Dana Heidner-Krueger found her voice as a child growing up in Bonn, Cologne and Nuremberg when she pretended to be an anchor speaking into an imaginary microphone. That game was a sign of things to come.

Since moving to the U.S. six years ago, Dana has been busy lending her standard German voice to a wide cross-section of industries, including global companies like Cisco and Mercedes-Benz; Yellowstone National Park; and Reebok; as well as animated games, audio books, GPS systems, and online training programs.
Dana’s career took off, almost by accident, when she started doing voice-overs at 19 announcing movie listings for a private radio station in Nuremberg. Only this time, she spoke into a real microphone, not the imaginary one of her childhood! It was supposed to be just a one-time gig, but as she recalls “the program director liked my voice so much he suggested I get into radio.” Following his advice, Dana applied to a school for broadcast journalists, honed her speaking skills, and, upon graduating summa cum laude, became an anchor at the radio station where she had first received the good advice.

“Delivering just the right pitch, intonation, and style to suit each client’s individual needs requires very specific skills: a good ear, intuition, and the ability to give a voice to different characters and emotions. “And knowledge of linguistics doesn’t hurt either.”

Dana loves both the perks and challenges of her job: “It never gets boring. I love using my voice to help clients achieve their goals.”

That is one message that never gets lost in translation.