How to Add Voiceover to a TikTok Video

Adding a voiceover to your TikTok video is a fantastic way to tell a story, add hilarious commentary, or clearly explain a concept to your audience. This guide breaks down exactly how to do it using TikTok's built-in tools and shares some extra tips to make your content stand out. We'll cover everything from the basic step-by-step process to creative techniques that will hook your viewers.

Why Bother with a Voiceover on TikTok?

Before getting into the "how," let's talk about the "why." A voiceover does more than just add another layer of sound, it fundamentally changes how your audience connects with your video. It turns a passive viewing experience into a guided story.

Here's what a voiceover can do for your content:

• Provide Context and Narration: Showcasing a travel montage or a complex DIY project? A voiceover walks your viewers through what's happening, what materials you're using, or what they should pay attention to. It's the difference between a collection of pretty clips and a compelling story.
• Inject Humor and Personality: Some of the funniest videos on TikTok feature a deadpan or witty voiceover layered on top of mundane footage. You can narrate your cat's internal monologue, make sarcastic comments about your own cooking fail, or add an unexpected punchline to a clip. Your voice is a direct line to your brand's personality.
• Create Educational Content: Voiceovers are essential for tutorials. Whether you're teaching a new skill, sharing a recipe, or explaining a hot topic in your industry, your spoken guidance makes the information much easier to follow and digest. People can listen and watch simultaneously, which an on-screen text-only approach can't match.
• Dubs and Character Skits: Ever seen videos of inanimate objects having a conversation? Or a creator playing multiple characters in a skit? Voiceovers make this possible. You can create entire scenes and dialogue with your voice, turning a simple video into a piece of entertainment.
• Improve Accessibility: A descriptive voiceover makes your content more accessible to users with visual impairments, allowing them to understand the context of what's happening on screen. It's a simple way to be more inclusive.

How to Add a Voiceover: The Step-by-Step Guide Using TikTok's Tool

TikTok has a surprisingly powerful and user-friendly voiceover feature built right into the app. You don't need any external software to get started. Just follow these steps.

Step 1: Record or Upload Your Video Footage

First, you need the visual part of your TikTok. You have two options:

• Record in the App: Open TikTok and use the red record button to capture your video clips as you normally would. You can record one long take or multiple smaller segments.
• Upload from Your Camera Roll: If you've already filmed your video with your phone's camera or a different device, tap the "Upload" button to the right of the record button and select the video file(s) you want to use.

Once your clips are recorded or uploaded, tap the red checkmark to move to the main editing screen.

Step 2: Access the Editing Options

You're now on the main post-production screen where you can add sounds, text, stickers, and effects. Look for the toolbar on the right-hand side of the screen, which contains icons like Text (Aa), Stickers, and Effects. You may need to tap a downward arrow at the bottom of the toolbar to reveal the full list of options.

From the expanded list, find and tap the icon that says "Voiceover." It usually has a microphone symbol next to it. Tapping this will open the voiceover recording interface.

Step 3: Record Your Voiceover

The voiceover screen is simple. You'll see your video timeline at the bottom and a large red record button. Before you hit record, find a quiet place to minimize background noise like fans, traffic, or other people talking.

When you're ready:

1. Drag the white marker on the timeline to the exact point where you want your voiceover to begin.
2. Press and hold the red record button to start recording your voice. As you hold it, your video will play, so you can time your narration perfectly with the on-screen action.
3. Release the button when you want to stop recording.

You don't have to record your entire voiceover in one go. You can record it in segments. For example, speak for a few seconds, let go of the record button, move the timeline marker to another spot, and then press and hold again to record the next part. Any previously recorded audio will be saved, and you can layer new recordings on top of it.

If you mess up a take, you can easily undo it. Just tap the "Back" arrow icon, which will remove the last segment you recorded so you can try again.

Step 4: Adjust Your Audio Levels

This is an extremely important yet often overlooked step. Once you've recorded your voiceover, your video likely has two audio tracks: the original video sound and your new voiceover. You need to balance them.

Return to the main editing screen and tap on the "Audio editing" button on the right side menu (its icon often looks like music notes or soundwaves). Here, you'll see volume sliders for:

• Original sound: The audio that was captured with your video.
• Added sound: This refers to any music you've added from TikTok's library.
• Voiceover: Your new recording.

