How to Voice Over TikTok

Adding a voiceover to your TikToks is a powerful way to tell a story, share information, or just add a layer of personality that captures attention instantly. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do it inside the app, from the basic recording steps to creative strategies that will make your content stand out.

Why Voiceovers are a Game-Changer on TikTok

Before we get to the "how," let's quickly cover the "why." A well-done voiceover can transform a simple video into something much more compelling. It allows you to build a stronger connection with your audience by literally letting them hear your voice and personality. This is huge for building a brand, whether it's for yourself or a business.

Effective voiceovers help you:

• Tell a Deeper Story: You can add context, humor, or emotion that the video visuals alone might not convey. The classic "story time" format relies entirely on this.
• Educate and Inform: Instructional videos, tutorials, and life hacks become much clearer when someone is walking you through the steps with a clear voiceover.
• Boost Engagement: An interesting voiceover can hook viewers in the first three seconds, making them more likely to watch the entire video, like, comment, and follow.

How to Do a Voiceover on TikTok: A Step-by-Step Guide

The TikTok app has a built-in voiceover tool that's easy to use once you know where to find it. Here’s the complete process from recording new footage to adding a custom-made audio recording.

Step 1: Record or Upload Your Video

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

• Record a New Video: Open the TikTok app and tap the plus (+) icon at the bottom of the screen to enter the camera mode. Record your clips as you normally would.
• Upload Existing Footage: If you already have a video saved to your phone, tap the "Upload" button to the right of the record button and select the video from your camera roll.

Once you’re happy with your clips, tap the checkmark to move to the main editing screen.

Step 2: Find the Voiceover Tool

This is where most people get a little lost. The editing screen is packed with options, but the voiceover tool is just a few taps away.

1. On the right-hand side of the editing screen, you’ll see a list of icons (Text, Stickers, Effects, etc.). Tap the downward arrow at the bottom of this icon list to show more options.
2. Find and tap the icon labeled "Audio editing." It often looks a bit like a microphone or a soundwave in a box. In newer versions, it might just say "Sound." Then look for the "Voiceover" button which usually has a microphone icon.
3. Tapping this brings up the voiceover recording screen.

Step 3: Record Your Voiceover

Now you're ready to add your voice. The user interface here is pretty straightforward. You'll see your video timeline at the bottom and a big red record button.

• Drag the white timeline marker to the exact point in the video where you want your voiceover to start. You can be very precise about this.
• Press and hold the red Record button to start recording your voice. As you hold it, the video will play, so you can time your narration perfectly to the action on screen. Release the button to stop recording.
• Need to take a breath or reposition the timeline? No problem. Just release the button, drag the marker to a new spot, and press and hold again to record another segment. TikTok will stitch all your recordings together.

Quick Tip on Recording Narration

Don't try to record it all in one perfect take! It's much easier to record sentence by sentence. Record your first line, stop, move the timeline marker a little, and then record the next line. This gives you more control and a more natural-sounding pace.

Step 4: Adjust Your Audio Levels

One of the most common mistakes is having a voiceover that competes with the original sound of the video. TikTok lets you fix this easily.

After you’ve finished recording your voiceover segments, you'll be back on the editing screen. If your original video had sound (like background noise, music, or someone speaking), you need to decide which audio you want viewers to hear.

1. Tap the "Audio editing" button again, then select "Sounds." At the bottom of your screen, you'll see options for "Added Sounds" and "Original Sound." You will see a volume slider for "Original Sound," which will be set to 100% by default.
2. Adjust the level of your "Original Sound." Slide it all the way down to 0% if you only want people to hear your voiceover. Keep it around 10-20% if you want to retain some subtle background ambience. While TikTok may lower the original sound when you add a voiceover, manually sliding the "Original Sound" volume to 0% ensures it's completely muted.

Once you’re done, tap Save. Now, add any text, filters, or effects, and proceed to the posting screen.

