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The Voice-Over Roadmap

VO Pro Tip: This makes clients love working with you

Published about 2 months ago • 1 min read

Make Clients Love Working with You

Hey Reader,

If you want to become the go-to voice talent for producers and audio engineers, one of the easiest ways to stand out isn't just your performance—it's how you deliver your files.

Audio engineers spend hours cleaning, mixing, and matching audio into larger productions. Making their job easier behind the scenes instantly marks you as a pro who understands the post-production workflow.

Here are a few quick guidelines for standardizing your deliverables:

1. Raw vs. Processed Audio

  • Audio Engineers & Studios: Always send raw, clean audio (no EQ, compression, limiting, or heavy noise reduction). Engineers want a clean slate so your tracks mix seamlessly with sound design and music.
  • Direct/End Clients: Non-audio clients usually don't have an engineer on staff and will paste your audio straight into a video or slide deck. In this case, send a polished, mastered file (light EQ, subtle compression, and normalized peaks) so it sounds ready to use right out of the box. If you are unsure which they want, you can always clearly label and send both.

2. File Naming Hygiene Follow the client's naming instructions to the letter. If none are provided, stick to a clean, logical format: ProjectName_RoleOrYourName_Take01.wav. Avoid generic filenames like VO_Final.wav or Audio_Take1.wav, which get lost immediately on a crowded desktop.

3. Handling Long Live Sessions If you just finished a long directed session and need to export your passes, don't chop everything into twenty tiny files unless specifically asked. Instead, export 1 continuous, clean file. Leave roughly 2-3 seconds of even space between takes, and slate each pass clearly ("Take 1", "Take 2"). It keeps the timeline organized and lets the engineer edit smoothly without drowning in clutter. Also take a few minutes to remove all of the conversation and back and forth you had during the directed session, just send them a file of the actual takes they want, this makes their life so much easier and makes them love working with you.

Taking a little extra time to prep your files before hitting send saves post-production teams a ton of headache—and keeps your name at the top of their hire list.

-Michael

Check out all of the past VO Pro Tips here! VO PRO TIP ARCHIVE​

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Thanks so much!

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The Voice-Over Roadmap

The Voice-Over Roadmap is an educational platform for Voice-Over Talent of all experience levels to start, grow, and sustain a profitable business as a professional VO Talent. It is the creation of Michael Langsner, Professional VO talent with over 12 years of experience voicing projects for brands like Adidas, Google, Dell, Levi's and many others.

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