Artwork for podcast Relationships Rule
Finding Success Through the Power of Your Voice with Earl Thomas | RR283
Episode 2835th November 2024 • Relationships Rule • Janice Porter
00:00:00 00:35:55

Share Episode

Shownotes

What’s it like to have a career built on the power of your voice?

Earl Thomas knows. He has the perfect nickname for his career journey – he is known as "The Voice,". Earl and I sit down to talk about the world of voiceovers, broadcasting, and public speaking. Earl shares how he got his start, his love for voice work, and how the industry has evolved. We explore his experience in radio and voiceover gigs, from commercial spots to narrations, and even telephone prompts. Earl’s passion for connecting with people through his voice is clear, and he explains how curiosity and lifelong learning keep him motivated.


Earl also opens up about his mental health journey and how stand-up comedy helped him through tough times. We wrap up by discussing his excitement for what’s next, including future podcast guests and the importance of not giving up on what you love.


Highlights:

  • How to break into the voiceover industry and the range of opportunities available, from commercials to narration and public speaking.
  • The importance of mental health and how creative outlets, like stand-up comedy, can be a powerful tool for coping with challenges.
  • Why voiceover work isn’t just about having a great voice — it’s about adapting your tone and energy to fit the message and audience.
  • The role of curiosity and continuous learning in staying relevant in any industry, especially in broadcasting and voice work.
  • Earl’s approach to overcoming setbacks and why persistence is crucial for success in any field.


Connect with Earl:

Website: www.earlthomasthevoice.com


LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/earlthomasthevoice/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarlThomasTheVoice/


YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc220Tn66BHkbE9Uy1AwoLA?


Email: dukeearl@shaw.ca


VOICE POWER Podcast: https://voicepower.buzzsprout.com


In appreciation for being here, I have some gifts for you:

A LinkedIn Checklist for setting up your fully optimized Profile:

An opportunity to test drive the Follow Up system I recommend by taking the

3 Card Sampler – you won’t regret it.


AND … Don’t forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and be eligible for my

complimentary LinkedIn profile audit – I do one each month for a lucky

listener!


Connect with me:

http://JanicePorter.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/

https://www.facebook.com/janiceporter1

https://www.instagram.com/socjanice/


Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and

think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social

media buttons on this page.


Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a note in

the comment section below!


Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can

subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.


Leave us an Apple Podcast review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and

greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple, which

exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute,

please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Transcripts

Janice Porter:

Earl, hello and welcome to relationships rule.

Janice Porter:

My special guest this week is Earl, the voice Thomas, and I'm

Janice Porter:

pretty excited to hear a lot of his history and his expertise,

Janice Porter:

because he's been around for a while. And I'm going to start

Janice Porter:

first of all by welcoming you, Earl. Welcome to the show.

Earl Thomas:

Thank you, Janice. I'm really glad to be here.

Janice Porter:

It's my pleasure, and I gotta start with Earl,

Janice Porter:

Thomas, the voice. So talk to me about that. How did you get that

Janice Porter:

moniker, and, and, and where did that come from?

Earl Thomas:

I was in the self employment program at Douglas

Earl Thomas:

College.

Janice Porter:

Oh, my God, I took that. Oh, did you Yes?

Janice Porter:

Yeah, long time ago,

Earl Thomas:

and we had to have certain things, like we needed a

Earl Thomas:

business license, so we got that a business card. And that's

Earl Thomas:

where Earl Thomas the voice came from, and creating vocal

Earl Thomas:

paradise for your exact needs. And it was, it was a really good

Earl Thomas:

program, and I really enjoyed it. Actually, there was a

Earl Thomas:

volunteer I had to go before a small board. And it turned out

Earl Thomas:

that person became a friend later because he's, he's in my

Earl Thomas:

Toastmasters program, Darren fruit and and he remembered that

Earl Thomas:

before I remembered it. Oh, yeah.

Janice Porter:

Well, when did you so when did you start doing

Janice Porter:

voiceover stuff? Because that's obviously the connection the

Janice Porter:

voice being that you have a fantastic voice, and you've been

Janice Porter:

in radio, and you've done a lot of voiceovers, and that world

Janice Porter:

itself fascinates me, so I'm wondering how that started for

Janice Porter:

you.

