Can I get a feedback on my voiceovers?

[nisar_hussain]

Hey,
I know it may sound lame that I’m asking for feedback here but here’s the summary of my story: My name’s Nisar, I’m from Pakistan (so not a native english but I do voiceovers in english). I started doing casual voiceovers on fiver around 3 months ago, became level 1 seller about a month ago. All reviews I’ve received so far are nice. But a couple days ago when I checked comments on a video with my voiceover, I noticed 2 comments saying that I have a terrible voice. I’m not a native english and that channel had strictly British audience, so I’m not sure what to think about it. I’ve just been doubting myself and feeling low. I want feedback so I can improve myself and maybe uplift myself a little. I’ll be really grateful for it.

This is the video I received those comments on:

[strategist_ceo]

sounds good 🙂

It’s more non UK but it’s a good general accent!

[logovideosuk]

Hey,

I know it may sound lame that I’m asking for feedback here but here’s the summary of my story: My name’s Nisar, I’m from Pakistan (so not a native english but I do voiceovers in english). I started doing casual voiceovers on fiver around 3 months ago, became level 1 seller about a month ago. All reviews I’ve received so far are nice. But a couple days ago when I checked comments on a video with my voiceover, I noticed 2 comments saying that I have a terrible voice. I’m not a native english and that channel had strictly British audience, so I’m not sure what to think about it. I’ve just been doubting myself and feeling low. I want feedback so I can improve myself and maybe uplift myself a little. I’ll be really grateful for it.

This is the video I received those comments on:

I think it may be the way you’re pronouncing some words that would put some British listeners off?

Eurosceptics is pronounced Euroskeptics, not Euroseptics. Something as simple as that might be enough to make people comment negatively, or stop watching, especially as your channel is representing UK news.

Maybe have a listen to how native UK speakers are pronouncing certain out of the ordinary words to help you? Good luck!

[looseink]

Well…

I have 23+ years of experience in Broadcasting.

I think you have a good voice for this sort of work.

It is clear, easy to understand and sounds friendly.

The only issue I see is that you will need to work more on your English (you’ve mentioned it is not your native language) to nail some of the pronunciations correctly.

Otherwise, nice job!

[mattboa]

You do not actually have a bad voice. The accent is non-descript also as I wouldn’t be able to guess whether the person speaking is German, Indian, or Russian, hadn’t you told me.

My problem resides more with how you pronounced some words like Varoufakis and debacle, and then you made some errors (farce = force, 16 = 19, measure = mayor, Leyen = Lien, decision = desion). To nail all of these in the future you should learn how to read the IPA alphabet – over diacritic or other stuff – so you can check every dictionary and learn the spelling of any word. It’s not hard at all 👍

[psykkopatte]

For me it sounds very professional and clear, well, I’m not native english speaker too so I can’t tell at all if you do mistakes or not, but it’s clearly 10x better than my french accent xd

[nisar_hussain]

sounds good 🙂

It’s more non UK but it’s a good general accent!

Thank you! I really appreciate the compliment 🙂

[nisar_hussain]

I think it may be the way you’re pronouncing some words that would put some British listeners off?

Eurosceptics is pronounced Euroskeptics, not Euroseptics. Something as simple as that might be enough to make people comment negatively, or stop watching, especially as your channel is representing UK news.

Maybe have a listen to how native UK speakers are pronouncing certain out of the ordinary words to help you? Good luck!

I mostly double check such pronounciations when recording voiceovers, but I guess I stopped doing that for these voiceovers since they always have a 30 minute deadline. It’s such a silly mistake for someone who wants to peruse in this, thank you so much for pointing it out. I’ll definitely work on it.

[nisar_hussain]

Well…

I have 23+ years of experience in Broadcasting.

I think you have a good voice for this sort of work.

It is clear, easy to understand and sounds friendly.

The only issue I see is that you will need to work more on your English (you’ve mentioned it is not your native language) to nail some of the pronunciations correctly.

Otherwise, nice job!

