That Telephone Voice.

You’ve heard her. Allison Smith’s voice is on telephone systems globally, for some of the world’s biggest companies and telephony applications. If you’re looking for a voice to set your company apart from the others, you’re in the right place.

Custom IVR Scripting

Allison can write engaging prompts which are tailored to your company’s brand and messaging, and tell your company’s story professionally and cohesively.

Messaging That Connects With Your Customers

Your prompts will be fluid, easy to use, and will always have the customer’s time and patience as a priority.

Integrations That Work

Allison’s prompts are digital, clean, and will fit in any existing system. Updates and changes are easy and seamless. Auto attendant, on hold, call center and conference prompts; all in the same consistent voice for a seamless integration.

Order IVR Voice Prompts

Ordering customized IVR and On Hold prompts from The IVR Voice – voiced by Allison Smith – has never been easier! Simply enter your script and obtain a word count and total – and with one click, you can pay securely and instantly for your prompts. 

1-50 Words


$150


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51 - 100 Words


$225


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101 - 200 Words


$300


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201 - 500 Words


$450


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Why is it important to have your IVR voiced by a professional?

Everybody talks, but not everybody should voice their own telephone system. A professional talent brings a smoothness and seamlessness to the prompts and tells your customers that your business is legitimate and professional.



Learn More About IVR

ABOUT ALLISON

Chances are, you’ve already heard Allison Smith.

If you’ve ever entered your pin number into your telephone banking account, you’ve probably heard the voice of Allison Smith guiding you through the call. If you’ve participated in a telephone survey, most likely it was Allison’s voice that encouraged you to rate your satisfaction. Ever signed onto a conference call, listened to the public airwaves, took an online training module, or received an automated phone reminder for an upcoming medical or dental appointment? That's her. She’s even been that voice that reminds you to take your ticket at the parking garage. 

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Allison Smith | The IVR Voice