Earl Thomas:

Well, it was when I came back from Penticton. I was

Earl Thomas:

in radio, because I've been in the BCIT Broadcast

Earl Thomas:

Communications Program in radio, and I took this course called

Earl Thomas:

VoiceOver and animation from Kathy Wessel, luck. Okay, it had

Earl Thomas:

an option, an option to go out and get consultations, so I

Earl Thomas:

would do that. And of course, when we first met, you know,

Earl Thomas:

this is your homework. You don't come back until you do your

Earl Thomas:

homework diligently. And then she got me ready. She got this

Earl Thomas:

was all in preparation so I could take direction and be

Earl Thomas:

ready to go into the studio, to Coco studios and do my demo. And

Earl Thomas:

since then, I've actually done demos right on here on my

Earl Thomas:

MacBook Pro, from work that I've done before. So I love doing

Earl Thomas:

voiceover. It's very competitive, of course, yeah,

Janice Porter:

I once took a little, sort of one day or two

Janice Porter:

day program about voiceovers and and what I would I did it for

Janice Porter:

was because I wanted to, I love to read aloud, and I love to

Janice Porter:

read interesting books or children's books even more

Janice Porter:

allowed. I was a teacher in my first life, and I always loved

Janice Porter:

reading aloud to the kids, and I thought that that would be fun

Janice Porter:

to do. But again, as you said, it's very competitive, and it's

Janice Porter:

also a whole thing unto itself. I would have had to spend a lot

Janice Porter:

of time just focused on that, and I didn't have the time to do

Janice Porter:

that, but it was something I always wished I'd done. What was

Janice Porter:

your favorite thing for in voiceovers to do?

Earl Thomas:

Well, I thought it was narration, but I found that

Earl Thomas:

when I got a hot cell, which from BCIT, a hot cell is like,

Earl Thomas:

there's a lot of energy, and I find those were were more fun to

Earl Thomas:

do. You know, when you ramp up the the energy, yeah, of course.

Earl Thomas:

And I've, I've learned since, really, what is the going thing

Earl Thomas:

now is, is not the hot cell. You're talking one to one to

Earl Thomas:

another person you got, you got to bring it down. You know, just

Earl Thomas:

as I'm talking to you, this is the best product I've ever used,

Earl Thomas:

you know, Janice, you just gotta have

Janice Porter:

it. Ah, okay, so the enthusiasm is there, but,

Janice Porter:

yeah, but

Earl Thomas:

bring it down.

Janice Porter:

So is there money to be made in voiceovers?

Earl Thomas:

Well, I have, but the when you first start, there

Earl Thomas:

are ones that on Facebook, there was a guy in Carolina, and I did

Earl Thomas:

Joe Leone's bakery, and that was free, just to get me started.

Earl Thomas:

Now, years later, I did, you know when the pandemics was on a

Earl Thomas:

voiceover for him, and it was paid because we we kept John

Earl Thomas:

figueroato, we kept connecting through LinkedIn. So yes, but I

Earl Thomas:

like them now. I like the money. I'd rather have the money now,

Janice Porter:

yeah, of course. But you know, there's so many

Janice Porter:

different types of of voiceover jobs, like there's the. The

Janice Porter:

promos, the the public service announcements, the sports

Janice Porter:

announcing, the business messages and and the narration

Janice Porter:

and so on. I wonder if you've ever done this. I was a trainer

Janice Porter:

for many years, and for the telephone company, and one of

Janice Porter:

the things we trained on in my department was we would go to

Janice Porter:

big customers, and we would set them up with their new this is

Janice Porter:

back in the day. We would set them up with their new voice

Janice Porter:

mail system, and we'd have to set up the voice recording for

Janice Porter:

the automated answer, the automated attendant. You know,

Janice Porter:

Hi. Thanks for calling ABC Company. You know. Please press

Janice Porter:

one for this. Press two for that. And I was training in one

Janice Porter:

of the companies, and I think it was a law firm or a big

Janice Porter:

accounting firm, and the girls that I was training were the

Janice Porter:

front office people, and they said, Oh, I can't do that. Will

Janice Porter:

you do the voice for me? Will you do the voice? Will you do

Janice Porter:

the recording? And I said, Sure, I'll do it for you. Well, five

Janice Porter:

years later, I called the company, and my voice was still

Janice Porter:

on the on the recording, because nobody had changed it. And I

Janice Porter:

think that's hysterical. But did you ever do any of those, the

Janice Porter:

the voice recordings for that? Yes,

Earl Thomas:

I had a client out in Coquitlam that I did for it.

Earl Thomas:

Did the recordings Now, press this or press that? Yeah, yeah,

Janice Porter:

that's hysterical, but to still be

Janice Porter:

there after all that time. Now you, I know have, I think you're

Janice Porter:

passionate about and correct me if I'm wrong, but doing work

Janice Porter:

around mental health,

Earl Thomas:

yes, yes, because I've experienced depression, and

Earl Thomas:

I took a course called stand up for mental health. SMH, and, you

Earl Thomas:

know, I've done live, because it was part of the course, the

Earl Thomas:

graduation of the six months. Was it? Yuck, yucks Comedy Club.

Earl Thomas:

That

Janice Porter:

was the graduation your comedy piece.