You really have no idea how much this helped me. I started doubting that maybe I have a bad voice. And for someone who wants to peruse in it, this pretty much leaves no option but despair, because I can’t change my voice. I’m really relieved after your comment. I’ll surely work hard to improve my english. One of the reasons why I started working on fiverr was to improve my english.

[nisar_hussain]

You do not actually have a bad voice. The accent is non-descript also as I wouldn’t be able to guess whether the person speaking is German, Indian, or Russian, hadn’t you told me.

My problem resides more with how you pronounced some words like Varoufakis and debacle, and then you made some errors (farce = force, 16 = 19, measure = mayor, Leyen = Lien, decision = desion). To nail all of these in the future you should learn how to read the IPA alphabet – over diacritic or other stuff – so you can check every dictionary and learn the spelling of any word. It’s not hard at all 👍

I switched accents which left me with this blend of different accents. I’m trying to shift completely to American accent, so that’s still in progress.

I’m really flattered you took the time to analyze in detail. I realized I’ve been making many pronounciation errors and that’s probably a reason for those comments. I’ll surely be more careful from now on and work on improving. Thank you so much 🙂

[nisar_hussain]

For me it sounds very professional and clear, well, I’m not native english speaker too so I can’t tell at all if you do mistakes or not, but it’s clearly 10x better than my french accent xd

I really appreciate the comment man ❤️

Are you kidding? you guys have the most buttery accent xd

[psykkopatte]

I really appreciate the comment man ❤️

Are you kidding? you guys have the most buttery accent xd

Nah, it sounds lame, we don’t have a reputation for speaking english well :rofl:

[autumnthu]

As an ESL teacher, I would recommend working on your intonation. In just the minuteof the clip I watched, there were a couple times when the flow was a little off. Not anything distracting, mind you. Just something I noticed, and something that IMO does separate you from a more native speaker.

Is your voice over absolute trash? Not by a long shot. But working on your intonation, and as others mentioned, your pronunciation, would help make your work sound more pleasing to a native ear.

[strategist_ceo]

As an ESL teacher, I would recommend working on your intonation. In just the minuteof the clip I watched, there were a couple times when the flow was a little off. Not anything distracting, mind you. Just something I noticed, and something that IMO does separate you from a more native speaker.

Is your voice over absolute trash? Not by a long shot. But working on your intonation, and as others mentioned, your pronunciation, would help make your work sound more pleasing to a native ear.

I disagree. His accent is neutral enough to everyone. A native speaker from Britain, especially Liverpool (like Cheryl Cole)… Ireland, Australian and U.S. Southern twang is much more difficult on native ears from another continent.

An accent like his is good enough.

[biddie_vo]

Hi there, yes I think it is clear enough but you need a bit more of a smoother pace and tone and remember to clearly say the words (ie. decision - de-si-sion) and disarray dis-a-ray) and say the words slow enough that the letters aren’t being slurred together. Keep practicing all the time and listening to others really helps too. Take care!

[enunciator]

Through Fiverr, so far, I’ve voiced almost two dozen Youtube videos. I’ve done the same thing you’ve done and check the comments of videos I’ve voiced. Many times, the video up-loaders don’t know how to properly format and mix the audio and that makes the VO sound far worse compared to what was originally delivered.

I’ve read humorous comments, complimentary comments, and harsh comments, and of course, it is the harsh comments that people remember and focus upon. Don’t second-guess yourself and feel down simply because of Youtube comments. Comment sections are regularly cesspools full of spam, bots, and arm chair critics.

If the video target audience is accustomed to “BBC British” style vocal delivery and enunciation, I can see why there would be some detractors. A number of words are not fully or natively pronounced, like “over” and “debacle” in the first sentence, but the overall message is still comprehensible.

As an ESL, you are doing very well, but it makes me question as to why the video creator didn’t select a native British voice for their predominantly British video viewing audience.

-Oh, and it’s probably a better idea overall to not respond to those negative commentators. They might become apologetic for being rude, or they might double down and make an even harsher comment since they now know they’ve got your attention and have affected you…

[benedictrm]

I am a Mix Engineer who mixes both Songs and Audio Program for Professionals like Doctors & Lawyers.

