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The Voice of Diversity: Teresa Lim on
Industry Challenges and Triumphs  

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By Kayla Bowles, October 13, 2024

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In today’s article, I am pleased to be sharing the conversation I had with SOVAS™ International Ambassador, incredibly talented voice actor, Vice President of the Australian Association of Voice Actors (AAVA), and mother of three, Teresa Lim. Teresa has provided the voice for commercial and corporate brands across numerous platforms, including FOX SPORTS Australia, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang. She is a recipient of the Learn-X Asia Pacific’s Best Audio award, and gave her first Keynote speech at the Asian Leadership Project’s National Conference in 2022, speaking out against industry racism. Teresa also has served as an international judge for both the PROMAX and Voice Arts® Awards. Teresa, thank you so much for having this conversation with me! My first question for you is: how did you get involved in the voiceover industry?

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Teresa: As a newly graduated young journalist at the age of 20, I began as a newsreader and worked in radio before an audio producer suggested I also try voiceovers. He helped me produced my first demo which only had three reads, which I sent out to studios and agencies- and it all kicked off from there!

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Kayla: News and radio seems to be a really advantageous field to become familiar with. I’m actually studying journalism and podcasting at my university right now, and am looking forward to applying what I learn to my voiceover career. In a similar vein: How did you first hear of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences™?

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Teresa: A couple of years ago, I heard about SOVAS™ through my USA colleagues who participated in my #voiceoverchallenge on Instagram as some of them had won awards, were presenters or judges in the Voice Arts® Awards.

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Kayla: What does being a SOVAS™ International Ambassador mean to you?

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Teresa: I am honored to represent Australia and Australian women in media, especially Mandarin-speaking voice actors. I believe that diversity is important for a thriving and healthy voice-acting industry, and I’m proud to be part of an organization that has made inclusion part of their core values. I am also humbled to learn from the other global ambassadors representing their countries, and to hear how our wider VO community is growing across the world.

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Kayla: Speaking of voiceover on the global scale, tell me about the nature of the Mandarin voiceover community.

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Teresa: From China to Taiwan and Malaysia and other diaspora, there are many Mandarin and Chinese speaking actors working across the broad scope of categories. It is difficult to bring the wider Mandarin community together, and hopefully SOVAS™ will become the platform to unite this community through the Voice Arts® Awards each year.

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Kayla: I’m so glad SOVAS™ has been able to play a role in that unity. What would surprise people to know about the Mandarin VO Community?

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Teresa: While our written Chinese characters are the same across dialects, there are many different accents of Mandarin speakers, across a great number of regions! Sometimes people just assume that “Mandarin is Chinese” so you can book any Mandarin-speaking voice actor. But this isn’t the case- you have to clarify which region and which accent. For example, a mainland Chinese Mandarin accent is completely different from a Taiwanese Mandarin accent, or even a Malaysian Mandarin accent. There is so much diversity even amongst our speakers.

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Kayla: How much is the Mandarin VO Community (inside and outside of China) impacted by Chinese Government policies?

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Teresa: The Chinese-speaking community within China operates within itself almost exclusively and have their own national awards and work-flow independent of the rest of the world. Perhaps while content and social media is limited or regulated by the government, therefore restricting access to a greater community outside China, Mandarin voice actors have their own flourishing careers within China.

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Kayla: What would you say is the biggest difference between the Mandarin VO community and the English-speaking voiceover community?

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Teresa: Definitely the use of social media to connect and collaborate. The Mandarin VO community is more exclusive within China and therefore closed, whereas the English-speaking voiceover community is very connected through social media platforms internationally.

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Kayla: In 2022, you spoke out against industry racism at the Asian Leadership Project’s National Conference. Have you ever experienced racism in the industry?

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Teresa: In my keynote speech, I shared how I started my media career as an Asian woman in a predominantly Caucasian male industry in the early 2000s, a time when there were no digital streaming or platforms in Australia and broadcast roles were very limited. Graduating from University with a Bachelor of Journalism, Racial and Gender discrimination led me to pursue my audio career, because “you couldn’t hear I was Asian” while presenting the news on radio. A huge shift in diversity later on then suddenly pushed me into national TV presenting and commercials, while promo voicing for Cartoon Network Australia and FOX Sports Australia. I am passionate about being vocal for women in media and media diversity, and speaking out against tokenistic casting and gaps in equality both on screen and in booths, in Australia.

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Kayla: That’s so powerful. You really are doing such important work. Do you have any advice for someone who has experienced racism in the voiceover industry?

