Voice Over Tip: Avoid 'Ambush Emails'

Email etiquette is important for every business, and everyone online should see themselves as a business entity. Working online as a 'do-it-yourself' voice over business, equal application of talent and online business skill is pivotal for every job.

Consider this: In e-mails, people do not interact with each other in real time. It may take minutes, hours, or days, to reply to something. So, if there is no immediate feedback, avoid that negative train of thought, which may progress towards deeper expressions of what one is thinking and feeling. Do not always assume the worst, and then email about it. Someone will feel ambushed, which damages a business relationship online, and it could be all a misunderstanding or logistical issue. If you are curious or confused, just say so, but do not damage any voice job opportunities in the process.

Stay flexible, too. Given that there is always a possibility of dropped communication, always avoid the following in your email communications when someone has shown interest:

Emotionally charged demands: When sending an email, consider what you are trying to accomplish, more than 'how you are feeling'. Emotional emails are just not good. It is basically a transcript of your emotional state at the time. You can never take back a first-impression, and it also may startle someone and give them reason to never contact you.

Reverse Psychology: Reverse psychology cannot be detected in text, so one is not sure why you stated something, when you meant something else. It then becomes perceived as an insult for putting one in that position of trying to figure out what was really intended. Reverse psychology requires 'hearing' the person to pick up on the 'hint'. It is not meant for emails.

Snarky or candid humor: Imagine the person interested in you has read your joke, and they do not know you. They may not understand your jokes, and believe you are not taking the job seriously. Attitude may sell offline, but online it never works and creates confrontation instantly.


You may have noticed my title changed here. It just seems to fit more with the various roles I have at Voice123.

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Steven Lowell
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