We’re always telling our story in one way or another. When we do, it’s in our voice, speaking or writing our own words.

Besides contributing to blogs and other social media, thousands of people also create videos to express themselves professionally or personally.

Sometimes they speak for themselves, and sometimes a “voice over” introduces them.

For example, once a book has been written, an author must market it, which often includes a book trailer such as those produced by Reno Lovison, AuthorsBroadcast.com. “Our book trailer videos, one minute or less, are narrated by someone other than the author,” Reno explains.

“Using a ‘third person voice’ offers another perspective,” he says. “Like movie trailers, book video trailers are intended to quickly acquaint readers with an author and the content of a book you might like to read.” The narrator in a movie trailer is not the script writer, actor or director. We see scenes or clips as the voice over artist engages us in the movie. “Voice over book trailers are similar,” Reno adds, “and more energetic because someone else discusses the book and lets the author be the author.”

It is understandable that writers or others who are accustomed to speaking for themselves might wonder about a third person voice over. “Wouldn’t it be more authentic with my voice,” one might ask. “After all, I wrote it and now they can hear me discuss it.”

On the other hand, many authors find the voice over approach liberating. The narrator is heard but not seen, and the focus remains on the book’s content and the author’s words, which can lead to potential sales.

Voice over can be an opportunity to introduce another perspective while remaining true to your voice.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.