One of the lovely things about being a voice actor is the variety of projects that arrive in your inbox. One week, you might be recording a commercial for a household brand. Another, you're lending your voice to a campaign encouraging people to discover something completely different. Recently, I had the pleasure of recording a radio commercial for Faber & Faber, promoting Barbara Kingsolver's novel Partita. The advertisement has been heard on Magic Radio and Spotify, and it was a particularly enjoyable project to work on. Not least because I love the challenge of telling a story through sound. Why radio commercials are such an interesting medium Unlike television or digital video advertising, radio doesn't have images to support the message. Everything needs to work through sound. The voice, music, script and production all have to create something in the listener's imagination. And that means the voice actor has an important role to play. A commercial might only last 20 or 30 seconds, but within that short time, you need to establish the right tone, communicate the message and hold the listener's attention. There's very little room for unnecessary performance. Every word matters. Finding the right tone for the script When I approach a radio commercial, I always begin by considering the intention behind the words. Who am I speaking to? What is the listener supposed to feel? And what kind of delivery will best support the creative idea? For a publishing campaign, the tone needs to suit the material and the audience. It might call for warmth, curiosity, intimacy or a sense of anticipation. But whatever the creative direction, I believe the performance needs to feel truthful. I don't want listeners to hear somebody obviously performing a commercial. I want them to become interested in what they're hearing. That distinction is particularly important in audio advertising, where the voice is often one of the strongest connections between the message and the audience. The importance of a collaborative recording process Although I record from my professional home studio in London, commercial voiceover is rarely a completely solitary process. I regularly work with producers and creative teams who provide direction and feedback throughout a session. One of the things I enjoy most is how quickly a performance can evolve through collaboration. A producer might ask for a slightly different emphasis, a warmer tone or a more conversational approach. Sometimes a small adjustment completely transforms the line. My background in theatre and film has made me particularly comfortable with that process. I'm used to interpreting scripts, responding to direction and exploring different intentions. And I genuinely enjoy the creative exchange. From the recording booth to national radio There's always something satisfying about hearing a finished commercial after it's been through the production process. When I'm recording, I'm concentrating on the script, the performance and the direction. By the time the advertisement reaches the listener, the voice has become part of a complete piece of audio. Music, sound design and production bring everything together. Hearing a campaign on national radio or Spotify is a lovely reminder of how many creative decisions go into something that may only last half a minute. And it's particularly rewarding knowing that your voice has contributed to that finished result. Commercial voiceover isn't audiobook narration One distinction worth making is that recording a radio advertisement for a book is very different from narrating an audiobook. In this case, my role was to voice the commercial promoting the publication, rather than narrate the book itself. Commercial advertising is where I particularly enjoy working. I love the precision of short-form storytelling, the collaboration with producers and the challenge of finding exactly the right delivery for a brand or campaign. It's an area of voice acting that combines many of the things I enjoy most about performance. Looking for a British female radio voiceover? I'm Lisa Sheerin, a London-based British voice actor working across radio, television, Spotify, digital advertising and branded content. My recent commercial work includes campaigns for Chiltern Railways, Beko, National Art Pass and Faber & Faber. I record from a professional home studio and am available for remote-directed sessions with producers and creative teams. If you're casting a British female voice for an upcoming radio or commercial advertising campaign, I'd love to hear from you. Listen to my commercial voiceover reel or get in touch to discuss your next production.