Private voiceover coaching in Los Angeles.
Most coaches teach you how to audition. Jeff is the one you audition for - an active casting director with 29 Netflix, HBO Max, and Paramount+ titles since 2018, and a teacher since 2000. His students sign with agents, land network contracts, and book consistently.
Jeff takes on a limited roster of private coaching clients
Focused. Direct. Repeatable.
Private coaching sessions run a focused hour, built around a curated packet of scripts you'll study, perform, and refine. Every session includes detailed feedback, performance direction, and acting adjustments that build strong, repeatable habits behind the mic.
You'll also have room to ask questions and work through the mindset blocks that hold performers back. Designed for beginners and working voice actors alike.
- 1-hour private sessions - curated scripts, detailed feedback, real direction.
- 30-minute audition coaching - fast, targeted prep on your actual audition script.
- In studio or remote - Los Angeles sessions or online from anywhere.
Director's Notes on your audition
Audition due tomorrow? Email Jeff the script and your MP3. He listens with the same ears that screen auditions professionally and sends back written direction notes in time for your deadline. Bold, grounded, specific - before it counts.
What a session actually trains.
In voiceover, your ear matters as much as your voice. Hearing yourself and others clearly is how you learn to fix a read before anyone else has to. Jeff's sessions train both.
- Making copy sound like your own words - ad copy is often written in clunky, corporate language, and nobody believes a read that sounds recited. You'll learn to turn someone else's words into something you'd actually say, so a burger spot sounds like you actually love the burger.
- The controls you have - pace, tone, volume, and attitude, shaped through acting choices rather than voice tricks.
- Your own emotional range - what you sound like happy, sad, angry, sarcastic, or in love. Knowing that map lets you reach the right color on demand instead of hoping it shows up.
- Script analysis - breaking down copy before the mic opens: who you're talking to, what you mean, and where the read turns.
- Self-direction - Jeff often asks how a take felt before he gives a note. At home, you're your own director, so learning to judge your own read is part of every session.
- Your genre - promo (Jeff spent 17 years producing network promos as VP of Production at World Wide Wadio), commercial, narration, dubbing, and animation auditions.
A bonus Jeff hears about often: on-camera actors tell him their on-camera work improved after training with him, because they finally hear how much they use their voice.
From first call to demo.
Reach out
Tell Jeff your goals, experience, and timeline through the contact form.
Consultation
Jeff reads every inquiry personally and responds to discuss fit.
Custom plan
A training plan built around your voice, market, and starting point.
Sessions
Focused one-hour privates - curated scripts, real direction, repeatable habits.
Demo
When you're ready, a reel produced to book - not just to sound good.
Where coaching takes you.
Step 01
Build the craft
Private sessions develop timing, control, and the bold, grounded choices that stand out to casting directors.
Step 02
Produce your demo
When you're ready, Jeff produces a reel designed to book - scripted, directed, and mastered in-house.
Step 03
Sign & book
Students have signed with agencies within months and gone on to network contracts and full-time VO careers.
Less time with Jeff. More progress on your own.
Every coaching relationship starts with a conversation about where you are in your career and what experience you bring. From there, Jeff builds the work around you.
His method is built on homework. Rather than seeing you every week by default, he sends you away with focused assignments: copy to work, and produced spots, promos, and narration to study. You check in when you're ready, often monthly or every couple of months. Actors who want more frequent sessions can have them. The goal is the same either way: an ear you can trust when nobody else is in the booth. Why Jeff coaches this way →
Sessions run mostly over Zoom, with in-person sessions in Los Angeles.
“I like sending people away with homework.”Jeff HowellThe Voiceover Round Table, 2024
Auditions don't wait for your next session. When a vague, multi-spot network promo audition hits, actors Jeff coaches reach out the same day, and he has worked them through it before the deadline. That's what 30-minute audition coaching and Director's Notes are for.
In their words.
“If it wasn't for Jeff Howell I never would have found my voice, let alone sign a network contract. When people ask my secret ingredient, I say two words: Jeff Howell.”Dustin James LeightonVoice Actor
“Being new to voiceover, I have learned and grown exponentially. I even signed with a voiceover agency months later!”Noveen CrumbieVoice Actor
“If you put in the time, Jeff will get you results. I guarantee that you will improve your chops if you train with him. I owe him everything.”Glenn SteinbaumVoice Actor
How Jeff thinks about the work.
“A true 'conversational' read is not flat or bored - it still requires passion and genuine human inflection.”On the modern readRead the note →
“Performance always trumps technical perfection. Casting is evaluating your connection to the text, not judging a faint background click.”On overworking auditionsRead the note →
“Do not confuse 'sounding like a real person' with 'anyone off the street can do it.' It takes trained skill to make artificial phrasing effortless.”On the "real" soundRead the note →
Voiceover coaching in Los Angeles: quick answers.
How much does voiceover coaching with Jeff cost?
Rates are quoted on inquiry - sessions are booked individually (a focused hour for private coaching, 30 minutes for audition prep), not sold as packages. Reach out and Jeff will respond personally with current rates.
Do I need experience before starting voiceover coaching?
No. Sessions are built for beginners and working professionals alike - Jeff has taken first-time students to signed agency talent and coaches established pros through changing industry styles.
How long does it take to become a working voice actor?
There is no honest fixed timeline - it depends on your starting point and the work you put in between sessions. What the path looks like: training first, then a demo built on real technique, then representation and auditioning. Students who trained consistently have signed with agencies within months; treating it like a casual hobby rarely yields a career.
Can I do coaching sessions online from outside Los Angeles?
Yes - Jeff coaches in his Los Angeles studio and online from anywhere in the world, and has taught since 2000 at schools in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, London and Rome, with guest appearances at voice-acting retreats in Dublin, Amsterdam, Zurich and Florence.
How often will I have sessions with Jeff?
It depends on you. Jeff's approach is focused homework between sessions, with check-ins when you're ready, often monthly or every couple of months. If you want to work more frequently, you can.
What kinds of voiceover does Jeff coach?
Promo, commercial, narration, dubbing, and animation auditions. Promo is his deepest specialty: he spent 17 years producing network promos as VP of Production at World Wide Wadio.
Can Jeff help me with a specific audition?
Yes. Book 30-minute audition coaching to work your actual script together, or use Director's Notes: email the script and your MP3, and Jeff sends written direction back in time for your deadline.
Will voiceover coaching help my on-camera acting?
Often, yes. On-camera actors Jeff has trained tell him their on-camera work improved, because voiceover training makes them aware of how much they use their voice in every performance.
More questions answered on the full FAQ.
What Jeff listens for.
Auditions · Self-direction
Home Auditions & Self-Direction: Six Habits That Win Bookings
Stop overworking your audition, separate practice from performance, and understand how casting actually screens 75 submissions.
Direction · Auditions
Connected, Not Conversational: How Directors Actually Want You to Read
Why the industry's favorite direction leads actors astray, the audition-vs-session mindset, and how VO became an actor's medium.
Coaching · Mindset
Cut the Cord: Why Good Coaching Builds Independence, Not Dependency
The umbilical cord problem, training your own critical ear, and why media literacy is mandatory homework.