Janice Porter:

Oh, my goodness, I did watch that. Actually do

Earl Thomas:

a debut, but that that's not there, that's that

Earl Thomas:

was at a coffee shop. Oh, okay, in Burnaby, but the place is

Earl Thomas:

full. The lights are bright. We can hardly see them out there.

Earl Thomas:

And I still have them because, you know, we had a videographer,

Earl Thomas:

and it's on my my website, and I can go back anytime and be an

Earl Thomas:

alumni. And actually was an alumni for a year, and actually

Earl Thomas:

got paid for a couple places that we did well. Thank

Janice Porter:

you for sharing that you, because I think

Janice Porter:

depression is one of those things, and that is probably

Janice Porter:

more prevalent than we think in society, especially today and

Janice Porter:

and if people let it go on, undiagnosed or unnoticed, in

Janice Porter:

that sense, it can be very detrimental and even deadly,

Janice Porter:

right? So do you feel now, like I know that was a while ago, you

Janice Porter:

you're on an even keel, and you're good. And,

Earl Thomas:

yes, what I did is I was taking counseling at New

Earl Thomas:

West High School. Was the grad program for the, you know, the

Earl Thomas:

outing, UBC. And I realized it only runs from a certain time,

Earl Thomas:

let me say March, October to March, and I knew to do

Earl Thomas:

something more, and I read this book by Dr Caroline leaf, and it

Earl Thomas:

was talking about a 21 day brain detox program. So I took that

Earl Thomas:

and I wrote my own positive, healthy thoughts, and I use them

Earl Thomas:

today, because depression can sometimes rear its ugly head,

Earl Thomas:

absolutely mine. Mine is particular situational

Earl Thomas:

depression. So I've, you know, I've remember, I've written

Earl Thomas:

them, I've memorized them. I don't say them every day, all of

Earl Thomas:

them, but there's certain ones that I I focus on, and I'm, I'm

Earl Thomas:

grateful for that. Yes, so

Janice Porter:

you, you've, you worked on yourself, and you were

Janice Porter:

able to to pull yourself out of it as well with the course that

Janice Porter:

you took. It sounds as though you're a very curious person,

Janice Porter:

because you're always taking courses. What are you curious

Janice Porter:

about today?

Earl Thomas:

Well, that's why I love interviewing, because you

Earl Thomas:

don't know where it's going to go, and what I love about it,

Earl Thomas:

too. I do an interview, and it's different being on the other

Earl Thomas:

side here. Yes, I'm I'm parking in my back of my brain. There

Earl Thomas:

secondary questions, because they're going to say something,

Earl Thomas:

and we want to clarify it some more. There's some something

Earl Thomas:

more there. So, yeah, I'd say I am a curious person. Why is this

Earl Thomas:

happening now? Why? Why?

Janice Porter:

And what are you most curious about?

Earl Thomas:

This is happening good right now, but this is

Janice Porter:

okay. So, so what are you most curious about

Janice Porter:

today?

Earl Thomas:

What am I most curious about today? Where my

Earl Thomas:

business is going to go. Hey, I'm having a really good year.

Earl Thomas:

It started really good. It slowed down, and I'm getting

Earl Thomas:

close. So the last three months is really important. I'm taking

Earl Thomas:

this mentorship program called momentum, momentum membership,

Earl Thomas:

membership program, and I've gotten good results because

Earl Thomas:

there's a lot of accountability that comes from those in the

Earl Thomas:

program and the coach, Marshall Stern, he's been very helpful to

Earl Thomas:

me. Actually, he connected you and I didn't. He did.

Janice Porter:

He's a dear friend, yes, yeah, well, that's

Janice Porter:

good, that it's working for you and propelling you for that last

Janice Porter:

quarter, which is always the for me, that last quarter of the

Janice Porter:

year is also it's like the beginning, because, having had

Janice Porter:

kids, I've always thought of September as the beginning of,

Janice Porter:

you know of something. So I get it, it's a good time to dig in

Janice Porter:

and make things happen. And I know that you love interviewing

Janice Porter:

people as well, and where do you find your your guests for your

Janice Porter:

podcast? Well,

Earl Thomas:

a friend of mine told me about this website, and

Earl Thomas:

she said, there's a free part to it, and so you can go on there.

Earl Thomas:

Earl, thank God for Sheila. Well, you know, I never have had

Earl Thomas:

to go on there because, like, I was invited, I mean,

Earl Thomas:

Toastmasters, and a friend of mine invited me to the Mad 25

Earl Thomas:

year anniversary. It was in Central Park. It was a really

Earl Thomas:

good feed. There was a lot of speakers, and he spoke. And

Earl Thomas:

while he's speaking, I'm thinking, Wait a minute, Bob

Earl Thomas:

would make a really great interview. I got him, and I

Earl Thomas:

needed him again, because I played it a second time and a

Earl Thomas:

third time when the young boys in in their 30s in New Jersey

Earl Thomas:

were killed by a drunk driver. Uh, their Matthew coro. And so I

Earl Thomas:

replayed him, you know, because it's essential don't drink and

Janice Porter:

drive. Yeah, yeah. That was very sad, very

Janice Porter:

sad.

