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Voice actors often feel as if they are imposters in the industry. Like everyone else has it figured out, and you aren't supposed to be here. Well, actually, if you have imposter syndrome, you're on the right track. In this video, Anne talks about how you can take that feeling and turn it around to work for your advantage.
What Imposter Syndrome really means.
So I've been in the voiceover business for over 15 years and I am very well aware of imposter syndrome and what it means. I remember when I first started out, oh gosh, it was, it was kind of crazy. I was very timid. I didn't know if I belonged in the industry. And I thought that everybody that I talked to, you know, had it all together, they, you know, were getting jobs every single day and you know, it was all roses and voiceover jobs.
And I very well remember feeling, oh my gosh, do I belong in this industry? Am I good enough? How can I feel more confident? It just was something that I think every voiceover artist goes through when they first get into the industry. And I wanna tell you, guess what, just last week after 15 years you think the imposter syndrome would get easier or it wouldn't happen? Well, it did.
The key thing about this is that I want you to look at it as a good thing because if you have it, I'm gonna turn this around right, if you have it, it really means that you're growing. Because I think every single day you need to do something that scares you a little bit. If you are elevating your performance, if you're trying something new, you're trying a new genre. Maybe you auditioned for a job that you think, oh my God, this is impossible. I don't think I can get this. Or you're coaching with someone that you never thought you would coach with and you're shy. And you're like, oh my gosh, I'm not good enough. Am I good enough to do this?
I want you to know. That if you are feeling that you're growing. Okay. So I want you to look at it in a positive light and, you know, I think we all go through it. Number one, you're not alone. We all go through it and I think we all go through it in phases as we evolve and as we grow, so try to turn that around so that you're not feeling bad about anything or bad about your abilities or that you're not worthy or you're not supposed to be in this industry. Think about it that if you weren't feeling that, then perhaps you're not in a state of growth similar to failing forward.
Feeling like, oh, maybe I'm not ready for this, or maybe I'm not ready for this new performance level. Maybe I'm not ready to, you know, work out in a group with people or maybe I'm not ready to do this audition. Am I going to get that agent? Maybe I'm not good enough for that agent. I just want you to embrace that.
And I want you to really start feeling that well, if I wasn't feeling scared or timid, or maybe not good enough, then maybe I'm not pushing myself. Having imposter syndrome can actually be a good thing, but I don't want you to let the mentality or the self-deprecation to bring you down. I want you to turn it around and think of it as a positive thing moving forward, because I literally just last week had the Ugh, one of the worst rounds of imposter syndrome, that I've had in a long time.
And I was, I was like shocked, but then I. Thought about it. And I said, you know, what, if I wasn't pushing myself and I wasn't trying new things, I wouldn't be feeling this way. So I turned it around so that I was proud of myself.
So bosses, I want you guys to go out there, try new things, you know, embrace new challenges, fail forward and take that imposter syndrome and just turn it upside down on its head.
Thanks for reading!
Keep on rocking your business like a #VOBOSS
About Anne:
Anne Ganguzza is a professional voice actor and award-winning director and producer who works with students to develop their voiceover and business skills - including voice over Coaching and Genre-based Demo Production. She specializes in conversational Commercial & Narration styles, including Corporate, eLearning, Technology, and On-Hold Messaging. Located in Orange County, California, Anne offers private coaching and mentoring services to students via ipDTL and Zoom.