"Dawn Evangel" by Dopaprime (original) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Using different voices for characters is a perennial topic in tabletop games. Some gamers love it, others hate it, and many fall in between, with varying levels of dread and curiosity. It's easy to see why it's a charged subject: few of us are trained actors and many of us are self-conscious. The good news is you don't have to be a pro to voice a character. With some practice, you can learn to do it well enough to enhance your games.
You don't have to sound like a completely different person to give the distinct impression of a character. You don't have to rely on accents or impersonations, either (though you can improve in both, if you wish). A few thoughtful shifts can be all it takes to sound like someone else. By trying out new voices, you can make characters more engaging and memorable for everyone at the table - and you'll hone skills you can use elsewhere.
Whether playing or running, changing voices has always been part of my playstyle, and since I usually game with friends, I've felt free to experiment. Over several decades, I'm still an amateur, but I can offer simple and effective strategies I've learned. If I can help ease your fears and convince you to use your characters' voices as much as their stats, this guide will have served its purpose.
Tell your group you want to experiment with voices before you start. Even if they're already voicing their characters, they may have tips or concerns you'll want to address. If no one else is using voices, make sure everyone's okay with it first. If anyone in your group is against it or gets unfriendly about it during play, it's best to try your luck elsewhere.
You'll have a much better time if you start out with reasonable goals. You aren't the character you're portraying, and you aren't expected to become them. You're only going to represent their voice by using yours. There may be things you can't reproduce, even with time and effort, and that's okay. You can develop a version of their voice that leaves the right impression and is easy for you to perform.
If you can imagine a character well enough to hear how they talk, this part of the process can be easier: all you have to do is try to mimic what you hear in your mind. If you don't know the character well or can't imagine what they would sound like, you can use this guide to decide their noteworthy vocal traits. Just highlighting a few of them can be enough to make a memorable voice. I have a sheet you can fill out to make it easy.
Some practice can help, especially if you haven't done voices in a while or you haven't settled into a new character. If you haven't listened to yourself recently, read something aloud in a conversational way. Notice how you move your jaw and lips, how strongly your voice vibrates, and where it originates in your throat. Then focus on how you sound. Do you speak at a fast pace? Is your voice high-pitched? How loud are you? Get to know your comfort zone.
While you speak, try gently pushing the tragus - the small ridge of cartilage on your ear, near your cheek - over your ear canal with your index finger. This will help you hear your own voice better. It's also a good idea to practice diaphragmatic breathing; you'll be less likely to strain yourself. I don't suggest recording yourself unless you don't mind the sound of your voice. Many of us can't stand to hear recordings of ourselves, and you don't want to sour your opinion unnecessarily.
Using your notes, start adjusting different vocal traits - one at a time, a little at a time - until you get a sound that works for the character. You can use the order in this guide (pace, volume, pitch, etc.) or whatever feels comfortable. This process doesn't have to take long, either. Tuning into your own voice can take about five minutes. Generating a distinctive voice can take five to ten minutes, depending on complexity and how different it is from your own.
But you don't have to practice first, especially if you feel confident, have recent experience, or have done similar voices before. It's okay to do your best during play and adjust things later. Either way, expect to feel unsure during your first few tries. You already change the way you talk in different settings, whether you realize it or not, but trying to portray someone else can require more effort, especially early on.
However you go about it, always remember: voicing a character should be easy and fun. Don't force your voice to move - let it flow, and keep adjustments gentle. And if you start to feel any physical discomfort, stop. You can figure out what caused the discomfort and try a different approach later. Rest your voice, have a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon, and see how you feel the next day. Your voice is worth taking care of!
Over multiple sessions, you can make adjustments and grow into your new role. (One-shots leave little room for this.) If your group gives helpful feedback, ask them if they could hear and understand you after a session is done. Otherwise, you can use clues you noticed, like people asking you to repeat yourself. If you're feeling brave, ask them what they think of the new voice. If not, go with how you feel about it and how others have responded to it.
For player characters, aim for a voice that's distinctive, consistent, and comfortable to use for a session. You want something that won't get confused with other characters you've played or your normal voice. You'll also need a voice you can deliver without straining yourself. GMs should aim for these goals, too, but they can afford to give more difficult voices to NPCs now and then. But keep them few and far between, or you'll regret it later.