Janice Porter:

Are you a hockey fan? Oh, yes, I am.

Janice Porter:

I thought you might be. Yeah, I'm not, but that's okay. I

Janice Porter:

we're a sports family, so I can't help is, if it's not

Janice Porter:

hockey, it's football or baseball or basketball that's

Janice Porter:

on, so I kind of get it through osmosis. So so I know, because

Janice Porter:

I've been interviewed by you, that you do do your homework on

Janice Porter:

your podcast, and you like to have your questions and your

Janice Porter:

opportunity for secondary questions laid out for for your

Janice Porter:

guests, which is great. I like to go by the seat of my pants. I

Janice Porter:

don't know what I'm going to say. I do pay attention to your

Janice Porter:

LinkedIn profile. I look at your website and maybe listen to

Janice Porter:

something that you have done as well. But I have to go with my

Janice Porter:

gut, and I remember one of the things we talked about before

Janice Porter:

off air was we had alluded to that stand up comedy piece that

Janice Porter:

that you were just talking about, and I didn't realize that

Janice Porter:

the one was sort of your graduation from, from this

Janice Porter:

course, but I do you still ever have because I know you felt

Janice Porter:

that stand up comedy didn't turn out the way you wanted it to.

Janice Porter:

You didn't really it wasn't for you. Do you ever regret that? Or

Janice Porter:

was it? I wouldn't

Earl Thomas:

say it wasn't for me. It was for me at the time,

Earl Thomas:

but there's so many things going on. I still stay connected with

Earl Thomas:

you. Okay? And I could pick it up again anytime. I have a

Earl Thomas:

comedy file. And I moved from Wilson Avenue over here to

Earl Thomas:

Sussex. And, you know, I, I keep my things where, so I can find

Earl Thomas:

them and everything. Yeah, a comedy file. I don't I, you

Earl Thomas:

know, I've got to, one day, go down to my the lower reaches of

Earl Thomas:

this, this place, and go p3 and look in my locker, and because,

Earl Thomas:

because it's there, you know,

Janice Porter:

well, actually, I find when you say that, that's

Janice Porter:

fascinating to me, because, you know, all the great comedians

Janice Porter:

have these boulders or files about their jokes, and I never

Janice Porter:

think about, you know, I was Listening to a couple of

Janice Porter:

comedians talking about that, probably, on a talk show, and

Janice Porter:

how they can develop a joke to go this way or that way or the

Janice Porter:

other. And I, you know, I never think about that, but it's a

Janice Porter:

whole thing, right? It's definitely a whole

Earl Thomas:

skill. Yes, it's the setup and then the

Earl Thomas:

punchline. Yeah, yeah. And the interesting thing about when I

Earl Thomas:

did it was in both places. I got to the setup on one joke, and

Earl Thomas:

then I said, Oh, it's coming because I'd forgotten the punch

Earl Thomas:

line, and it did come in both places, so I was relieved that

Earl Thomas:

it was there.

Janice Porter:

Oh, that's too funny. Troy, yeah, that's crazy.

Earl Thomas:

I mean, it was loud in Yuck, yucks.

Janice Porter:

That's great. That's absolutely great. Okay,

Janice Porter:

so what you're working mostly right now on your podcast,

Janice Porter:

right?

Earl Thomas:

Yes, doing podcasting, as you know, there's

Earl Thomas:

lots of detail and tons of detail. Well, you

Janice Porter:

do it all yourself. That makes it even

Janice Porter:

more so I don't, I must admit, do the back, you know, the back

Janice Porter:

end myself, because I'm not interested in doing that. But

Janice Porter:

you must, must be, because you do it all yourself. Yeah,

Earl Thomas:

well, I enjoy the whole process because I've

Earl Thomas:

created the process that works, that works for me. And, yeah,

Janice Porter:

can you think of somebody that you want to

Janice Porter:

interview that you haven't been able to get to yet.

Earl Thomas:

Well, yes, okay, I have a friend of mine who is in

Earl Thomas:

a baseball discussion group saw Lindsay Barra, who is the Yogi

Earl Thomas:

berras relative, yep, granddaughter of Yogi Berra.

