Tuesday, August 14, 2018

The VoiceMaster Visits Alma Mater for Back-to-Back Voice Workshop

On March 21, Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales visited his Alma Mater – University of the Philippines, Diliman – after being invited as a resource speaker for a back-to-back workshop in celebration of the Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts (DSCTA) Week.

Pocholo Gonzales teaches Voice Empowerment Masterclass for DSCTA Week

The first workshop was part of the Speech 160 class, also known as “Basic Radio Techniques,” headed by Prof. Grey-An Pascual. During the class, the VoiceMaster was invited to share to the 18 students of the class his expertise on voice as it relates to radio broadcasting. Pocholo began the discussion by introducing himself and his industry which is voice acting. He told the story of how he began his voice acting career through radio broadcasting, and how the practices from when he started in 1996 has greatly evolved to what it is today.

Proud DSCTA Alumnus Pocholo Gonzales speaks about Voice Empowerment during DSCTA Week

Pocholo talked about his voice acting school, and how it has paved the way for hundreds of voice artists to dominate the industry, including those who are in Broadcasting. He also shared the challenges he has encountered on his way to making a name for himself in the industry, up until he wrote the first-ever Filipino voice acting book, “Gusto Kong Maging Voice Talent,” which has been awarded as the Best Book on Professions in the 36th National Book Awards.

The second workshop was about Voice Empowerment, which was open for students of the whole College of Arts and Letters to attend. In this workshop, Pocholo not only shared the story of his voice acting career, but also gave the participants principles and techniques on public speaking and communication. He opened the floor for questions in order to engage the students in an interactive session.

The VoiceMaster gives a copy of his book to his former Professors Fabby Ortiz and DSCTA Chair Belen Calingacion

Pocholo’s session was also supported with the presence of DSCTA professors, Prof. Fabby Ortiz and DSCTA Chair Belen Calingacion, who were Pocholo’s former professors as a DSCTA Alumnus. Pocholo is a pride of DSCTA, having finished BA Speech Communication in 1999.