A character's vocal pace begins with their speed and may include notable patterns (cadences), pauses, and shifts.
Note that I said may. You don't have to decide all of these things early on. You may develop features like a notable cadence during play, or your character may not pause often enough to worry about. Don't let the options weigh you down. It's perfectly acceptable to briefly consider a trait, go with your gut, and move on.
Spectrum of Speed |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Slowest |
Slower |
Average |
Faster |
Fastest |
One of the first things people will notice about a character's voice is how quickly or slowly they speak. Each character should have a pace they commonly fall into that's comfortable for them. Their usual speed may be related to factors like their upbringing, or it may go against norms and expectations. For instance, a werewolf might bark out his thoughts quickly with friends but speak slowly with new people. Many characters won't be aware of their pace until someone points it out, however.
Some groups of people speak faster or slower than others, but what one considers a "normal" speed will vary. When in doubt, use your own average pace as a guide and remember that small adjustments can yield good results. You only have to speed up or slow down a little for it to be noticed. If you start to have trouble pronouncing words clearly, slow down a peg and see if that helps.
Keep these things in mind when it comes to speed:
Your groupmates need to be able to understand you most of the time.
You need to be able to keep up with the character's pace.
You don't have to strain yourself to make an impression of speed.
And don't forget: Assumptions will be made about your character based on how they speak. Fast-spoken characters may be seen as excitable, impatient, or shallow. Slow-spoken characters may be deemed ignorant, impaired, or lazy. These assumptions may not be fair, and people may not even realize that they're making them. You can play into these expectations, if you wish, or opt to go against them. In any case, small adjustments may be all it takes to shift assumptions (and the way others respond to the character) one way or another.
You already know a variety of distinctive speaking patterns. Some of them are tied to roles and relationships we've seen in real life; some of them come from performances we've seen in various media. Imagine a kindergarten teacher's voice vs. a high school instructor's flow. Chances are good you already have ideas for both and can note some differences between them. Now imagine some voices of people you know, like grandparents, friends, or rivals. Can you hear the ebb and flow of their words?
You can adopt a rhythm from someone you already know, whether or not they're like the character you're playing. The more you've heard that particular flow, the easier it will probably be to mimic it. You don't have to stick with impersonation, either - if need be, start with someone's cadence and build differences from there.
How often, how long, and when a character pauses will be noticed by listeners. A scatterbrained character may pause more often but not for very long as they try to recall what they need. A chatty character may be drawn up short by compliments because they never expect them. If you choose to have a character pause, keep it brief and infrequent. You might pick a specific situation that will catch them off-guard and keep most pauses within those scenes. That way, you'll be less likely to slow down play and make others antsy.
You may also consider giving some characters shifts in speed. For instance, a house servant may begin speaking evenly with guests but with people he likes, he may speed up as the conversation continues and he forgets his role a bit. Another character may start out fast but get slower the more interested she becomes in the topic. I wouldn't do these kinds of shifts with every character, but it can be good for variation now and then.
Spectrum of Volume |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Softest |
Softer |
Average |
Louder |
Loudest |
Have you ever known someone who was usually soft-spoken but shocked everyone with how loud they became at a certain moment? That lasting impression is proof that changes in volume can be effective. You can begin by considering your own normal volume, but you should keep the group's usual sound level in mind.
Why? Because of these special considerations:
Your groupmates need to be able to hear you most of the time.
Your groupmates deserve to be heard, even if you play a loud character.
If more than one PC is usually loud and they speak over others, the volume of the whole table will likely be higher.
If your group can't hear you, you'll have to repeat yourself or go unheard, which can become frustrating for everyone. If you talk over others, you can make it harder for them to be heard, and that isn't cool. And if the whole table gets loud, you can have problems inside and outside the group. Quieter players may lose ground, and anyone sensitive to louder sounds will be uncomfortable. If you play in public or have close neighbors, you'll probably be asked to tone it down and may face penalties if you don't.
