When creating medical content, whether for training, education, or patient communication, there’s nothing more helpful than clear, accurate audio narration. A medical voiceover artist brings complicated medical topics to life and assists listeners in absorbing information faster and more accurately. However, hiring a voiceover talent for medical content is not the same as hiring for a general commercial or entertainment. Medical voiceovers require skill, understanding, and professionalism.
This article will help you understand what to look for when hiring a medical voiceover artist.
1. Medical Terminology Knowledge
Medical scripts often contain technical words, scientific phrases, and drug names that the average person may find difficult to pronounce. A medical voiceover artist must be comfortable reading and pronouncing those specific words accurately. It only takes one incorrect pronunciation to create confusion, particularly when the delivery of the medical information is instructional or educational, where absolute accuracy is so important.
Even a slight error in reading a pharmaceutical name or a diagnostic code can create misunderstandings of the medical message, or make the reader lose trust in the content being delivered. Therefore, it is important to hire voice-over artists with experience reading healthcare-related scripts or have taken the time to learn a few basic medical terminology. It is advisable asking a voice-over artist if they’ve read any medical-related script prior to making an agreement, and to send over a sample script even if just for an evaluation of how they articulate technical language.
2. Clear and Neutral Accent
When it comes to medical voiceovers, clarity is more important than style. Because healthcare content is often written for a variety of audiences, a neutral, easily understood accent is preferred. The objective is to make sure the information gets to the audience without distractions or language barriers.
Depending on your target audience, a regional accent may be necessary; American, British, and Australian English are all popular options. Even with a regional accent, though, the voice actor’s tone continues to be user-friendly and free from heavy slang, regional expressions, or strong inflections that could be confusing for non-native speaker audiences, especially for complicated topics. To ensure effective communication of information, clearer sounding speech with clear pronunciation, pacing, and diction irrespective of with whom the information is shared is the goal.
3. Pacing and Tone
A good medical voiceover artist will be aware of the need to change their tone, phrasing, and flow based on the content in any medical script. The pace of medical content should be steady, and the tone should match the content. If you speak too quickly, you have the potential to make complicated terms difficult to comprehend. If you speak too slowly, you run the risk of boring or irritating your audience.
The tone should represent the intent/secondary message of the content. For example, using a calm, caring tone for patient education is a good way to connect with patients—in particular, patient education materials associated with more sensitive topics such as medications, diseases, or procedures. Whereas, tone can be more factual and instructional, especially if the content is designed for internal use such as medical education materials catered to healthcare professionals and/or stakeholders. The ability to modify tone and vocal attributes is a differentiation of a good medical voiceover artist.
4. Experience in Medical Voiceover
Medical voiceover work is a specific niche. It is not feasible for every voiceover artist, even an amazing one, to provide medical work. An artist who has previously voiced medical content will have a clearer understanding of the expectations and challenges. The artist will likely be more familiar with scientific and medical language, the potential format of the script, and work professionally with the learning processes.
Review the previous work of the artist, and request samples that are from the medical or healthcare industry. Experience artists will often have demos with medical e-learning modules, pharmaceutical updates, clinical trial instructions, or telehealth recordings. The artist’s experience will ensure that the recordings are done accurately and with confidence.
5. High-Quality Recording Setup
Sound quality is important for any voiceover project; however, especially in medical content, clarity is essential. A voice artist should be able to record clean audio that is free of background noise and sounds professional. Poor audio quality can divert attention from a message, can create comprehension barriers, or can damage your brand’s credibility.
Ask the artist about their recording space, whether they travel to a professional studio or have a treated space in their home. What kind of microphone and recording software do they use? If you have time, request a sample recording, to listen for issues like echo, static, or volume inconsistency. A quality recording system will provide final output audio that sounds smooth and usable, not overly reliant on editing options.
6. Reliability and Fast Turnaround
Medical projects are typically bound by tight timelines. Whether you’re developing an onboarding and training module for an upcoming in-person seminar or an explainer video for a new patient treatment, any delays will impact your schedule. For this reason, it’s important to start working with someone who is trustworthy, communicates well, and can be counted on to provide you with your voiceover on time.
Before committing to the hire, discuss delivery timelines and availability. Ask how long it takes them to turn around a project when it’s not urgent and when you have an urgent request. If you can, read testimonials and reviews from past clients. A trustworthy voiceover artist will meet deadlines and keep you informed along the way. They will also reply to your emails and questions in a timely manner.
7. Willingness to Revise
Even seasoned voiceover professionals may not get everything right on the first take. The tone may need adjustment or a sentence may need to be re-recorded. A professional medical voiceover artist is receptive to changes and feedback. When you hire them, be sure to communicate how many revisions are included in the price and how revisions work. Do they allow for minor adjustments at no extra fee? How long will it take to receive a revision? Talking about these factors first creates better collaboration and can help you avoid extra fees later on. An experienced voiceover artist understand that feedback is a part of the process and will happily adjust to get the best outcome for their client.
Final Thoughts
Choosing a qualified medical voiceover actor is more than hiring someone to read aloud. It is the process of identifying an individual who can convey complex medical concepts clearly, accurately, and confidently. The actor you choose should have a solid understanding of medical terminology, be able to speak clearly and appropriately, and provide a high quality audio recording on time. Whatever you decide, be sure to investigate their experience, listen to their samples, and have a thorough discussion of your needs, before you make your choice. The right voice talent will enhance your project, and support creating understandable, credible, impactful content whether for healthcare professionals or patients.