Earl Thomas:

Yes, he helped me, because he said, Well, send me an email. So

Earl Thomas:

I sent an email, then I got a response back from the president

Earl Thomas:

of that local group. And I expected that she would have had

Earl Thomas:

an agent. She didn't have an agent. I was able to send her a

Earl Thomas:

direct email, and I'm waiting now and I'll do a follow up, but

Earl Thomas:

you gotta know that when she says yes, because I'm almost

Earl Thomas:

certain she will, because I responded to something that she

Earl Thomas:

put on Twitter, she liked it, and the President liked it, a

Earl Thomas:

Yogi Berra museum. And, you know, I'm going to be excited,

Earl Thomas:

and I already do really great prep, but I'm going to really be

Earl Thomas:

close. Yeah, I'm going to this is going to be the best thing

Earl Thomas:

and, and probably the hardest thing about voiceover, about

Earl Thomas:

doing a PA announcing for the Grand View sealers, is that just

Earl Thomas:

before you open up the mic. But then once you get going, this

Earl Thomas:

woman is really intelligent. She knows about baseball injuries.

Earl Thomas:

She knows about Yogi's history. Oh, talking baseball with

Earl Thomas:

Lindsay Barrow will be such an awesome experience.

Janice Porter:

Oh, okay, so you're so did you announce for

Janice Porter:

baseball? Then, is that what you said? You just what was the name

Janice Porter:

of the team?

Earl Thomas:

Oh, he, he played for the New York King. No, no,

Janice Porter:

no. Excuse me. I know that. Don't. Don't, please.

Janice Porter:

I know who Yogi Berra is. You said you were an announcer.

Earl Thomas:

Oh, yes, the grand. I was a PA announcer for the

Earl Thomas:

Grand View Steelers. And they're baseball team. No, they're a

Earl Thomas:

hockey team in the junior B League. Okay, so, okay.

Janice Porter:

So then we got confused. Okay, so I got

Janice Porter:

confused. So, so you're also a baseball fan, though, yes, I am

Janice Porter:

happy, and you were a New York Yankees fan. Yes, I was my

Janice Porter:

husband's a lifelong New York Yankees fan. And of course, I

Janice Porter:

know who Yogi Berra is, and what I love the most about Yogi Berra

Janice Porter:

were his, his? What are they called? His? Yogi isms. Yogi

Janice Porter:

isms, right? There you go. And no one goes to that restaurant

Janice Porter:

anymore. It's too crowded. That's one of them. I remember

Janice Porter:

that. And okay, so I'm going to just temper things a little bit,

Janice Porter:

because you haven't actually talked to Lindsay Bera yet.

Janice Porter:

You're trying to get you've sent her emails and whatever, and she

Janice Porter:

responded correct or no, no, she

Earl Thomas:

hasn't responded. She responded to my like of her

Earl Thomas:

her post, because there's a book, of course,

Janice Porter:

is she on LinkedIn? Yes, she is on

Janice Porter:

LinkedIn. Have you tried to connect with her on LinkedIn?

Earl Thomas:

Well, I I'm not sure if I've sent a connection

Earl Thomas:

request. I think I'm waiting for her because I got a direct email

Earl Thomas:

to her, which surprised me, that I would get a direct email. I

Earl Thomas:

thought, yeah, but the

Janice Porter:

problem about that is it could get lost in her

Janice Porter:

junk mail.

Earl Thomas:

Well, that's why I'm going to follow up. Yeah, I

Earl Thomas:

will be up again.

Janice Porter:

But following up how? Because if you follow up by

Janice Porter:

email, it's still going to go in your junk mail. So that's why I

Janice Porter:

sometimes recommend that you also try to get to her from

Janice Porter:

LinkedIn, because that won't get lost,

Earl Thomas:

yeah, well, I will send a LinkedIn connection. And

Earl Thomas:

we also, you know, I often respond when she puts, you know,

Earl Thomas:

something out there on Twitter, and she responds to that,

Janice Porter:

okay, that's cool. So that's where she hangs

Janice Porter:

out, is it Twitter? So, so that's someone you really want

Janice Porter:

to interview. And you said something about you thought

Janice Porter:

she'd have an agent. What does she do?

Earl Thomas:

Well, she has, she's a sports journalist. She's

Janice Porter:

working, yes, okay, cool. She's

Earl Thomas:

worked for ESPN, okay, demo reel that she's done,

Earl Thomas:

you know, several, there's several clips in there. She has

Earl Thomas:

a very interesting. A intro right on her website. So, you

Earl Thomas:

know, once, once we get going, that's what I would use. And,

Earl Thomas:

yeah, she's there anyone very intelligent, very intelligent,

Janice Porter:

that's awesome. So is there anyone else that you

Janice Porter:

want to interview your bucket list?

Earl Thomas:

Well, I that's, that's my main one. Okay,

Earl Thomas:

because, go ahead, there is someone that it's been approved

Earl Thomas:

by BCIT, but he got really busy. I mean, it had to go through the

Earl Thomas:

marketing department, and they approved it. And now I'm got to

Earl Thomas:

follow up him some more, because, like he said, he's

Earl Thomas:

really busy. And I, all I had to do is look at the timestamp. It

:

49am when he sent that email. So I gotta get back the

:

head of business in in BCIT Business Media, School of

:

Business and media.