To play a quieter character, consider the following:
Establish a physical motion, like a hand signal, so others know you're about to speak.
Devise a signal to the GM so they can help make space for you to speak.
Try speaking just below your normal tone until you find the sweet spot where others consider the character quiet but can usually hear them.
If your group is good about quieting down, you may only need to sit up and forward for them to offer you the floor. If the GM needs to intervene, so be it. If you're playing online, players can be muted when someone else is speaking. Either way, you don't need to speak as softly as possible to be considered soft-spoken, and it will be easier to hear you if others are quiet.
On the flip side, you don't have to raise your voice as loud as it will go to portray a loud character. Raise your voice a little and be prepared to do some fine-tuning. We don't always realize how loud we get for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that we project our voices outward. It's also easy to escalate when you're upset or excited. If others wince, make gestures to calm down, or otherwise show discomfort when you speak, bring it down a peg and see if that helps.
Most of us vary our volume when we talk due to emotions, environmental factors, and social norms. It's worth considering special circumstances that affect a character's volume, too. For instance, loud characters who get quiet when they're deeply angry may be seen as more dangerous. Characters who are happy when they visit certain places may get louder; characters who fear or respect the rules in official spaces may stay quiet, even when they're upset.
Spectrum of Pitch |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Lowest |
Lower |
Average |
Higher |
Highest |
One of the most anxiety-inducing aspects of changing your voice for a character involves raising or lowering your pitch. Men typically have longer and thicker vocal cords than women, and kids have shorter ones than adults. You won't be able to change the composition of your vocal cords, but you can learn to manipulate them. If your own voice is naturally very high or low, changing it can seem impossible. It's normal to worry about not being able to pull it off or sounding ridiculous, but you can learn to make changes that work for you.
It's best to practice outside of game sessions so you can experiment freely. Keep your throat open and relaxed, and try to relax your tongue as well. Place a hand lightly on the front of your throat to feel where the vibrations cluster. Lower-pitched sounds vibrate more lower in your throat and vice versa. Try moving the sound (and vibrations) up and then down the scale. When you find a pitch that feels right for the character, note where it gathers in your throat. If you have trouble later - like during a session - put your hand on your throat and aim your voice for the same area. If you've had singing lessons, you can use that vocal training here to good effect.
As with pace and volume, it's probably best if you don't aim for extremes. It's okay to sound a bit higher or lower than your normal pitch and call it good. Remember, you want to develop a voice you can deliver comfortably and reliably at each session. You can't do that if you're raising your pitch until your throat feels thrashed. Don't forget, discomfort is a sign that something isn't working and that you should stop, rest, and adjust.
Portraying a character of a different gender than your own can add more concerns. You probably don't want to sound like a caricature or like you're mocking a character's gender; you want to sound as authentic as possible. And chances are, you've seen negative reactions when someone's voice doesn't fall in line with what's expected of their gender. It's easy to worry that we'll face blowback for performing a different gender wrong.
But remember: the goal for adjusting your pitch is to sound different enough from yourself to give the impression of someone else. You don't need to sound exactly like you imagine they do or like others expect them to. You're portraying your own character, and you establish their norms. There's also a range of pitches, regardless of sex or gender: there are women with deeper voices and men with higher ones. This happens naturally, without anyone trying to shift one way or the other.
You can practice and get better with adjusting your pitch, but you will face some natural limits. I will never match my father's deep baritone voice, no matter how much I try, and thankfully, I don't have to. Pitch is only one part of a vocal portrait, and there's more to gender than a narrow range of voices. Through various choices, you can create a character of any gender who is distinctive and genuine.
We sometimes stress certain words or syllables when we speak. By raising or lowering our pace, pitch, and/or volume, we make words stand out from the rest. This shows more emotion or points out terms that are important to us. We can do this on purpose or without realizing it. Since it's common to everyday speech, adding emphasis can make fictional characters feel more real.
It's usually best to emphasize words based on how a character would feel or what they're trying to achieve during a conversation. But you may need to briefly consider where to add stress and how often, especially during important interactions and with new characters. For instance, a character who bumps into an old friend could feign enthusiasm by making a big deal out of it: "Oh my gods, it's you! How are you?" Or they could be genuinely surprised and delighted.
