Working With “Challenging” Clients
When you’re working with different people on different projects, sometimes things don’t go as planned. However, that doesn’t mean the project can’t be successful or even enjoyable. Here are some tips I’ve learned from my years of experience running my own voiceover business, and from my time in other industries like the penultimate customer service proving ground…restaurants.
Here’s a summary of everything I discuss in the video:
In my experience, the reason collaborators or clients become challenging to work with is often simply that there was an expectation that wasn’t met. That’s all!
The reason I like this framing is that it is actionable, and we can work towards a solution together.
It also frames the entire situation in an empathetic way. Nowadays, it’s all too easy to spiral down a path toward frustration, anger, confrontation, etc. and it helps me to remain positive and helpful by stating, “Oh! You had a plan or an idea as to how you wanted things to go. I see that! How can we make that happen for you, together?”
The question also then arises, before we even embark on a project together, how can I—the service provider—ensure that your expectations are met as the client?
The best way I’ve found of doing this is to simply clarify the expectations for the project at the beginning of the process.
This isn’t a one-way street mind you, it’s a collaboration. The client’s expectations are important and should be honored whenever possible, but I can also have expectations of my own. A way I like to do this is to propose a “road map” for the project, just like you would present an itinerary to a friend or family member before a trip or journey. This road map is a great starting point to establish expectations as well as any necessary boundaries for yourself and/or the client during the collaboration. It’s also a great way to ensure mutual accountability.
While clarifying expectations is important in any collaboration, I’ve found it particularly valuable when working with clients unfamiliar with certain production processes. In these cases, it’s really helpful to discuss why and how the process looks the way it does, and to compromise when necessary.
In the unfortunate instance when things do go off the rails, there are a few important things to remember.
Space and Time — Take a deep breath, and give the situation some space if you can. This often can help prevent miscommunications and misreads.
Lead With Kindness — Email and virtual correspondence are incredibly easy to misinterpret tonally, and assuming the best intentions often works out well.
