Personal communication demands a personal response. If you take the time to write or call someone, they should respond reasonably quickly and personally.
There is something about the digital world that has, ironically, removed the necessity of real conversation. Maybe it is because we are bombarded in an exponentially increasing manner with someone trying to reach us. I get it. However, human dignity is the willingness to listen and acknowledge being heard.
I am intolerant of the notion that someone who wants to personally communicate with me is not entitled to my timely considered response. All bets are off if I am being cold called or blanket emailed. But that is not personal. There is just no excuse today for not knowing something about me and my business before you reach out to try to sell me something.
It sounds small right? I mean all of your creative businesses respond well to clients, employees and colleagues. No brainer. And clients who want what you offer will respond well too. Surely.
Except it almost never happens. Even if there is communication, the platitudes and double-talk, non-answers and the impersonal creep in. After all, there are those other gagillion emails, texts and calls waiting for a response.
Stop. Just stop.
You cannot control how other people respond to you, your art and your creative business, but you can control how you and your creative business respond to them. Be timely and be real. Know what you are saying and why you are saying it. Sure, there might be disagreements and confusion. However, these are not stumbles, they are opportunities. Opportunities to know each other better, appreciate the essence of what is at stake, which has nothing to do with getting done.
Every creative business finishes a project. If everything is directed at getting done then human dignity goes out the window. Of course, finishing is where you are heading and if something is taking you off course, by all means fix it. Then stop and listen. Respond from what you have heard. Be uncomfortable and allow your discomfort to inform what comes next. Being willing to listen and be real does not mean you are any less of a guide or in control, it just means you are a human being living in relation to another human being.
The issue here is the willingness of those around you to serve the platitudes, the non-answers, the formulaic idiocy (ahem, line item pricing), because it is an easier path to the end. In creative business, easier is NEVER better. Why? Because you are tasked with creation, working with those who are (understandably) terrified that you will fail. It is the essence of personal. Fake or non-communication is like patting a kid on the head telling her it will be ok as she watches her house burn down. It might be ok later, but not now. Now requires that you acknowledge where you are, but are resolute that you know how to make it better than ok – later.
Maybe you are comfortable in the realm of non or fake communication. However, if your aim is to be truly indispensible, being present, diligent and respectfully responsive is all that matters. The act of creation is messy and hard, fraught with uncertainty and fear. You can run from it, ignore it or gloss over it. Or you can live in it, see its beauty and share the reality with clients, employees and colleagues alike. Be the beacon in the storm always. Your form of communication will define a larger future for you and your creative business. My advice, be real, be determined and listen. Conversation breeds trust and trust is the foundation of opportunity.
