How to Brief a Voiceover Project (And Get It Right First Time)

"Can you make it sound more us?"

It is the most common piece of feedback in our industry, and the hardest to act on. The voice artist did exactly what the script said. The problem is that the brief never explained what "us" sounds like.

A good brief takes 15 minutes to write and saves days of back and forth. Here is what to put in one.

Why the brief matters more than the script

The script tells a voice artist what to say. The brief tells them how to say it, and that is where the character of a recording comes from.

The same sentence can be delivered as reassuring, authoritative, apologetic or upbeat. Without direction, the artist makes a reasonable guess. It may be a good read, just not your read.

What to include in a voiceover brief

1. Who is listening, and where

A caller on hold is in a different frame of mind to someone watching a training video or hearing an announcement in a shop. Say which.

Include:

• The audience: trade customers, homeowners, patients, staff, suppliers
• The setting: telephone, video, in store, exhibition stand, eLearning
• Their likely mood: frustrated, curious, in a hurry, browsing

2. The tone, in plain words

Avoid abstract adjectives on their own. "Professional" means very little. Pair each word with a reason:

• "Warm and unhurried, because most callers are older and ringing about a bereavement"
• "Brisk and practical, because our customers are tradespeople on site"
• "Confident but not pushy, because we are explaining a service, not selling it"

Two or three descriptions are plenty. More than that starts to contradict itself.

3. A reference you like

One of the most useful things you can send is an example. It can be:

• A previous recording of your own
• A demo from the studio's voice list
• A style of advert or narration you admire

Say what you like about it. "That pace, but a bit less formal" is a brief in six words. Our professional voice talent page is a good place to pick a starting point.

4. Voice preferences

Be specific where it matters, and say where it does not:

• Gender, age range and accent, if you have a preference
• Whether a regional accent matters to your audience
• Whether you need the same artist used on previous recordings
• Any voice you specifically want to avoid

Many clients keep the same artist across every message so their brand stays consistent, which is a decision worth making early.

5. Pronunciation guide

This is the single most valuable section of any brief. List:

• Your business name, if it is not obvious
• Place names, especially Welsh, Scottish and older English ones
• Product names, model numbers and abbreviations
• People's names
• Anything you have heard said wrongly before

Write them phonetically. "Wymondham, said Win-dum" takes seconds and prevents a re-record.

6. Pacing and length

Around 150 words a minute is comfortable for most telephone and narration work. If you have a fixed duration, say so clearly, and be ready to cut words rather than speed up the read.

For video, send a rough cut or a timed shot list so the narration can be matched to the picture. Our article on video narration covers this in more detail.

7. Music, mixing and delivery

Finally, say what you need to receive:

• Whether you want background music, and what mood
• The format your phone system or editor needs
• Any file naming conventions, especially for multiple messages
• Who needs to approve it, and by when

What a studio should do with your brief

A good brief works both ways. When you send one to us, our team will:

• Proofread the script for the ear, not the page, and flag anything hard to follow
• Check sentences open clearly so the artist knows where the emphasis sits
• Query any factual claim that looks out of date, such as years established or service frequency
• Suggest a voice from our list that fits the description
• Mix the audio for the medium it is going to play on

That last point matters. Telephone lines compress audio, so a mix made for the phone sounds very different to one made for video.

Real-world example: getting to the right read

Simply Lunch approached us wanting on hold audio that matched the warmth of their brand and promoted their product range through the year.

Our first script was accurate, but their marketing team felt it needed more brand-specific flair. Working with them, we added more descriptive language so the products sounded as appetising as they taste. The second version landed.

That round of feedback is normal, and it is exactly what the brief is there to shorten. The more you say about how you want to sound at the start, the fewer rounds you need.

Common briefing mistakes

• Sending only the script. It leaves every interpretive decision to someone who does not know your business.
• Contradictory tone words. "Energetic but calm, formal but chatty" cannot all be true at once.
• No pronunciation guide. The most avoidable re-record there is.
• Unfinished scripts. Changing wording after recording costs time and money.
• No named approver. Three people with three opinions and no decision maker is the slowest route to a finished file.
• Vague durations. "About a minute" can mean anything between 40 seconds and 90.

Frequently asked questions

• How long should a voiceover brief be?
  One page is usually enough. Clarity matters far more than length.
• What if I do not know what tone I want?
  Describe your customers and how you speak to them in person. That usually gets you most of the way there. Listening to two or three demos and saying what you like and dislike does the rest.
• Can you write the script as well as record it?
  Yes. Many clients send us a rough outline or their website and ask us to write from there. Scriptwriting and proofreading are part of what we do.
• How many revisions are normal?
  With a clear brief, most projects are approved on the first or second version. Without one, it can take considerably more.
• How quickly can a recording be delivered?
  Most productions are delivered within two working days, with 24 hour turnaround available.

Conclusion

A voiceover brief is not paperwork. It is the difference between a recording that sounds like your business and one that merely says the right words.
Explain who is listening, describe the tone in plain language, send a reference, spell out the tricky words and name your approver. Fifteen minutes at the start saves a fortnight at the end.