Janice Porter:

Okay. Okay, interesting. Well, the first one

Janice Porter:

more? Well, maybe both. In both cases, I see that you know it,

Janice Porter:

it seems as though you've gone through who you know, and that's

Janice Porter:

always the best way. So I love that, because it's all about

Janice Porter:

relationship building and relationship nurturing, and it's

Janice Porter:

not what you know, it's who you know. So if you go through

Janice Porter:

people you know, sometimes it's easier to get, to get to the

Janice Porter:

person you want to get to. And so I hope that those work out

Janice Porter:

for you. That's That's great. That's really great. Thank you.

Janice Porter:

Yeah, I, I'm trying to think when there's a guy that I want

Janice Porter:

to talk to, but I want to finish his book first. I haven't

Janice Porter:

finished it yet, and and I, I found him because somebody I had

Janice Porter:

on my podcast was talking about his book, and so I I'm reading

Janice Porter:

that book, and now I'm going to go back to my the person who was

Janice Porter:

on my podcast that knows him, and see if I can get an

Janice Porter:

introduction. Because I always think that's the best way,

Janice Porter:

better to be introduced by somebody than to go in cold,

Janice Porter:

right? Yeah, yeah.

Earl Thomas:

So that happened with Lindsay, because Ben knew

Earl Thomas:

he was part of saber and then the President got back to me,

Earl Thomas:

yeah.

Janice Porter:

So that's great. That's really great. Um, what

Janice Porter:

would you say? I know that one of, one of the things that I

Janice Porter:

think you're doing now is teaching through your podcast

Janice Porter:

when you do and correct me if I'm wrong, when you do solo

Janice Porter:

episodes that you're teaching people about how to do

Janice Porter:

voiceovers and things. Is that correct?

Earl Thomas:

Yes, I've done different topical episodes, like

Earl Thomas:

how I record and how I use my system. I wrote about success,

Earl Thomas:

and it's interesting. Writing a solo episode, you start with it,

Earl Thomas:

you don't what, what is there? Okay? And then once you start

Earl Thomas:

writing, there's more and there's more and there's more.

Earl Thomas:

So I'm I enjoy the writing part of it. Do

Janice Porter:

you? Yeah, not me. I just rather talk. I just

Janice Porter:

rather talk. So what do you find? What is can you think of

Janice Porter:

someone that that, and you don't have to say who they are, but

Janice Porter:

that that you felt was your most exciting or most enjoyable or

Janice Porter:

interesting interview that you've done?

Earl Thomas:

Oh, Linda Todd, because she almost died in Gaza.

Earl Thomas:

She came to speak at just pros when we were at the Justice

Earl Thomas:

Institute, and that was another case of, this is really good.

Earl Thomas:

And I had to turn it into a two parter. Oh, wow. I like the

Earl Thomas:

writing of that. You know, when I, when I do the prep. Will she

Earl Thomas:

live, you know, like the second part? Will she speak again? Oh,

Earl Thomas:

just, just those little hooks, or those big hooks? Yes. Belinda

Earl Thomas:

Todd was really interesting. You know, the the funny thing about

Earl Thomas:

it was, she was going through terrible things, almost dying.

Earl Thomas:

But this woman had such a great sense of humor the way she told

Earl Thomas:

the story. I mean, yeah,

Janice Porter:

listen to that one.

Earl Thomas:

I really enjoyed talking to her.

Janice Porter:

Oh, that's great. I'll have to listen to that

Janice Porter:

episode. That's amazing. Um, okay, so what advice would you

Janice Porter:

give someone who's starting a podcast today?

Earl Thomas:

Well, you've got to be prepared. I took a course

Earl Thomas:

from Carl Richards. I got connected to Carl Richards in

Earl Thomas:

Ontario, and I he said, you know, you're you're ready to

Earl Thomas:

start. There's some tweaks you need to do, but you've got the

Earl Thomas:

you've got the microphone, you've got the Mac, you've got

Earl Thomas:

the voice to be focused and get all those things that you need

Earl Thomas:

to do, like the artwork. I did several. I did one on ones with

Earl Thomas:

Carl on Canva. And now it just happens really quickly, you

Earl Thomas:

know, I can, I can. Get that artwork, the picture that goes,

Earl Thomas:

you gotta be focused and have a strategy. And I did not really

Earl Thomas:

think that we would get to a season four. And it's quite

Earl Thomas:

amazing. I had more topicals in my first season, and then it's,

Earl Thomas:

it's increased. The interviews have increased to about 60% by

Earl Thomas:

season four,

Janice Porter:

just in numbers. You mean, yes, okay, yeah, okay,

Janice Porter:

and your podcast is called Voice power, correct? That's right.