It's also worth noting that we often stress fewer words and keep emphasis brief in official settings. But staying too evenly spoken with family and friends may make them wonder what's wrong. Those who speak in flat, monotone voices will probably make others worry, whether they do so for a short period or a longer one.
The creaky witch's voice, the noir detective's rumble, and the silky tones of the femme fatale are examples of different timbres. Timbre covers a variety of aspects that are called different things in different places. Here, we'll focus on tone and weight, which give each voice a unique cast.
Spectrum of Resonance |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Weakest |
Weaker |
Average |
Stronger |
Strongest |
Resonance to the way your voice fills and reverberates in the space around you. Louder voices take up more space, but lower voices can, too. Strongly resonant voices seem to reach out and vibrate into those nearby. The acoustics of the space you're in can affect this quality. If the ambient noise level is high, your resonance will be dampened. In an area with good acoustics, you may have to dial it back. You can learn to modify your resonance and for some characters, it can be worth doing. But this trait can be tricky to isolate and adjust, so don't feel bad if it's not one you use much.
To begin, try humming. Focus the sound at the top of your neck to resonate at higher pitches; send it lower for lower pitches. Then, speak while trying out different positions with your jaw, lips, and tongue. In general, the more open your mouth is, the easier it will be to send sound further away. Don't push the air through your airways hard; let the structures do the work. Don't just keep the vibrations in your throat; see if you can let them out into the air a bit more. And listen for when your voice rings out like you intended, so you know where the sweet spot is.
Some sounds naturally resonate through the nose as well as the mouth, and you can use your nose on purpose. Send a bit more air through your nostrils to see how it affects things; flaring them might make it easier. Divert most (or all) of the air through your mouth, away from the nose, and see how that sounds. Just remember that English doesn't have many nasal sounds, so relying on them a lot will sound odd to many English speakers. If you sound more nasal than you'd like, try to keep your tongue close to the bottom of your mouth when you speak.
Spectrum of Tone |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Roughest |
Rougher |
Average |
Smoother |
Smoothest |
Tone covers a range of sounds from smooth to rough. By moving your mouth and throat in particular ways, you can affect a different tone. Keeping your throat lubricated and your mouth clear of excess saliva will make smooth sounds easier. Letting sound vibrate slowly in your throat can help you sound rougher; by keeping your volume down as well, you might be able to pull off a raspy sound. Coarse and croaky voices can be difficult to maintain for long, so it's best to keep them for NPCs who show up sporadically.
Spectrum of Weight |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Heaviest |
Heavier |
Average |
Lighter |
Lightest |
How heavy or light is your character's voice? How heavy or light is your own? You'll need to use some techniques to bridge the gap, and you may only be able to get so far. But every now and then, it's worth trying out a different weight. It's best to determine the pitch you're going to use first so you can try to maintain it while adjusting air flow. While high-pitched voices are often lighter and low-pitched voices skew heavier, there are exceptions and those exceptions can be interesting because we don't hear them as often.
Lighter voices are often described as airy or breathy, and breathing is key. To make your voice lighter, you'll need to release more air during your delivery and pass it across the roof of your mouth. (It's a good idea to keep the air in your mouth rather than your nose unless you want a more nasal sound.) You might find light-weight voices harder to maintain while speaking quickly or loudly; if that's the case, aim lower and slower.
For heavier voices, focus on producing sounds in the bottom half of your throat, and relax your throat so they vibrate more in your chest. You want to feel it in your chest far more than in your head; the opposite is the case for lighter voices. Keep your tongue down and try to release the air as you speak so it flows over your tongue instead of up toward the roof of your mouth.
If you're practicing a voice with a different weight than your own, start with words that begin with an "H" sound: hello, history, home. Try the suggestions above, adjusting the amount of air and position you're speaking from until you get closer to what you want. Then you can try out other words and sentences.
Remember: You don't have to decide on all of these traits for every character. Pick a few that make their voice stand out and that can be enough. You can jot down notes and check all the boxes on the vocal character sheet, which can be a big help for GMs who have so many character voices to perform!
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