The Choice Voice

For CreateAthon last week I wrote a radio PSA, trying to get folks to call a hotline to a Literacy program and, ideally, learn how to read better. And today I was going back and trying to decide what sort of voice I wanted for the commercial... whether, say, a mature gentleman with a distinguished southern accent, or perhaps a sassy twentysomething with verve to spare would be most appropriate... (I'm paraphrasing here; I did not then or at any other time actually use the words "sassy" or "verve.")

And even though I knew lots of talented voices back in Indy, here I'm an ignoramus all over again. So I started poking around online. And I landed right away at Voice Talent Online, purveyors of quality voiceovers for all your needs, from corporate videos to on-hold messages. They can hook you up with any of 150 or so folks -- men, women, children, Germans...

What got me, though, were the subsections of voices to choose from. Not just that there was an "American English" and an "English English" section, complete with corresponding stars-and-stripes and union-jack icons... it was the helpful tips at the bottom of each page:

(On the American English page) Have you heard the native English-accented voices?  Use them for a touch of class, extra authenticity, or that BBC voice.

And then

(On the English English page) Have you heard the American-accented voices? Use them for authenticity and for extra impact.

So there you go. If you're English, you can rest assured that your voice offers a touch of class. If you're a Yank, you've got extra impact.

No word on the Canadian English just yet, but if I hear anything I'll get back to you.