There are some voice preparation issues but that is a Mixing thing and unless you are doing the voice preparation for mixing, none of your issue.

Don’t let anyone say you have a terrible voice. That is just mean, or someone trying to get rid of a competitor who frightens them. Most often when someone goes out of their way to say how sucky my mix work is, I find they either have no work of their own to show (too scared) or their work is formulaic in the extreme (still too scared). If David Attenborough or Marlon Brando gives you some advice, listen. Otherwise, nod and smile - then tell them how pathetic they are (last part optional and technically better not to do but if they keep pushing…)

Otherwise, just as per the advice above, work on the core of your craft with accuracy & clarity.

🙂

[nisar_hussain]

I honestly wasn’t expecting this many great feedbacks and suggestions. I really appreciate all the posts and I’ll definitely work on every single suggestion you people gave. For these particular videos, I have a deadline of 30 minutes or maximum an hour, so it doesn’t leave me much time to check pronounciations and do revisions. I’ve done voiceover for more than 100 videos for them and I think the reason why they went for me and not a British voiceover artist is because of my quick deliveries. Apparently I went for quantity over quality. Anyways, thank you all so much! ❤️

[english_voice]

I agree with the comments so far. Your basic voice is pleasant, and your intonation is good - but your pronunciation of some words is odd. For example, the word ‘decisions’ sounded like ‘de-see-ons’ (I heard this twice). Your pronunciation of this word can’t even be explained by different dialects - it is just wrong, no matter where in the world you are. Such a basic error would be enough to upset buyers.

There were a few other words that weren’t quite right. You might get away with mispronunciations on some voiceover jobs (such as that YouTube video which only exists to generate clicks regardless of the content), but you will also have clients who won’t accept such mispronunciations.

The problem you’ve got is identifying which words you’re getting wrong. You could copy and paste your script into a speech synthesiser and listen to the output - this could potentially highlight words that you thought were pronounced differently. But equally, such a process could introduce further mistakes.

At the end of the day, you are trying to offer a service that only a native speaker can get 100% right. You might for example achieve 95%, but in my experience people who order voice overs want perfection.

[nisar_hussain]

I agree with the comments so far. Your basic voice is pleasant, and your intonation is good - but your pronunciation of some words is odd. For example, the word ‘decisions’ sounded like ‘de-see-ons’ (I heard this twice). Your pronunciation of this word can’t even be explained by different dialects - it is just wrong, no matter where in the world you are. Such a basic error would be enough to upset buyers.

There were a few other words that weren’t quite right. You might get away with mispronunciations on some voiceover jobs (such as that YouTube video which only exists to generate clicks regardless of the content), but you will also have clients who won’t accept such mispronunciations.

The problem you’ve got is identifying which words you’re getting wrong. You could copy and paste your script into a speech synthesiser and listen to the output - this could potentially highlight words that you thought were pronounced differently. But equally, such a process could introduce further mistakes.

At the end of the day, you are trying to offer a service that only a native speaker can get 100% right. You might for example achieve 95%, but in my experience people who order voice overs want perfection.

Thank you for such a detailed comment. Now that I’m observing it more clearly, yes, I’ve been making many errors in pronouncing some words. I have already started double checking the pronounciations of words and giving as many attempts as it takes to get it right. I’ll surely be using your suggestion of using the speech synthesiser. Though I’m not sure how can I get the right pronounciations of some of the names that are not easily available on the internet.

[mjomark]

Your voice is rather pleasant to listen to, kudos. However, you do pronounce quite a few words and names wrong. Newsweek, payroll, eurosceptics and decisions - just to mention a few. You probably need to work on that. Good luck!

[nisar_hussain]

Hey! 

I'm returning here after a year. I was at a moment of quitting when I made this thread and the responses I received really gave me the push I needed. Fast forwarded a year, here I am. I'm placing one of my recent voiceover here, to maybe get a review on things I need to further improve. I have improved my equipment and overall english to some extent after working on suggestions I received in this thread. I want to know how can I further improve myself in this field. I will really appreciate any feedback. And again, thanks to everyone who posted here and helped me!