Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club tonight, Marc Preston! Marc Preston is a VO talent, coach, founder of the VoiceOver Community Club on CH, and founder of The Voiceover Community on Facebook (with a membership just shy of 23K!)
Marc Preston is known for being a kind and helpful source of information to people of all levels of voiceover talent. He says, “It’s like raising a child; I made all the mistakes so you don’t have to.”
When the idea of “getting rich quick in voiceover” came up, he pointed out that, of course, it doesn’t work that way, but that he could understand why people may get that impression. With a combination of the low cost of entry equipment-wise, the promise of tons of auditions on pay-to-play sites, and the sales tactics of some unscrupulous coaches and demo producers out there, he says he gets it.
The bottom line, he says, is that if you’re looking for a side hustle, look elsewhere. VO is a craft, and if you’re passionate about it, if can be a profitable hobby, but if you won’t find success without putting in the training and the years of experience.
Marc & Marc talked about the importance of being adaptable as a voice talent. “Don’t lock yourself into one genre,” says Marc Preston. “Be willing to explore other genres.”
Marc Guss wants to see someone who is open to all the different aspects of the business, and to genres outside of their specialty. “It’s a volume game,” he says, and 2022 and beyond is not the time to pick and choose which audition you try for.
As Marc Preston said, “Be open to happy surprises.”
He also shared with us his four C’s:
- Craft
- Capable (to bring script to life)
- Consistency
- Confidence, which he says is probably the core principle for his coaching
“Confidence lets you manage your nerves like a Jedi, hopefully,” Marc Preston says.
He also shared the two most powerful words, and this goes for on camera or voiceover auditions: “fuck it.” He says to give it your best and don’t stress about it. Let it go. He believes that negative self-talk is a real issue, and something you should avoid.
One of his favorite quotes is from Sanford Meisner: “Act before you think, your instincts are more honest than your thoughts.” He also invoked Al Franken’s SNL character Stuart Smalley, saying, “You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!”
Fellow quote lover Debra Stitt took the stage and shared one of her favorites: “Until it’s my turn, I will keep clapping for others happily.”
And Marc Preston offered another gem: “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The conversation wrapped up with Marc Guss echoing the many thanks that tonight’s speakers expressed for Marc Preston’s willingness to help others and share his knowledge with the community.
“People recognize you as a genuinely nice person – you have something nice inside you that just radiates,” Marc Guss said.
Marc Preston said that he is happy to have a positive impact on the VO world, and added that he avoids a snarky, acidic vibe because negativity chips away at your subconscious and the work that you try to do. He sticks with positivity because “it’s going to spill over onto you, too.”
Thanks so much to Marc and Marc for the amazing conversation, and for the insightful audience questions that furthered the discussion!
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