HOW TO CREATE 100+ DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT VOICES

A Practical, Step-By-Step Guide

You don’t need talent or mimicry to create a huge range of character voices.
All you need is a structured checklist.
Use this guide to generate dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of variations.

At the bottom of the list you can download a pdf of this guide.

1. Start With Laban Efforts (8 Voice Textures)

Rudolf Laban created a system for describing movement qualities.
You can apply the same qualities to vocal delivery.

Laban divides action into three variables:

• Weight: Light / Strong

• Space: Direct / Indirect

• Time: Sudden / Sustained

When combined, they produce 8 distinct effort qualities:

1. Dab — light, direct, sudden

2. Flick — light, indirect, sudden

3. Press — strong, direct, sustained

4. Thrust/Punch — strong, direct, sudden

5. Wring — strong, indirect, sustained

6. Slash — strong, indirect, sudden

7. Float — light, indirect, sustained

8. Glide — light, direct, sustained

These 8 give you your first 8 voices.

2. Add Placement (3 Options)

Where does the voice resonate?

• Nasal (forward, in the nose)

• Throaty (low, constricted)

• Neutral (balanced resonance)

8 Laban Efforts × 3 Placements = 24 voices

3. Add Breath Quality (2 Options)

• Breathy

• Dry/Clean

24 × 2 = 48 voices

4. Add Age Profile (3 Options)

Not about accuracy — about intention.
Your version of:

• Child

• Adult

• Old

48 × 3 = 144 voices

5. Add Gender Expression (2 Options)

Not “sound like a man or woman” but your interpretation of masculine vs feminine energy.

• Masculine-coded

• Feminine-coded

144 × 2 = 288 voices

6. Add Size (3 Options)

Think physical scale or “vocal size.”

• Small (mouse-like, compressed)

• Medium (neutral)

• Large (broad, expansive)

288 × 3 = 864 voices

7. Add Tempo (3 Options)

Speed changes character drastically:

• Slow

• Neutral

• Fast

864 × 3 = 2,592 voices

8. Add Volume (3 Options)

• Quiet

• Medium

• Loud

2,592 × 3 = 7,776 voices

9. Add Attitude (3 Options)

Tone = the character’s emotional worldview.

• Friendly

• Neutral/Impartial

• Aggressive/Hostile

7,776 × 3 = 23,328 voices

10. Add Accent (10 Example Options)

Pick any accents you can attempt. Example set of ten:

1. Californian

2. Southern US

3. New York

4. Irish

5. Scottish

6. RP

7. Cockney

8. Indian

9. Nigerian

10. South African

23,328 × 10 = 233,280 voices

11. Add Speech Modifiers (3 Common Options)

Examples:

• Lisp

• Hard-of-hearing speech pattern

• Unique articulation habit

233,280 × 3 = 699,840 voices