For most narrated videos, you'll want to turn the "Original sound" volume down - not all the way to zero, but low enough that it doesn't compete with your voice. A little background noise can add atmosphere, but your voiceover should be the focus. Slide it down to around 5-20%. In contrast, your "Voiceover" volume should generally be at 100% or higher to be clear and audible.

Step 5: Apply Voice Effects (Optional)

Want to add some extra flair? You can alter the sound of your recording using voice effects. On the voiceover recording screen, you'll see a small face icon or a button labeled "Voice effects."

Tap it, and you'll find a library of fun audio filters like "Chipmunk" (high-pitched), "Baritone" (deep-pitched), "Robot," "Echo," and more. You can experiment by tapping each effect to hear a preview. This is great for creating character skits or adding a comedic touch.

Step 6: Preview, Finish, and Post

After adjusting your audio settings, play the video back one last time. Does everything sound right? Is your narration timed correctly? If it all looks and sounds good, tap "Save" or "Done" to exit the editor.

From there, you're back on the final Post screen. Add your caption, relevant hashtags, tag any accounts, and hit "Post." Your video with its brand-new voiceover is now ready for the world!

Creative Voiceover Styles and Pro Tips

Knowing how to use the tool is just the start. The real engagement comes from how you use your voice to tell a story. Here are some popular techniques and tips.

Use a Script (or at Least an Outline)

While some people are great at improvising, most of us benefit from having a plan. You don't need a word-for-word script, but jotting down a few bullet points about what you want to say for each clip will help you stay on track. This prevents rambling, awkward pauses, and the overuse of "um" and "uh." Having an outline also helps you nail your timing and keep your narration concise, which is essential for short-form video.

Master the Text-to-Speech Feature

You can also create a voiceover without using your own voice. The automated, robotic "TikTok Voice" has become an incredibly popular tool for narration, especially for videos with a straightforward, explanatory, or comedic tone.

Here's how to use it:

1. After uploading your video, tap the "Text" (Aa) icon.
2. Type out the sentence you want the voice to say.
3. Tap the text box on your screen, and an options menu will appear. Tap "Text-to-speech."
4. Choose one of the available voice options. The classic robotic voice and the friendly female voice are the most common.

Repeat this process for each line you want narrated. You can even set the duration for how long each text blurb appears on screen to time the audio perfectly.

Pay Attention to Your Tone and Pacing

Your delivery matters a lot. Speak clearly, and try to sound energetic and engaged. Vary your pacing. If you're building suspense, slow down. If you're listing off quick facts, you can speed up. A monotone delivery can cause viewers to scroll right past, so even a little bit of inflection can make a big difference.

Using Third-Party Apps for Advanced Voiceovers

While TikTok's internal tool is great for most uses, some creators require more advanced audio controls. If you want to layer multiple audio tracks, remove background noise with precision, or fine-tune EQ settings, using a third-party video editing app is the way to go.

Apps like CapCut (made by the same parent company as TikTok) and InShot offer multi-track audio timelines. The general workflow is:

1. Import your video clips into the app.
2. Use the app's voiceover function to record your audio on a separate track.
3. Edit the audio: trim dead air, apply noise reduction filters, and precisely adjust the volume levels of the original audio, your voiceover, and any background music.
4. Export the final video from the editor to your camera roll.
5. Finally, upload the completed video file to TikTok. You won't need to use TikTok's internal audio tools at all.

This method gives you maximum control and is common for anyone producing highly polished content, but it does add a few extra steps to your process.

Final Thoughts

Adding a voiceover is a simple, effective method to elevate your TikToks from basic clips to engaging stories. Whether you're using the built-in TikTok editor for a quick commentary or an app like CapCut for a more polished production, your voice gives you a direct way to connect with your audience and make your content unforgettable.

My own workflow on social media is all about finding techniques that work and then building a consistent content plan around them. After perfecting a video, the next challenge is getting it and everything else out on schedule without feeling chaotic. My team created Postbase for precisely this reason. We built it with a clear, visual calendar that lets me see all my planned content - TikToks, Reels, Shorts, and more - in one view, which makes spotting gaps and keeping my publishing cadence consistent much simpler.