How do you select the right voice for your interactive voice response system? Aside from determining the right gender, you also have to find the right dialect, the right pitch and even the right tone to ensure people enjoy listening to that voice. This recent GM Voices (News - Alert) post examined the role of voice in IVR messaging and whether or not a professional is needed to get the job done right.

One example is that of Google’s selection for the voice of Google (News - Alert) Voice. The company selected an employee, Kiki Baessell, as its voice, preferring her over a professional simply because they wanted someone without experience in the field. The Google blog noted that they wanted a pleasant, familiar voice that users would not mind listening to each time they called to check voicemail. 

This is not to suggest that the professional should be overlooked in the IVR. In fact, GM Voices believes Google has missed the boat on the power of Voice Branding for telephony. They refer to the selection of Kiki as a “conscious overcorrection” of the radio voice – one that sounds great for that medium, but can be grating over the phone. GM Voices offers the recording of natural-sounding voices from actors to help companies provide a better experience for their customers.

In a response to Kiki’s selection, GM Voices CEO, Marcus Graham (News - Alert), noted that while an internal voice can work well on some occasions, it actually doesn’t make economic or operational sense for companies to use internal – and underdeveloped – talent in their IVR. Graham believes there are too many variables to get it right day-after-day.

He highlighted that while the old radio announcer has unnatural and even hokey enunciation, it can at least be understood. An amateur, by comparison, has enunciation that is difficult to understand. A professional voice actor provides the ideal middle ground where their voice is both sincere and believable, while also delivering concise diction and consistent and on-going availability in the IVR solution.

It is important to note when developing the right voice for your IVR that actors don’t actually sound like real people, even if people think they do. An optimal performance by a voice actor tends to be more animated than a real person would project with normal speaking. And, with no facial or body language, the actor has to carry the entire message with his or her voice, which is a challenge that requires not only talent, but also training.