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Voice Over And The Common Cold: What’s A Talent To Do?

I’ve had a head cold this week. Fortunately it wasn’t one of those butt-kicking man colds. But it was enough that the congestion affected my voice, and therein, my ability to work.

I mentioned a day or two ago on Twitter that because my cold was keeping me from recording voice overs I was taking advantage of the time to catch up on paperwork. Invoicing, banking, etc. You know, the no fun side of the business that we still need to stay on top of.

In response to that tweet a fellow talent asked a really great question:

I sometimes submit auditions when my voice is a lil off from sickness, bad idea? If not should I mention I’m sick in a note?

To Record Or Not To Record…

voice-over-cold-fluWhen you work for yourself you don’t want to miss a single opportunity. Every voice over job you can’t audition for, every client you turn away is potentially money out of your pocket! So naturally, even when we’re sick, we still want to be able to record.

So what do you do?

If you’re voice isn’t 100% do you record the audition anyway and mention your illness?

Can You Give 100%?

My response to the talent asking the question was honest. It’s based on part of my overall goal as a entrepreneur. I want to offer every one of my voice over clients an exceptional client experience.

Personally, I want to give my clients 100% always. So if I’m under the weather I just take time to rest and recover.

So what do you do when you’re sick? In my opinion, you ask yourself if you’re able to give 100%. If the answer is no, you wait until such a time as you can.

For what it’s worth, I’ve never lost a job from an existing client yet because of illness. When I’ve explained to them that I’m under the weather and wouldn’t be able to give them my best, they’ve always adjusted their deadline and told me to record when I was feeling better.

QUESTION: Do you still audition when your voice isn’t 100%?

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