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Teresa: Don’t be afraid to speak out and call it out. Approach a supervisor and share your concerns so the matter can be addressed directly and immediately. The longer these situations remain hidden, the more our voices are buried by racist ideology which is outdated and unacceptable in any shape or form.

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Kayla: What do you think is the best way to address the problem of industry racism?

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Teresa: Greater education and opportunities for public discussion on how to handle and correctly identify different forms or racism and to share ideas on how to better embrace diversity and inclusion in our workplaces, studios and industry.

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Kayla: I completely agree! Education is one of the best ways to promote inclusion and acceptance. Shifting gears a bit: Between promos, radio announcing, video games, animation, etc., what comes easiest to you in terms of performance in voiceover?

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Teresa: Having voiced Cartoon Network and Boomerang TV promos for nearly a decade, and FOX Sports Netball Promos exclusively, promos are definitely a fun and enjoyable genre for me. While commercial reads are my usual work, I find live-announcing and awards announcing always a thrill!

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Kayla: What do you find most challenging?

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Teresa: Definitely other accents! While I am confident in Australian, Neutral and Asian accents and characters- I definitely need work on authentically portraying other countries and would love the opportunity to learn from other colleagues around the world.

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Kayla: What would you say is the biggest risk you have taken in relation to your voiceover career?

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Teresa: During Covid year, after rounds of international auditioning across crazy time zones, I turned down a major opportunity to become Australia’s AI voice for a text to speech platform for one of the leading global brands. Negotiations between my agent and the brand fell through due to an extremely low budget for what we knew it was worth in the coming future. Eventually, we rejected the offer and while it was a massive risk to take, with the way AI has advanced now I’m so relieved we didn’t sign my voice away back then without the knowledge of contracts we know now. Moral of the story? Work together with your agent and look to see how your work today might impact your work tomorrow.

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Kayla: What do you think is most missing from the global voiceover community as of right now, and how do you think we should address it?

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Teresa: Mic libraries. Don’t laugh… I know it sounds crazy. But as a home-studio and self-confessed gear nerd, I’ve had a dream where in Australia we could have mic/gear “libraries” where voice actors can hire, try and borrow different models of mics/gear to use and test at home before they buy. It’s so expensive to fork out on new studio gear- it would be a wonderful community resource to be able to try out that Sennheiser 416 or Neumann U87…  It’s not quite a library yet, but I’ve been running mic shoot offs in studios together with Soundo Chris McCallum for voice actors to try different mics and it’s been such a blast!

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Kayla: That’s not crazy at all! I’m always interested in trying out different mics, so a mic library is genuinely right up my alley. Looking ahead, what trends do you foresee shaping the future of the voice acting and voiceover industry globally?

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Teresa: How we handle AI voicing in the days ahead. The balance between human and AI voices. How we protect ourselves yet strengthen our careers through the use of AI. Watch this space.

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Kayla: As a final, and hopefully fun element, can you answer the following rapid-fire questions? This is a bit like a game show and the questions come from celebrity interviewer James Lipton. We can call it the Lipton Challenge. So, to start: What is your favorite word?

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Teresa: Unicorn!

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Kayla: What is your least favorite word?

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Teresa: Digital.

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Kayla: What sound or noise do you love?

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Teresa: A good beach thunderstorm.

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Kayla: What sound or noise do you hate?

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Teresa: Sirens.

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Kayla: What is your favorite food?

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Teresa: Penang Assam Laksa.

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Kayla: What is your least favorite food?

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Teresa: Asian Liver Noodle Soup.

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Kayla: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

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Teresa: Residential construction.

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Kayla: What profession would you most not like to do?

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Teresa: …Industrial construction.

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Kayla: Teresa, thank you for participating in that challenge with me, and for a wonderful conversation!

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Teresa: Thank you, Kayla!

 

To learn more about Teresa’s extraordinary voiceover work and inspiring global activity on behalf of actors, women, and children, visit Teresa Lim Studios at https://www.teresalim.com

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Kayla Bowles is assistant to Rudy Gaskins and Joan Baker, founders of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences™ (SOVAS™), creators of That’s Voiceover!™ Career Expo, and the Voice Arts® Awards. She currently studies the art of voice acting with Joan Baker, and has studied with Real Voice L.A., The Acting Studio, and Broadway Evolved. Though new to the voiceover business, Kayla has already booked a local TV commercial, a role in an indie animated series (in development), and has lent her voice to various passion projects. She is currently an undergrad at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.

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From Society of Voice Arts and Sciences™:

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