Interview: Sion Dayson, voiceover artist (and Business Spotlight presenter)

Sion: Sometimes, as a voiceover artist, I have this strange sensation that I’m talking to myself, only using other people’s words. I’ve never been in a position where I’ve had to introduce myself, though. You’re about to hear...

Melita: ...an interview with Sion Dayson, the presenter of Business Spotlight Audio and a professional voiceover artist. Our colleague Rachel Preece had a chat with Sion about the the ins and outsdie Besonderheitenins and outs of her uniqueeinzigartigunique job. As Sion likes to say, “listen carefully.” 

Rachel: Do you think there are any common misconceptionfalsche Vorstellungmisconceptions about voiceover work?

Sion: Erm, so, I think a lot of people believe voiceover is about the sound of your voice. And of course it’s related, but I think the more important part of the work is effectively interpret sth.etw. übertrageninterpreting text and perform sth.etw. vortragenperforming it well. It’s how you use the voice. So, as long as I understand the message I’m communicating and who the audienceZuhörer(innen)audience is, the tone and cadenceTonfallcadence then comes [non-standard] pretty naturally. So, for example, if I’m narrate sth.etw. erzählen; hier: aufsprechennarrating a heroHeld(in)hero video, and the aim is to really talk about how amazinggroßartigamazing a product is and persuade people that it’s revolutionary, epic, innovative. My tone is going to be strong. I’m going to speak with a lot of authority. But if I’m narrating a self-help audiobook, I want the listener to really feel like I’m their friend. I’m on their side. Then, it’s going to be more intimate and relatablenachempfindbar, nachvollziehbarrelatable. So, you know, it’s just if I understand the message and who I’m talking to, that’s where the tone and style comes [non-standard] from.

Rachel: Is there such a thing as a typical day for you as a voiceover artist?

Sion: Erm, there is absolutely no typical day in voiceover. I never know what’s going to pop in(to) sth. (ifml.)bei etw. vorbeischauen; hier: in etw. auftauchenpop into my inboxInbox, Posteinganginbox each day. So, for the actual recordingAufnahme, Aufzeichnungrecording, it could look like doing auditionSprech-, Vorsprechprobeauditions from my agent. It could be self-recording an e-learning module. It could be, you know, I’m in a live session being directed by the client in real time, but I’m also my own one-person business. So, I have to do marketing and social media and invoicingRechnungsstellunginvoicing and customer follow-upNachbetreuungfollow-up and sound editingBearbeitungediting and on and on. So, it’s just a long list of things that go into a voiceover business, so I could be doing any and all of those things in a day. 

Rachel: Do you have your own recording studio?

Sion: I do have my own studio in my house. It’s a professional custom-builtspeziell angefertigtcustom-built boothKabine, Zellebooth that was design sth.hier: etw. konzipierendesigned by a sound engineerTontechniker(in), -ingenieur(in)sound engineer from a local recording studio, so I can do live remoteTele-remote sessions, where I’m in touch with studios and clients from all over the world, all from the comfort of my own home.

Rachel: What is your absolute favourite thing about working as a voiceover artist?

Sion: [laughs] Well, I am a total word nerd, so I love that I get to work with language all day. I receive a script, and I get to bring it to life. I work on so many different types of content and many different topicThematopics, so I’m always learning something, and voiceover just really fitetw. entsprechen, zu etw. passenfits my personality because I’ve always had a creative streakSträhne, Streifen; hier: Aderstreak, and I love people, but I’m also an introvert. So, for this job, I get to work from home, mostly talking to myself in my booth and getting to play. It’s just a really fun job.

Rachel: Do you have any dream projects?

Sion: I have so many dream projects. Erm, I would love a national commercialWerbe-commercial campaign where I’m the voice of a brandMarkebrand or to be a character in an animated seriesZeichentrickserieanimated series or to voice a documentary about a really meaningful issueThemaissue, erm, and lastly, to be the in-show narratorErzähler(in); hier: Sprecher(in)narrator for a home renovation or home decorating show because those are the kinds of shows I like watching to relax. So, lots of things on the bucket listListe von Dingen, die man im Leben noch tun möchtebucket list.

Rachel: Amazing, those all sound like really cool projects. I will keep one’s fingers crosseddie Daumen drückenkeep my fingers crossed for you! Thanks so much for joining us. 

Sion: Thank you so much for having me.