Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paulette Lifton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Paulette, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
For me, confidence and self-esteem didn’t arrive overnight — they were built one project, one setback, and one breakthrough at a time.
Early in my career, I often found myself as the only woman in the room — sometimes the youngest person there, too — supervising sound, voice casting and directing for major television and film projects. I had to learn quickly that confidence isn’t about never feeling doubt; it’s about trusting your preparation, your instincts, and your worth even while the doubt is whispering.
Over the years, I developed my confidence through action. I said “yes” to challenges that scared me — running ADR sessions, directing celebrity talent, launching my own companies — and then figured it out by doing the work. Each success built a layer of self-trust. Each mistake became proof that I could recover, learn, and keep going.
Mentorship has also played a huge role. I’ve had incredible mentors who believed in me before I fully believed in myself, and I try to pay that forward through my work with Voice Masters: The Art of Voice and The PaRè Way: Artist and Talent Management. Helping actors and creators find their voices reminds me how powerful authenticity and resilience truly are. If you have someone that holds a space for your success, even when your insecurities rise, there is nothing better!
Ultimately, self-esteem for me comes from aligning my purpose with my passion — creating, teaching, and building communities where people can grow. When I focus on the “why” behind what I do rather than the noise around me, the confidence follows naturally. My goals have nothing to do with me, they have everything to do with the actors and creators I support through my actions.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m an Emmy-winning Supervising Sound Editor, Voice & Casting Director, Producer, and Talent Manager. Over the years I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with studios like DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Disney, Netflix, and Amazon on many types of projects, my favorite being animation which my most current Emmy nom on the hit series “Blue Eye Samurai”.
Today, my focus is split across three companies that each represent a different part of my creative mission:
🎧 Oracle Sound & Voice – A full-service post-production and sound company specializing in ADR, dubbing, mixing, and audio description. We help studios and creators make stories sound as rich and emotional as they look.
🎙️ Voice Masters: The Art of Voice – A voiceover training school founded with my partner Mimi Maynard where we teach voice actors everything from dubbing and animation to the business of voice acting. What excites me most is watching students transform — from nervous beginners to confident professionals, landing agents and booking work around the world.
🌟 The PaRé Way: Artist & Talent Management – My newest venture is co-founded with Emmy-winning showrunner Jonathan Reiner. We represent voice and on-camera talent, writers, and creators who lead with both artistry and heart. Our goal is to build careers that are sustainable, human, and purpose-driven. We are a true management company, meaning we support our roster and projects on an individual basis. We are not in the “numbers game” but more in it every day supporting, nurturing, coaching and mentoring our artists and talent.
What’s most special about all of this is that it’s interconnected — every piece supports the others. We record, we teach, we mentor, we represent. It’s a creative ecosystem designed to nurture both craft and community.
Right now, we’re especially excited about The PaRé Way’s official launch and our growing roster of exceptional talent, as well as new Voice Masters masterclasses with top casting directors and industry pros. Whether it’s behind the console, behind the mic, or behind the scenes, everything I do comes down to one mission: helping voices — in every sense of the word — be heard.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that shaped my career the most are resilience, curiosity, and collaboration.
1. Resilience
This business will test you. There are long hours, creative differences, and moments when the path forward feels uncertain. Early on, I learned that resilience isn’t just about bouncing back — it’s about bouncing forward. Every challenge became an opportunity to reinvent myself, whether that meant moving from sound editing into producing, or later building my own companies.
My advice: Don’t let rejection define you. Let it refine you. If you can learn from each “no,” you’re already ahead of most people.
2. Curiosity
I’ve always been fascinated by the why behind storytelling — why sound evokes emotion, why certain performances connect. Staying curious kept me evolving, from recording ADR on feature films to directing voice talent on an anime series. Curiosity makes you adaptable, and adaptability is everything in an industry that’s constantly changing. We can’t really afford to be only one thing as this business keeps evolving and we need to grow with it.
My advice: Never assume you’ve learned it all. Stay a student. Ask questions. Technology and trends shift — your curiosity will keep you relevant…and don’t give into the scarcity mindset or fear-based conversations.
3. Collaboration
No great project happens alone. The ability to communicate clearly, listen deeply, and lift others up has opened more doors for me than any technical skill ever could. Whether I’m mentoring students at Voice Masters, managing artists at The PaRé Way, sound supervising a show with a team of incredible taltn, collaboration is the heartbeat of what I do.
My advice: Be someone people want to work with. Talent gets you noticed — teamwork and being positive keeps you hired.
In the end, it’s not just about mastering a craft — it’s about mastering your mindset. If you can stay resilient, curious, and collaborative, your career will keep growing long after the first big break.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I think this is a great question for everyone, but especially when your work is self generated. I have always worked for myself so I never stop creating and finding ways to expand and grow. My only obstacle is “time”. So, I do the best I can every day with the “time” I have which includes yoga, hikes in nature, and meditation. I think immersing oneself in something that is the opposite of your work, for me, is the best way to overcome overwhelm. You have to feed your brain with rest, which is easy to forget when you self generate your income and career. Just be kind to yourself and know you are doing the best you can every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paulettelifton.com, www.oraclesoundandvoice.com, thepareway.com, voice-masters.com
- Instagram: paulette_lifton
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plifton
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulettelifton/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VoiceMasters
- Yelp: Voice Masters: The Art of Voice
Image Credits
Suzanne Gagnier and Chris Jon