By Allison Smith 20 Mar, 2024
I always ask for a show of hands in my workshops of who enjoys their voice in their outgoing voicemail message. Absolutely nobody raises their hand. They all ask me why they sound different in recordings than they think they do. The explanation is actually fairly un-glamorous: you hear your voice cushioned and muffled through a series of bone and muscle, and *also* you are hearing that sound in your head, simultaneously with the sound coming through your mouth and to your ears. That extra muffling makes your voice sound lower than it actually is (“I sound like Minnie Mouse in recordings!” No, you don’t. That’s what we’re hearing too.) For someone like myself – who voices every day and edits those sound files – I have developed a certain “detachment” towards my voice. I know a good take from a bad one; I can clinically listen to my sound files and determine when things are sounding “normal” and when things have gone off the rails (much like a dancer who can look at themselves in a mirror and see good alignment and alignment that needs adjusting.) We, as voice talent, need to be able to have an objective listen to the sound files we create and double-check as to whether they are executing the writer’s wishes, whether or not we are delivering the message that was intended, and if we are honoring the material. All that requires a certain detachment to these sounds; they’re merely a product we make, and we can clinically observe what we’re doing and modify as needed without attachment or investment. It's important that voice talent at the mic ask themselves three basic questions before hitting “send” on those sound files – either as an audition, or as a finished piece of work. Who is this for? It’s critical to know just *who* this project is pointed at, and who it’s for. Is this for industry insiders who know all the terminology and nomenclature, or for the lay public who might require a more detailed, slower ease-in into the topic? I’ve voiced projects for a large auto parts distributor; they had me voicing staff e-learning training modules, and also informational public-facing videos for their customers. Very different treatment of the material, from the writing to the style in which I voiced it. Knowing your audience is crucial. What is this about? This one seems painfully obvious, but if you really listen to TV and radio commercials, you’ll hear lots of voice talent who are just reading words. Just getting the words out correctly. Saying the words in the prescribed time parameters(very important for broadcast spots). Without really thinking about what they’re saying, or even what the words mean. Before you voice something (anything) read the copy. Several times. Put the copy away and paraphrase in your own words what the content is about. And make a decision – on the fly; not marking your script – which words need emphasis (because that’s what we do naturally in speech.) The comprehension of the material seems axiomatic, but all you need to do is listen to locally-produced commercials or YouTube videos to hear people just saying words. Making sounds. Without thinking about them.  Does this take fit the brief? You may think you’ve done a technically strong take; you may like the way you sound in that take – but is it fitting the brief of the instructions/specs? Is it honoring the words? And does it fit into the client’s vision or intention? All these things are more important than how you aesthetically sound. If the client’s intention is not apparent through the description on the audition sides or the job brief, start a conversation with the client and ask some essential questions about the overall message of the piece and how your anticipated contribution fits in. It takes a clinical ear – and a step-back from yourself – to honestly listen with an objective ear – and be able to assess where you’re at. That objectivity is the difference between a pro who genuinely enjoys being the ambassador of the client’s message, and one who merely enjoys time at the mic.
By Allison Smith 22 Feb, 2024
I have long been an advocate of writing strong, concise, fast-moving IVRs; with the caller’s patience and time being at a premium, IVRs should not be written (or voiced) at a plodding, leisurely pace. Callers need to get to where they’re going as quickly as possible. And I’ve also written a lot about working more compassion and feeling into IVR scripts; gone is the robot, and almost any industry can benefit from a genuine, caring voice guiding them to their various choices. In no other area is it more important to design IVRs which are fast – and compassionate – than those systems which face a public who might be in a mental health crisis. Whether we’re talking about an acute care facility, the psychiatric intake department of a regional hospital, or a community mental health department, it’s especially astute and wise to have a sensitivity and awareness of the special needs and situations of your typical callers. Here's the first thing to consider when designing an IVR for mental health consumers:  Triage. There’s a vast distinction between someone navigating the soul-crush of a romantic breakup, and someone hallucinating about people monitoring them through their TV and plotting to kill them. A system of triage built into your IVR to sort the “seriousness” of the caller needs to be put into place, to use your resources most effectively and make sure that those in need of urgent help will get it and those with less urgent needs will still get help – but in a priority sequence which reflects their urgency. The next important thing to never forget is: Immediacy. You need to get callers through to help as quickly as possible. I have mentioned in many presentations and interviews that I voiced an IVR for a cardiology clinic in Florida, and they had 15 options (way too many) – and literally the last one was: “if this is a medical emergency, hang up and dial 911.” If someone has made the mistake of calling their practitioner’s office when they’re in medical distress, instead of getting emergency help, you’d want to set them straight sooner than later. That 911 “emergency hatch” needs to be front stacked at the top of the menu. The actual number of options needs to be culled down to five or six choices, and the prompts need to written – and voiced – in a style that is fast and efficient. Take a critical look at your phone menu and make sure you edit out the dross – if there is any information that can be left out (or edited off into a submenu) do that, instead of forcing callers to listen to directions to the facility or explaining the parking protocol, while their anxiety is amping up with every wasted second. Decide on the top six options, and list them in priority sequence. The final component to designing the perfect mental health IVR is compassion. Not the insincere assurances of an on-hold system, repeatedly thanking callers in an empty way; your prompts need to convey a genuine empathy and compassion in addition to the smart triage and the speedy egress through the menu options. The prompts need to be written and voiced in a way that conveys that the agency understands the seriousness of their call, and also a level of comfort conveyed that they can deal with anything. I cite the example of a colonoscopy clinic IVR I voiced years ago, which said: “Our trained intake nurses have heard it all, so feel free to ask anything at all about your upcoming appointment.” How freeing would that be for a caller to hear, especially if they were apprehensive and nervous about the procedure, and afraid of asking something stupid? Acknowledging the precarious state the caller may be in with care and empathy can go a long way towards forging a relationship with the caller and to ensure that they get the care they need. In the mental health arena, extra sensitivity to a precarious human condition and designing communications to address the specialized needs of the mental health caller is essential to providing safety, care, and ultimately compassion for those in need.
By Allison Smith 22 Feb, 2024
On hold systems went through a heyday in the 90’s and 00’s – they were a fashionable and affordable way for a company to advertise their goods and services to those detained in the inevitable purgatorial holding pattern before they reached customer service. That’s when the cliché’s started. “We know your time is valuable. Please continue to hold and you will be helped by the next available agent… ” and “ please hold for just one moment more…. ” Even though we *knew* it wasn’t for “just a moment more.” Unfortunately, the cliches eventually took over the industry, making tropes out of the standard phrases, practices, and structures that built on hold companies. The off-color jokes about: “Suicide Hotline – please hold…” became the thing that most people thought about when they encounter an on-hold program – the tacky, time-wasting insincerity of a voice keeping you entertained while you wait to speak to an agent about a discrepancy on your bill. (I gave a presentation at an on-hold conference years ago, and me – a voice talent -- pointing out the stereotypes to the people who created them went over with mixed reviews. Some people appreciated the input from an “outsider”; others took it as me asking them to reinvent the wheel.)  What exactly can be done to modernize on hold, make it more relevant, and refresh it from its dated, cliché-ridden past? Re-Educate the Caller Everyone gets that sinking feeling when they’ve entered an on-hold sequence. Nobody’s happy about it, but we endure it to get to a solution. “Oh, this is the part where someone drones on about how great the company is, and this is just something I have to tolerate until I get to an actual agent.” What if the on-hold sequences *weren’t something that needed to “endured”? And what if – in your company’s on-hold messaging, you meet the resistance head-on? (“Listen, we get it. Nobody likes being on hold. What if we told you that the wait is worth it? We have the best-trained customer service reps in the business, who know everything about your make and model of printer, and who are committed to making sure you leave this call a happy customer.”) I’d be somewhat intrigued and placated by that messaging, and I’m willing to gamble that your callers will as well. It’s an Opportunity. Don’t Let It Pass You By. To have a seemingly never-ending couple of sentences repeating over and over again while your callers are holding, is akin to water torture. *If* clients have to be on hold, see it as a golden opportunity to inform, reinforce, and yes, even brag. Callers might as well hear all about what makes your company different from the competition. They should be reassured by your messaging that they did not, in fact, make a mistake by engaging with your company, and if there are little extras which make your company awesome (five star ranking on Google, a recent glowing write-up, an award, brand-new facilities or even free parking) crow about that. Use Only When Needed. The dream, of course, is to always have your callers encounter a short, fast-moving IVR which gives them choices (to best utilize your staff’s skillset) and to get them immediately to that specialist. That’s not always realistic. Especially if you have a “busy season” (or peak time of day), it’s necessary to deploy an on-hold system. Make sure that *if* and *when* an on-hold system needs to be put into play that it’s sincere, it’s respectful of the caller’s time and tolerance, and that it shows the company in their best light. The last piece of advice I have is: do something fresh . We have all heard – ad nauseum – those ubiquitous on-hold phrases that reassure us that live help is just a moment away (we don’t buy that for second), that our time is valuable (then why am I detained?) or that we’re the next caller in line (just stop.)

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