Comments on: Get More Gigs Through Solid Communication

By: tokyoterri

tokyoterri — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:02:31 +0000

great list – well written and true.

In my case, I’m pretty talkative, so what I have to do is rein myself in and truly ‘listen’, with focus, to what my client is saying. I’m convinced that it’s okay to take a moment and think about the response. It’s also okay to ask what the person means if their statement or question is unclear: “Let me be sure I understand you correctly…” “So, what I hear you saying is…is that right?” And, there’s nothing wrong with: “I’m not sure – let me work on some ideas and get back with you…”

By: GirlPie

GirlPie — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:38:18 +0000

Okay, I can’t think of anyone this post couldn’t help.
(Well, my Dad, but he’s retired.)
Nice work Mr. Firepants.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:08:57 +0000

Excellent article.
Once I was chatting with a client and they made the point that they liked talking to illustrators because they tend to be interesting and funny. Another reminder to be loose when talking with a client. We are not lawyers, after all.
It is important to be able to sense what a client is like. This usually can be done in a couple sentences over the phone. You can sense even if a usually casual client is having a bad day. Then you can adjust your phone style.

By: sparkyfirepants

sparkyfirepants — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:07:50 +0000

I agree, Louis. When starting out a new business relationship, I leave the “Dude” at home.

However, I do have clients who prefer the laid back communication style. In fact they would be turned off if I didn’t say one of my famous “awesome” or “totally” comments now and then.

It can work both ways.

By: Louis Simeone

Louis Simeone — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:34:49 +0000

Very good article. I couldn’t agree more – good communication skills are extremely important in any field including ours. I always cringe when I hear a designer or illustrator call someone “dude”. We are business people. How we conduct ourselves speaks volumes about us as professionals. Let’s save the “dude” for our buddies.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:38:10 +0000

Great advice! I had a hard time getting rid of my pole too, but over the years I learned how to feel clients and figure out how to talk to who, like your article suggests.

By: Nathan Bowers

Nathan Bowers — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:41:21 +0000

I like the follow up advice. It would be nice if designers/coders/whoever could see their impact on the bottom line (increased traffic, revenue, customer satisfaction, whatever).

Wonder if just building postmortems into the project plan would be good, but typically it’s always just “on to the next thing ASAP”.

By: sparkyfirepants

sparkyfirepants — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:08:59 +0000

@Heather @ Robyn: Thanks so much!

@Elge: Excellent point. It would be so nice to be able to anticipate all the places your work will be seen and reviewed, wouldn’t it?

You can drive yourself crazy trying to please everyone (been there done that!). I try to create a balance between the conservative and loosey-goosey.

I have clients that I feel comfy joking with and others that I hold back because I’m not sure how they would take it. I have a strange sense of humor and I’m conscious that not everyone gets the joke.

Have you ever had a client who communicated so poorly that you didn’t want to work with *them*?

By: Elge Premeau, Internet Marketing Consultant

Elge Premeau, Internet Marketing Consultant — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:48:27 +0000

Another point to consider about audience is who might your audience be forwarding your work to?

I once did a mock up of a website and used a funny lorem ipsum (place holder text) generator that created “Hill Billy” lorem ipsum . I knew she’d get the joke but I had no idea she’d forward the mock up to her book publisher. The publisher made her fire me.

By: Robyn McIntyre

Robyn McIntyre — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:06:13 +0000

Great article, David. Lots to like in it. Really liked discussion of tailoring communication to clients. Glad you said “be real” and not “authentic.” Great blend of humour and info. Look forward to you selling your own children’s book off this site and Amazon.