You're listening to Voice Acting Mastery episode number 92.

Welcome to the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with Crispin Freeman.

Voiceactingmastery.com is your place to learn both the skills and the mindset you need to become a professional voice actor, even if you're just getting started.

In each episode of this podcast, you'll discover valuable tips, tricks and insider information

to help you portray characters in animation, video games and beyond.

And now here's your host, voice actor Crispin Freeman.

Hi there, my name is Crispin Freeman, and I'll be your guide through the world of voice acting.

If you'd like to know more about me, feel free to check out my personal website at www.crispinfreeman.com.

In this episode, I'd like to talk about the difference between acting a character and demonstrating a character.

At first, it may not seem obvious why it's so important to make this distinction, and to understand its implications,

because no one ever talks about voice demonstrating.

We talk about voice acting, and rightly so, because that's what we're all here to do,

right? The truth is that people get these two concepts mixed up all the time. What's worse is that

when many people believe they are acting, they are actually demonstrating. This can be a fatal

mistake, because while sincere acting is inherently

believable and engaging, demonstrating a character is not. This misunderstanding is especially common

among beginning voice actors, and I have observed many of my students struggling with it,

even if they've never used quite these words to describe it.

The symptoms of demonstrating are obvious.

Performances feel affected or put on.

Dialogue sounds forced or unnatural,

and the characters seem more like caricatures than real people.

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