Pro Tips for High-Quality Voiceovers

Knowing the technical steps is half the battle. Creating a voiceover that actually hooks listeners requires a bit more technique. Here are some simple tips to elevate your audio quality and a more strategic use of voice that will make it more impactful.

1. Write a Short Script

You don't need a word-for-word screenplay, but jotting down a few bullet points keeps you on track. It prevents you from rambling, using too many filler words ("umm," "like"), and ensures you get your main point across quickly. TikTok videos are short, so every second counts.

2. Find a Quiet Space

You don’t need a professional recording studio, but you should avoid recording in a room with a lot of echo or background noise. Try recording in a closet filled with clothes - the soft surfaces absorb sound and reduce echo, giving you a surprisingly clear audio quality. Cars parked in quiet spaces are great audio alternatives as well. Avoid rooms with hard surfaces like kitchens or bathrooms.

3. Use Your Phone's Mic Correctly

Hold your phone's microphone about 4-6 inches away from your mouth. If you get too close, you'll hear harsh "popping" sounds (plosives) on words with P and B sounds. If you're too far, your voice will sound thin and distant. The native voice memo app on your phone can often produce surprisingly high-quality audio that you can then edit with your video in an external app, like CapCut, and then upload it back to TikTok.

4. Speak with Energy and Vary Your Tone

Nobody wants to listen to a monotone robot. Your energy on audio needs to be a little higher and a little better projected. Vary your pace, emphasizing key words and pausing for effect. Think of it like you're talking to a friend and trying to tell them something exciting. A bit of emotion goes a long way. A good exercise is to smile while you're recording, it naturally lifts the tone of your voice.

Creative Voiceover Ideas & Trends

Now that you know how to create a great voiceover, here are a few popular styles to inspire your next TikTok.

The "Day in the Life" Narration

This is an all-time favorite classic format where creators show snippets of their day with a chill, conversational voiceover explaining what's happening. The tone is often calm and aspirational. This helps build a personal connection and gives a behind-the-scenes look at your life or business.

The Informative Tutorial

If you're teaching something - a recipe, a workout, a software trick - a clear, step-by-step voiceover is essential. The style here should be direct, helpful, and easy to follow. Use your voice to guide the viewer's attention to what you’re showing on screen.

The Comedic Dub

Take a clip of an animal, a scene from a movie, or just a funny clip you filmed and record a silly voiceover pretending to be the subject. This purely comedic style is sharable and great for showing off your humor.

The Reflective Story "Story Time" Narrative

Share a personal anecdote or lesson with B-roll (secondary footage) playing in the background. The visuals are often abstract, as your voice and storytelling capabilities are at front and center. This style is good for sharing vulnerability and deeper emotions, creating strong community bonds.

Text-to-Speech: The Alternative to Your Own Voice

Don't want to use your own voice? TikTok's text-to-speech feature is a fantastic alternative that has become a trend in its own right.

Here’s how to use it:

1. In the editing screen, tap the "Text" icon.
2. Type what you want the voice to say.
3. Tap the text box on your screen, and an option for "Text-to-speech" will appear (it looks like a person's head with sound waves).
4. Tap it to select from several voice options.
5. TikTok processes the audio and you're good to go.

This is extremely popular for quick explainers, funny memes, and when you want a consistent, recognizable narrator voice for a series.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to add a voiceover to your TikToks unlocks a new level of creative control and allows you to communicate your message with way more personality and impact. Mastering the basics is simple, and by using clear audio and planning your words, you can create professional-sounding videos directly from your phone.

Creating amazing TikToks with pitch-perfect voiceovers is the first step toward a strong social strategy. But of course, the next step is efficiently planning, scheduling, and analyzing all your content. After struggling for years with clunky tools built for a different era of social media, we decided to build Postbase, a social media management platform designed specifically for short-form video. It helps you manage multiple accounts without constant glitches so you can focus more on creating and less on wrestling with software.