now,” Dan says, “it is really important that if, especially if you’re running a podcast and you want more listeners, or you want listeners to stick with you, you have to be compelling enough that they are going to want to continue to listen and to tune in every week.”

Getting Out of a Rut

Dan warns us about some of the traps of voice rehearsal, how easy it can be to get stuck in a loop of negative self-criticism when listening to your own voice, and some creative ways to break out of that vicious circle. “One of the most fun and extreme things to just really get out of your rut,” he suggests, “if you realize you’re in a rut, is to do your script as a cartoon character.” He explains that once you’ve done so and then immediately switch back to your regular voice, you’ll probably find that the performance feels fresh again and you can jump back into it with a different energy.

They Want to Hear You

“If you think about it,” Dan says, “communication is a connection between somebody making sound and somebody listening to sound, and if you’re trying to make sound and spread that connection out to a hundred people, that connection’s going to be pretty weak.” We wrap the Clubhouse chat up with a look at the challenges of public speaking and different strategies for overcoming stage fright, such as imagining an individual that you’re speaking to or even focusing on one person in the audience rather than trying to talk to everyone at once. “Most of the time when you are up there speaking to a roomful of people,” he assures us, “those people are there because they want to hear you.”

Episode Summary

How inflection can change the impression you make
Keeping your listeners engaged
Tips for breaking out of a voice performance rut
Public speaking and overcoming stage fright

Connect with Dan:

Website: https://sound4vo.com/

Connect with Dan Friedman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfriedmanvo

Follow Dan Friedman on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sound4VO/

Follow Dan Friedman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanFriedmanVO

The Power of Sound club on Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-power-of-sound/

Stay tuned for part two of our Clubhouse chat next week as we talk about how inflections can affect the way your voice is perceived, some of the challenges that people coming into voiceover from other industries might face, and how adopting a cartoon voice can help break you out of a rut.

Get your complimentary mini e-book and learn how to create your personalized and branded audio branding strategy with my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy.

Please leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review or a spoken review so others can find the show on their favorite podcast player!

This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.

In the Clubhouse: The Power of Voice & Communication with Dan Friedman – Part 1

March 16, 2022 by Jodi Krangle

“When we’re talking about audio-only formats, it’s especially important that you capture your audience using your voice and it should be impactful so that they tune in and want to continue listening. It only takes seven seconds for somebody to decide they want to change the station, whether that be a song they like or don’t like or something that they’re hearing that they’re not liking.” – Dan Friedman

Using your voice to communicate isn’t as easy as it sounds. So what do you do if you feel your voice is letting you down? Would you like some personal techniques to help you improve how you sound and your confidence in speaking? Then this is the right podcast for you. I recorded an excellent Clubhouse discussion with Dan Friedman, an expert in the field of public speaking who’s certified in the Roger Love Voice Method. Those of us in the voice-over industry already know Dan as an accomplished audio engineer, but he’s also a singer, voice actor, and voice coach, and I’ll be having a more in-depth interview with him a little later on. So settle back and let yourself be a fly on the wall as we discuss the power of using your voice for more effective communication.

A few things to note. First, I was hearing and answering people a little ahead of when the audio was being recorded. That’s why my occasional comments are slightly out of sync: it didn’t sound that way at the time. And, just so you know, everyone in the room was aware that it was being recorded and would be released in a future podcast episode. To those who raised their hands to participate in the conversation: thank you. When you asked for advice, you helped everyone understand the issues better. So well done! I’ll have more of these types of discussions in the future – they’re on Wednesdays at 2 PM Eastern Time – so keep a lookout for the schedule of upcoming events in the Clubhouse club, The Power of Sound.

The Sound of Your Voice

We begin the chat with a talk about ways to build confidence in our speaking, and how awkward just hearing our own voice can be at first. “The lack of confidence,” Dan explains, “usually comes from people hearing their recorded voice for the first time and not really realizing how they actually sound.” He suggests ways of breaking out of a monotone, such as singing just a little, and listening carefully to the natural rhythm of your voice so you’ll know how to change things up. “Everybody needs to be able to communicate effectively these days,” he says, “especially through audio only.”

Going Over the Top

“Voiceover,” Dan tells us, “is really kind of you at your very best in whatever emotion you’re in.” We discuss the value of tone and pitch, and how well a monotone voice can work (or NOT work) without visual cues. Dan notes that in audio directing, emotions are often a little over the top, and he answers questions about improving your voice, becoming comfortable with it, and the trick to understanding how you’re being perceived by your listener. “Getting to like the sound of your voice really does take time.”

Imagine You’re a Balloon

Dan takes a question from Lisa about the importance of matching your listener’s tone, and tips on how to avoid the glottal stop that many of us have when it comes to vowel sounds. We also talk about how to overcome vocal fry by breathing and speaking through your diaphragm, as if you’re a balloon. “When you breathe, you should be breathing in through your nose as often as possible and not through your mouth… one of the biggest reasons that we should be breathing in through our nose more than our mouth is because our nose is designed to moisturize the air coming through the vocal cords.”

Hitting the High Notes

Next, we talk about singing, and Joe asks about how men can learn to be more comfortable with the higher registers of the human voice. Dan offers his advice on improving your vocal range by practicing speaking with both a higher and lower pitch, and how developing a more flexible tone can lead to a more versatile voice performance. “Pitch is a huge tool for emphasis,” he says, “and as a voice actor, we need to use pitch to emphasize words and phrases, and as humans, we need to do that too.”

Episode Summary

Becoming comfortable with your voice
How to speak with more inflection
Expressing emotion through pure audio
Speaking and breathing through your diaphragm
Using pitch for a more flexible performance

Connect with Dan:

Website: https://sound4vo.com/

Connect with Dan Friedman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfriedmanvo

Follow Dan Friedman on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sound4VO/

Follow Dan Friedman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanFriedmanVO

The Power of Sound club on Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-power-of-sound/

Get your complimentary mini e-book and learn how to create your personalized and branded audio branding strategy with my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy.

Please leave the Audio Branding Podcast a written review or a spoken review so others can find the show on their favorite podcast player!

This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.

Jodi Krangle

A Sound Connection: An Interview with Dan Friedman – Part 2

A Sound Connection: An Interview with Dan Friedman – Part 1

In the Clubhouse: The Power of Voice & Communication with Dan Friedman – Part 2

In the Clubhouse: The Power of Voice & Communication with Dan Friedman – Part 1

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