Hello. I’m Marinda Botha. I’m a South African voice over artist and native speaker of Afrikaans and I’m speaking to you from my home recording studio here in South Africa.

This video is about your target audience. That ideal person your client would like to reach. The exact person that your voice over message is aimed at.

You will notice that I say person and not personS. This is one of the golden rules of voice over: whatever type of script you are voicing, you always speak to only one person. Hundreds of people may hear a radio commercial you did, but deliver the lines as if you are speaking to only one person. Why? I hear you ask?

Because if you do it successfully, then each one of those hundreds of people listening to the radio ad, will think you are speaking to him. And that is what the client wants. Because if a listener is convinced you are being sincere and truthfully speaking to him, he will connect with you, identify with whatever product you are selling and therefore be more likely to buy the product.

So how do we do that? How can you know who you are talking to?

Well, first you look at your script. Identify what product is being sold. Or, if it is a corporate script, look at the message/ information or story that needs to be conveyed. Then ask yourself, who needs to hear this story/ message/ info? Or who would buy this product? The answer to that question, is your target audience. Now you need to pick one person out of that sea of potential target audience, and visualize exactly what that person looks like.

So let’s look at the script for a radio commercial:

(Sound of duck tape on box) Yup, that’s the sound of you packing up and moving house again, right? The average person moves five times over their lifetime. If its moving time for you again, let My Grotto Palace help you find your ultimate home. Whether buying or selling, contact us for all your real estate needs My Grotto Palace. We move fast.

Right, so this ad is aimed at persons wishing to buy or sell property, but not at first time buyers. I’d say more along the buyer age range of 40 – 60, I think. And, I’m going to stick my neck out here: who usually packs the boxes? The female in the house, possibly? So, my initial choice for a target audience (and you can obviously check this with your client), but I would say, is a female, aged 40-60, in the process of looking to buy or sell a house.

Right, we roughly know who the target audience is. Now we need to visualize her. How? By creating an image in your mind of what that person looks like. Answer these questions:

• What is his/her age? • Hair colour? • Body type, small built, average, quite buff? • Is she at work or at home? • What activity was she busy doing when she stopped and started listening to your voice over? • How do you want her to feel when you are finished delivering your last line?

The answers to these questions will guide you in creating a clearer image of whom you are talking to.

Now lastly, you will treat your microphone, as if it is the ear of that one person you are speaking to. Speak into that microphone with the volume and appropriate performance style as you would, if it was the ear of your one-person audience.

I hope this video was helpful. Visualization is a tremendous tool to use, when trying to pinpoint who exactly you are speaking to.

I’m Marinda Botha from South Africa. Thank you for watching.