Rantings of a manic loon

One of the side benefits of having radio announcing experience is getting to do voice-over work.  As an announcer for an information-by-phone service in the '90s, I recorded a lot of short commercials and "brought to you by..." tag lines.  The only client who ever second-guessed my delivery worked for a law firm that represented people in workplace harassment suits.  I recorded what I thought was an appropriate read of the firm's copy.  One of the salesmen at our company, however, told me that this client wanted me to sound louder and more urgent.  I tried again, sounding more forceful and direct.  Once again, the salesman told me that the client wanted an even louder, more urgent read.  In the version the client accepted, I thought I sounded like a maniac.  "IF YOU FEEL THREATENED AT WORK, GO ON RECORD!!!!" I shouted while pounding on a desk and knocking over office supplies.  "GET MANAGEMENT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM!!!!"  For a soft-spoken person whose background had been in smooth jazz and Classical formats, sounding that unhinged was no easy feat.  Typically, I had a soft sell approach, but on that day, for the only time in my life, I got paid to sound like a crazed, menacing loon.  Looking back, it amuses me to have done that one voice-over segment that was unlike anything I recorded before or after it.