Voice Over Vs Text-To-Speech: What Is The Right Choice For You?

Providing audio assistance for articles and eLearning content helps to enrich the content and improve the audience’s experience. It helps to create inclusive content that is accessible to all, regardless of any visual impairment. However, a dilemma that every marketer who has thought about this has is whether they should hire a professional voice-over artist or opt for generic text-to-speech software.

In this blog, we will briefly explain voice-over and text-to-speech, before comparing them both on six important standards. This aims to guide you in selecting the right option for your requirements; voice-over vs text-to-speech.

A] A Brief Overview Of Voice-Over

Voice-over is a recording technique where a professional artist narrates or reads the text. There is no video of the artist and only their voice is used. The artist reads the text word-for-word from the document, adding their tone and vocal expressions.

Professional voice-over is often the preferred choice for creating audiobooks and podcasts due to the premium feel it provides. Voice-over artists use their knowledge and experience to bring out the subtleties and emotions that are often hard to convey in texts. However, they can also be used to create audio versions of legal documents, blogs and articles, and movie and TV scripts.

B] Understanding Text-To-Speech and Its Uses

Text-to-speech (TTS) also known as the Read-aloud feature is a modern technology that uses advanced algorithms to convert any digital text into audio. It uses pre-recorded voices and synthesises them according to the words decoded by the algorithm. This is a revolutionary technology that has helped thousands of people create audio content using their text documents.

TTS is often used in electronic gadgets like mobile phones, tablets, and laptops to better suit people who have visual impairments. It can also be used for short-form videos, accessibility tools, announcements, etc. However, they are not preferred for most commercial content as they are generic and monotone.

C] Comparing Voice Over Vs Text-To-Speech

1. Brand Voice and Perception

Brand voice and its perception are an extremely crucial part of every brand’s goodwill. Brands catering to different audiences and niches will have a unique brand voice of their own. For example, a fashion brand might have a humorous tone, while a sports goods brand might have a motivational tone.

Professional voice-over artists are aware of this and take great care of maintaining the brand voice across mediums. An artist with a good range can help you get your message across to your audience with ease. This, however, is not easy to achieve using TTS technology. There are a limited number of voices to select from when you are using TTS; reducing your options to maintain your brand voice.

2. Emotion and Expression

Audio content cannot rely on other mediums like video to convey the emotions to the audience. Hence, it becomes the responsibility of the voice-over artist to convey the message using their voice acting. For content like podcasts and audiobooks that have a lot of emotional and expressive content voice-acting is a must.

Without a doubt, professional voice-over acting is the right choice for creating emotional and expressive content. TTS speaks in a very robotic voice and cannot comprehend different emotions that the writer would have put in while writing the script or book.

3. Versatility

Being able to create different types of content ensures you can reach different demographics. This is crucial for reaching a broader audience and improving revenue. Versatility is one of the key voice-over advantages. They put a lot of thought into creating each format of content, enhancing their quality.

Nonetheless, TTS can also be used to create a versatile range of content from converting scripts into podcasts to helping people read better. Both options are extremely versatile options and have their unique uses.

4. Cost And Budget

The cost of the entire process and your budget are extremely important considerations when choosing between voice-over and TTS for creating audio content. Producing a professional audio recording can be expensive as you need to pay for the artist’s fees and recording studio. On the other hand, TTS does not need any more investment than purchasing software.

As a result, you can go for TTS services if you have a tight budget. Brands that are looking for audio services, but do not want to compromise on quality, can still find professional voice-over artists in Mumbai who can deliver all sorts of content forms under a budget. You can also inquire about different payment options like project basis or hourly rates depending on your requirements.

5. Authenticity And Personalisation

Professional voice-over artists bring out the authenticity of the primary document in the final content. Due to the human element present in the voice-over, the tones sound natural and do not come out as forced.

Voice-over artists personalise the sentences according to the context, ensuring the primary ideas of the content are not lost in translation. As TTS is based on a computer-generated algorithm, it lacks these subtle nuances in speech delivery.

6. Engagement And Monotone

TTS can create monotonous content as it delivers the entire audio in the same pitch, barring the punctuations. Such robotic-sounding content can diminish your efforts to engage with your audience and may even lead to higher bounce rates.

Human voice-over creates a connection between the listener and the artist, leading to higher engagement. Additionally, as the human voice naturally has a flow and tone while speaking, there is no question of monotonous content.

Conclusion

Professional voice-over and TTS are both valid options for converting text-based documents into audio files. The choice of which method you should go for depends completely on your business needs. However, there are certain factors that you need to consider before deciding on them. While TTS technology has evolved over the years, it has a long way to go before being able to capture the tones and emotions of the human voice.

If you are looking for a professional voice-over artist in India contact me today to request a quote. I have extensive experience in bringing scripts to life; creating world-class podcasts, documentaries, and explainer videos.

Peter Abraham

Peter Abraham is a versatile voice-over artist based in Mumbai working in the voiceover industry since 2009. With a passion for storytelling and meticulous attention to detail in every project, he brings scripts to life with his captivating voice and professional delivery, exceeding client expectations. Whether it's a commercial or an audiobook, Peter specializes in a wide range of voice-over work, ensuring the highest quality.