Janice Porter:

And it's on all of the

Earl Thomas:

Yeah. It's on all the directories, yeah, okay,

Janice Porter:

awesome. And I love your email address. You

Janice Porter:

take me back to the day Duke Earl, yeah,

Earl Thomas:

that was when I was in BCIT and art, art factoro,

Earl Thomas:

he's the program director at 650 and we got to know each other.

Earl Thomas:

He gave me the nickname Dookie. Hey, do

Janice Porter:

girl, right? Yeah. So wait, I forgot what I

Janice Porter:

was going to say. I was going to ask you a question. Oh, I know,

Janice Porter:

because you were in radio for a long time. What would you say?

Janice Porter:

What do you say about the way radio is now? I mean, it's so

Janice Porter:

different than it used to be, right?

Earl Thomas:

Well, radio has fallen behind because

Earl Thomas:

podcasting, there's more people listening to it. You know this

Earl Thomas:

voice tracking. You know you want to be taught hearing a real

Earl Thomas:

person. You know, radio will always exist. They always have

Earl Thomas:

said, Oh, radio is going to fall away. It's not going to be

Earl Thomas:

there. No, it's, it will always be there. But it's changed,

Earl Thomas:

right? It has changed a lot, yeah, because am radio is more

Earl Thomas:

talk, yes, is, is the music? Yeah.

Janice Porter:

Um, I'm just trying to think though, yeah,

Janice Porter:

it's either talk or it's news, solid news, right? Yeah,

Earl Thomas:

you got your news stations? Yes. Um,

Janice Porter:

they just had, what here in Vancouver, the what

Janice Porter:

was it? The 75th anniversary of CK and W

Earl Thomas:

That's right, yeah. And,

Janice Porter:

I mean, that's a station that's got a huge

Janice Porter:

history, and it started a lot of people in in radio, and I have

Janice Porter:

some, yeah, I still listen to it occasionally. So when I'm in the

Janice Porter:

car, if I'm not listening to a podcast, because I listen to

Janice Porter:

podcasts all the time in the car, what's your favorite

Janice Porter:

podcast? Do you listen to a lot of them.

Earl Thomas:

Well, I like Brad Shawna. His coaches call it's

Earl Thomas:

about lacrosse, and he interviews all the coaches. He's

Earl Thomas:

interviewed all the coaches in the National Lacrosse League. I

Earl Thomas:

listened to the one last night. He interviewed Walt Christians,

Earl Thomas:

and he I was finding out how he's helped lacrosse in England.

Earl Thomas:

You know, it was quite a, quite a change. I mean, it's, it's got

Earl Thomas:

more. There's more to it now. I mean, there's more people

Earl Thomas:

getting involved. And Walt Christiansen had some really

Earl Thomas:

interesting, funny stories of how he got started with the

Earl Thomas:

Victoria Shamrock. So, oh, there's another one I want to

Earl Thomas:

interview. I want to interview Brad shawnner,

Janice Porter:

ah, okay, okay, so you could reach out to him

Janice Porter:

through his podcast. No doubt,

Earl Thomas:

yes, yeah, I know. Fellow

Janice Porter:

podcaster, right? Fellow podcaster. Um, so, so you

Janice Porter:

now you're hockey fan, you're a baseball fan and you're a

Janice Porter:

lacrosse fan. Lacrosse is the biggest. Is it? Because you

Janice Porter:

light up when you talk about sports, I can see that lacrosse

Janice Porter:

is the biggest. Oh, that's interesting. I have a friend who

Janice Porter:

has two daughter, two granddaughters, who play

Janice Porter:

lacrosse, box lacrosse and field lacrosse. So and it's such a

Janice Porter:

it's kind of a minor sport compared to to some of the but

Janice Porter:

it's still very big here. And is it bigger in Eastern Canada or

Janice Porter:

Western Canada,

Earl Thomas:

eastern and western Canada, it's big, but in

Earl Thomas:

Alberta, it's really grown because they actually had a

Earl Thomas:

Minto Cup where there was an Alberta team, and he's Brad, has

Earl Thomas:

interviewed, you know, Alberta coaches, a number Alberta coach,

Janice Porter:

yeah, Can you see yourself morphing to being a

Janice Porter:

sports podcast. Would that be something you want to do?

Earl Thomas:

I like the diversity I have. I'd like to

Earl Thomas:

bring in some more sports. Yeah. I mean, because when I had art

Earl Thomas:

on from 6:50am yeah, he's talking about the Canucks and

Earl Thomas:

the Sedins and those interesting things, yeah, so I don't see it

Earl Thomas:

myself going sports, strictly,

Janice Porter:

strictly sports. Yeah, yeah, people who have

Janice Porter:

stories, um, it makes me think that some of the sports writers,

Janice Porter:

or that not the sports Well, the sports writers, the sports

Janice Porter:

reporters that are around might, might be, um. Fun to interview,

Janice Porter:

because they've got stories from, you know, like, the guys

Janice Porter:

that are still on the air, you know, like that, but aren't as

Janice Porter:

like, I think Blake price and I think Dan Murphy and those guys.

