Episode Details

What gives a human voice the power to make us feel something—even when we can’t see the person behind it?

In this episode of Thought Atlas, I sit down with Kris Keppeler, an actor, voice artist, audiobook narrator, writer, and storyteller whose career has taken her through singing, acting, narration, podcasting, and writing. She has narrated more than 50 audiobooks and continues to coach authors who want to narrate their own work.

Kris’s creative journey began with singing. After being told when she was young that she would never learn to sing, she chose not to accept that judgment. She describes the experience as teaching her persistence, the value of finding ways to learn, and the importance of not allowing someone else’s “no” to define what you’re capable of doing.

From there, our conversation explores the remarkable flexibility of the human voice.

Kris explains how changes in pitch, volume, and pacing can communicate emotion and tell a story without visual cues. We discuss what happens when she steps into radically different characters—from royalty and dragons to everyday people and even a cucumber lying in a barnyard.

For Kris, character work involves imagining the physicality and circumstances of the character and making choices that fit the story and her own perception of the world.

We then explore audiobook narration and the delicate balance between bringing an author’s written world to life while leaving room for the listener’s imagination. Kris discusses working with authors, understanding what they want for their characters, and using pacing to move listeners through a story.

One of the fascinating challenges of voice acting is that the performer may be alone in a booth, with only a microphone, a screen, and the words in front of them. Kris explains how she creates the surrounding scene in her mind and imagines what the character is experiencing so she can generate the emotional response without another actor physically present.

We also discuss how writing and performing influence each other. Kris says narrating her own stories can feel strange, while her experience with audio storytelling has encouraged her to become more expansive in her writing and explain her thoughts more fully.

Then the conversation turns toward artificial intelligence.

Kris believes that human creativity and human emotion will remain central to storytelling. For her, emotion is what we bring to stories—and what drives them.

We also explore her continuing willingness to reinvent herself. From singer and actor to narrator, podcaster, and writer, Kris believes that you should never stop learning. She describes learning as an adventure that can expand your mind, your feelings, and your view of the world.

Finally, we discuss what she hopes listeners notice the next time they hear a story. Beyond simply absorbing the message, Kris wants people to recognize the people behind it—and the enormous amount of creative work that goes into delivering a story through writing, narration, acting, or podcasting.

Kris’s food for thought is simple:

Be persistent.

Listeners can connect with Kris through her website, kriskeppeler.com, or find her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook. She also has a YouTube channel where she shares her podcast and funny-story narrations. Her website and social profiles are the contact routes she mentions during the conversation. (LinkedIn)

Listen to Thought Atlas: joinpodmatch.com/thoughtatlas