Janice Porter:

They're young enough they still want the exposure, but they've

Janice Porter:

done a fair bit over time, right? Yeah, yeah. So I don't

Janice Porter:

know all fun and all interesting, and if I can help

Janice Porter:

you, by the way, in any of those areas, let me know, because it's

Janice Porter:

always who you know, right? So you know, not what you know.

Janice Porter:

Well, thank

Earl Thomas:

you. I would like to do that. Yeah,

Janice Porter:

that's fun. So I'm just checking if I missed

Janice Porter:

something, anything here, because I think you did. It says

Janice Porter:

here 112 projects with diversity. So you just mean the

Janice Porter:

diversity of what you've done, from voiceovers to stand up

Janice Porter:

comedy to your mental health work, infomercials, training

Janice Porter:

workshops, telephone prompts, all of these different things

Janice Porter:

that you've done.

Earl Thomas:

They're all different. Yes, they

Janice Porter:

are totally all different. And going forward,

Janice Porter:

this podcast is just getting more and more interesting, right

Janice Porter:

for you? And yeah, yeah. So I like to ask my guests one of a

Janice Porter:

couple of questions, and I'm going to ask you, do you prefer

Janice Porter:

getting your information through reading, through watching or

Janice Porter:

through listening? Oh, all three. All three. Okay,

Earl Thomas:

because, because you can get more in the second

Earl Thomas:

one or the third one. I'm always looking at, you know, there's

Earl Thomas:

LinkedIn, okay. And is there any information on Facebook? And

Earl Thomas:

where else can I find more information? Well, there's the

Earl Thomas:

website, their website. Yeah, it's all good to have the have

Earl Thomas:

as much content as possible, although you're not going to use

Earl Thomas:

all of it?

Janice Porter:

No, of course, no, but it helps you learn about

Janice Porter:

the person so but when you're not working, what do you love to

Janice Porter:

do?

Earl Thomas:

When I'm not working, what do I love to do?

Earl Thomas:

Sports? Probably sports events. I love to dance. And it's come

Earl Thomas:

back, because I've had a couple of pulled muscles, and a friend

Earl Thomas:

of mine let me know about Zumba gold, and I've been going on

Earl Thomas:

Thursdays at the Edmonds Community Center, and it's a

Earl Thomas:

full hour when I first started going, I thought, Oh, how am I

Earl Thomas:

going to get through this hour? Well, sometimes it hurt too

Earl Thomas:

much, and I had to sit down for a song, but I've been going very

Earl Thomas:

consistently, and then I get a free hot tub, and then also I

Earl Thomas:

can swim a few links. And now I'm, I'm up to last time I

Earl Thomas:

actually did 10 links. Yeah, I was, I love,

Janice Porter:

I love Zumba, but my knees won't let me do it.

Janice Porter:

Well,

Earl Thomas:

it's a slower, it's, it's for injuries. Zumba

Earl Thomas:

gold is for injuries. There's a higher based one, but I always

Earl Thomas:

do Zumba gold, yeah.

Janice Porter:

Oh, good for you. That's great. Alright, so one

Janice Porter:

last question. Do you have a piece of business advice that

Janice Porter:

you'd like to share with my audience? Yes,

Earl Thomas:

the most important thing is, you know, you're going

Earl Thomas:

to have good days, you're going to have bad days, but the most

Earl Thomas:

important thing is, don't give up. I mean, you feel it, you

Earl Thomas:

know, there's many times I've wanted to give up but, but I

Earl Thomas:

realize I don't want to lose doing this. I enjoy it. You

Earl Thomas:

know, I'm interacting with people. I'm doing some media.

Earl Thomas:

It's it's great. I really know that it's important don't give

Earl Thomas:

up, no matter what. That's

Janice Porter:

great advice. Thank you so much, Earl, and

Janice Porter:

thank you for being such a great guest on my show. And I think

Janice Porter:

there's a lot of nuggets there that my audience will appreciate

Janice Porter:

hearing. I love that your sports a sports fan extraordinaire as

Janice Porter:

well, because I can talk about that all the time, and this, I

Janice Porter:

really appreciate that. Yeah. Thank you to my audience for

Janice Porter:

being here as well. And if you like what you heard, please

Janice Porter:

reach out and do check out Earl's podcast voice power and

Janice Porter:

let him know that you enjoyed it as well. We love to hear to see

Janice Porter:

reviews, and remember to stay connected and be remembered.

Janice Porter:

You.

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube