How To Talk To Clients That Use Abstract & Unclear Language-Client Roleplay
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- Опубліковано 18 чер 2020
- If you're frustrated that your clients don't know what they want and keep changing their mind, it could be a sign that you've broken the first rule of communication-seek to understand. Help your clients to think. Help them find words to express their unexpressed needs and wants. How do you understand vague words that your client has used? Have you ever had a hard time trying to decode the words they’ve said?
This is a cutdown from The Project Management webinar. In this roleplay, Matthew tries to decode what minimal means to Ben. Matthew showcases his questioning that he used to understand what Ben is trying to say.
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It’s a blessing to have a client who would like to be asked questions. Some clients feel annoyed and feel as if you don’t understand what they are saying if you keep on questioning them.
if you ask intelligent questions, they will love it. clients like to talk.
So so helpful. It's almost too obvious - ask the client what they mean literally!
Yep. That’s it Mike.
LoL, most of the times, the client doesn't manage design language, so often when I want clarification I get answers like: I don't know, put more design on it, we want more punch.
@@MatthewEncina Sometimes I ask for examples of things that they have seen to understand what they mean by "make it pop" or "I want it to look brutal" (most of these come from marketing and advertising intermediaries)
It all comes down to us asking the right questions
Oh, every time I watch TheFutur I learn something new, so thank for everyone behind this great content
I wish i attended a school and all the tutors were from thefutur.
Your wish has come true because here we are.
Oh man I know how this goes! I have been there and been frustrated. This is why I set up a really thorough onboarding form that I require gets filled out before every project. The worst is when the client sees the design and says "Oh I needed to see it in order to understand" and then has a bunch of corrections. I think that the way to be cause is to have certain red flags that you monitor at the beginning of the project to see if you want to work with the client or not. If they are too vague and won't give more info or if they give WAAAAAy to much information that they may as well be designing it themselves, I provide high quotes to shake them off. There will be the 2% that are in this category and will eat up so much of your time that it is better and more cost-effective to just get them off of your plate.
@@MatthewEncina No, I haven't read that. I read about one book per week, so will put that as my next Kindle book. Thanks!
This is not helpful at all, exactly because of what they say towards the end: they are both fluent in design language. The client here knows fonts by name, knows what negative space is, and uses a common meaning of minimal. How about, make it pop, or make it better? And the client role has to be not a trained artist.
@@MatthewEncina I do appreciate your providing this free video for everyone. :-)
Matthew Encina I think you make such a great point here. The client may not a great fit for us. They may not have the money we want. They might be confused and all over the place. The temptation is to feel like it’s a waste of our time. And yes, it may be. We may decide not to work with them. The Futur has empowered me to realize that I have agency to say no to clients. And yet, I can still be generous. I can still help illuminate the path for them. Approaching it only transactionally is inherently self-seeking and selfish, and you reap what you sow. Who knows, they might refer you. That being said, I’ll admit it’s easier said than done at times. I have to intentionally get in the giving and serving zone and still set good boundaries.
@@MatthewEncinayes, this is the difficult work. I was frustrated by the example given because it is the very distance between understanding that makes this so challenging. I was hoping for a roleplay where the "client" player at least pretended to have a more typical level of understanding. That was what I was hoping to see demoed, and that's why I clicked the thumbnail.
Was Matthew's comment deleted?
I'm learning (the hard way) currently the importance of clarifying before moving on to work. I sometimes work with people who give vague direction with a "it's your job to just know what I mean" kind of attitude.. Instead of giving in to that pressure, I need to practice doing this, while explaining that it's important, and I'm not a mind reader.
I see this video as covering 2 scenarios,
the first one : a freelance artist discussing a project with a design or print agency (played by Mr. Ben Burns)
Second one : a non-designer client, where a collection of images could clarify things (that's why a stylescape is needed.)
Thank you, Matthew :)
Loved the way Matthew broke down the overall concept into bite sized questions.
Colours, materials, textures, typeface, etc. Great bit of communication right there.
In my experience, the best way to come to a shared understanding is a mood board and/or have them give me samples of graphics/videos that they like. Then we talk about them. Client often has very limited language or can’t describe what they want - but they know it when they see it. They can also say, “Oh I definitely don’t like that because... x...”
Having a continuous channel of communication throughout the whole design and development process is vital. By asking one question at a time you are able to talk through specifics in more detail until both you and your client have a clear understanding of what is going to be created. We think showing visual elements is a great way to get initial reactions before going away and creating your designs.
Deep dive into each attribute: GENIUS
This should be a top priority for creatives. Indeed it will cost you more than reoccurring business but also your professionalism.
This is priceless content! just needed this right now to deal with a client that is being unclear and very vague about what they want. Keep it up with the great content
So so good! While it is true that some clients will have a typical understanding of "minimal" or certain typefaces, I honestly think that it is no necessarily the case. It's going to be a lot harder. We've worked with several agencies and firms, and most of the time, clients only know how to point to something that they like. So exercises like this really help show what kind of questions to ask. So thank you for this Matthew and Ben! 🙏
EXCELLENT video! Thank you!
Gems, per usual. Loving these breakdowns
Thanks for the teaching Mathew..I was actually facing a huge problem on that but am looking forward to solve it now I really appreciate...
I love this channel, I think is one of the best uses of a plataform like youtube can have
I like the 5-10 minute content.
I recommend this video for any project manager, business owner... to use the best tools of communication to get an idea about clients needs
Excellent video!!!
Thanks for the video!
This is extremely helpful for when you’re working with someone who just says “clean”. Appreciate the knowledge coming from this!!
Matthew Encina totally get it. Hearing/seeing you work through it helps a lot too! As well as asking questions that weren’t even a part of the initial statement seems to help too. Going to use these techniques later today actually haha! Thanks again for all you guys do. Your work influences me a lot when working with clients!
This may be just a coincidence, but I have a feeling this video came out now because of my post in The Futur: Business of Creativity fb group 😃 Before the call, I studied Matthew’s article about the subject on Medium. Plus all your first client meeting/call videos and I actually nailed it! Thank you for what you’re doing! 🙏
This video was gold.
Really struggle with this a lottt!!! This was helpful
I wish I'd seen this sooner. I promised my client 3 logo concepts but she didn't like any of them because I interpreted the brief wrong. So I ended up doing another 3 free of charge (when I fuck up, that's on me, not them). It's stretched out what should have been a 2-week project into a 4 week project. Luckily, I'm still pretty new and learning this line of questioning relatively early in my solo career. I couldn't use it for this project but for future clients? You bet I will.
Yeah, in this case the "client" knows and manage language design, but in the reality most of the clients don´t, so visual references are key here, stylescapes, moodboards and so on... Thanks guys for the video!
Awesome video 👏👏👏
thank you thefutur
Thank you for sharing this topic. The client that I worked with didn't have a very helpful and visual vocabulary than ours. They think that just designing the elements is easy for us. When in fact, time and quality of work can affect how the result shows on these types of project. Oftentimes, the client is not very clear. I asked a lot of questions on how the client wants it to be. As long we are on the same page. Ask the client what they mean literally? in the own language - be casual. Asking questions what they mean.
I actually learn the hard way along as I was a web/ graphic designer while I was in school. This was my 8th client, and I am glad and happy that this was the client was satisfied. Both the designer and client should be on the same page - and the process was more manageable.
Great content! So simple and easy! Question tho, how do you deal with clients who get annoyed by people asking too many questions? Ive dealt with clients who would just assume that i got what they meant right away, and it was a point against me if i didnt
Well I think if you provide them with an example and say that you really want to not waste THEIR time and that is why they should work with you to answer your questions. Providing a really thorough onboarding form would help to avoid too many questions, from my experience. I had a much better job understanding clients once I implemented this.
Damn...this totally happened to me couple a days ago. Couple a days ago I was talking to a client on Peopleperhour website, he was my first client for logo designing, he wanted a logo for his clothing brand, I was trying to follow what you guys have always told that listen, ask questions. At the beginning of our conversation I clearly asked him "what are you looking for? are you looking for a logo or logo & brand identity?" and he said "logo & brand identity" then we started talking and sometime after I told him how much will I be charging (it was 270 pounds actually) he said "will you also be providing "tech pack"? and I was like whats a "tech pack" and then he explained its a sheet of information required to develop a garment and I like "wait wait I am confused weren't we were talking about designing brand identity where did developing the product came from?" and he was like "ya I am confused too. What is brand identity?" and then he never contacted me again. Just when I was sure he was going to hire me everything fell apart but it also thought me what to do the next time I talk to a client.
Never mind. I found the link. Thanks!
this really helped!! im always feeling like i ask the wrong questions hahah THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO
Thanks
I love all of the futur videos. Where do you get your music for your videos? I saw a link a long time ago but I can’t find that video anymore. I appreciate everything about this page, & I show all of my friends/business associates
Musicbed, epidemic sound. Our affiliates are in the description
Could you elaborate on the last part about the stylescapes? This basically feels very important, as it explains what do you do when you missed asking some question on your previous call. Do you use the references sent by the client? What is your intent when building them?
Thanks in advance!
As always your content
That Hamilton Shirt! :D
😃
thnnkyou
This seems appropriate if you actually talk to the client. What if you have to talk to 2-3 people removed from the actual client themselves? For example: Client talks to Client Services, who then relays that info to the Project Manager / Producer, who then relays that info to the Creative Director / other creatives...
You have to show templates, wire frames, and examples and get some agreement in advance. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't change their mind. "Could you make it do X". One week later. "Could you make it do Y". One week later. "Could we take back X and Y and replace it with Z and also change the overall look to something more, I don't know, compelling" ? And then there is the dreaded, "My husband is a software developer and says that you are talking too long and charging too much". (So why didn't you get him to do the work?). On the other hand, this is par for the course and it's part of the job.
Thank you 💗💖 love from Pakistan
The Hamilton Shirt!!!
👌🏽
@@dodifferent_co nice T-shirt and music choice my dude
Jayden Nguyen thank you my dude
Hi Matthew.. Thank you for this post.....
I am not from graphic design background, I am from Product design background.
I have seen many videos from futur really so inspiring. I would like to know do have anything to say about product design businesses .... or any firm who is like futur but for Industrial Design...
Matthew! I've got a question - I'm a designer and I design mainly minimalist designs. But what if the client says "It's too simple." I'm not talking about doing like a simple ridiculous line for a logo project. I'm talking about actually drawing a minimalistic mark something like the current Volkswagen logo as a reference point. What do you reckon I should do?
I have a question - this concerns a situation while you are working on a project and then a major and unfortunate circumstances like an economic downturn or a pandemic happens. What do you do when a client cannot pay the full amount? Would you do on installments? What would you do in this type of situations? Of course, legal paperwork and contracts would come into play.
In terms of design I find style scapes work great. Even if u show something that completely misses the mark, you now know what they don't like and you are much closer to understanding what they mean.
My struggle is with getting clarity around their goals. Why do they want a new design in the first place, what problem are they trying to solve? Is a new pallete really the solution to that problem?
@@MatthewEncina Thanks for pointing me in that direction. That was an amazing episode!!
Hi, Mathew! I have a question: Have you ever searched for imaged, during the conversation with the clients, to clarify right there if that's what they mean?
Oooo this one is goona be perfect for me. 😅
Matthew Encina you guys have helped me jump from 50$ clients to 500$ clients. I am beyond grateful from everything you’ve shown us all. I’ll send some pictures once I get my thefutur hoodie. Also Matthew where can I send you a donation? #tenpercent
I'm socially awkward and I have autism this happens all the time thank you for the video
clients don't even know what is minimal
What do you say when they tell you to do whatever you think it means or to take creative liberties?
I don't know my clients will know what a type font is, but i get what you mean haha
The client looked much aware about the design industry. What if the client doesn't know anything about fonts, minimalism, or negative or anything related to design, how to take his inputs then? As of now, we have for references and links of websites he likes and try to figure his idea on the design. Is there any other way to do it if clients' knowledge in the design field is zero?
dig. probe. ask. be curious. listen. that's the secret.
I have a logo client right now who’s feedback from the board is that they want 3 new additional(!) logo options that have “emotion.”
why don't you set a cap in how many options you provide ? For Example, The cost will be X for 5 concepts out of which you pick one to develop further. If you want any more concepts, I can do an additional 3 for X. The Futur even have a nice video where they discuss why you should actually only show the client one concept, however this has not always worked for me and usually the other approach which I mentioned here works for me. Good luck !
Shawn Frank I don’t think I can do that? I charged them $5K for 3 concepts and they were sticklers for that. The costs includes 2 rounds of revisions and this was my first round of feedback.
But you’re right, I’ll have to consider an uncomfortable financial conversation if they change their direction again after this.
Double the price; they want six not three as originally agreed. Don’t budge.
Question!!!
How do you work with clients that give feedback like "This isn't working, make it pop" especially when you're carrying the client along.
Well, maybe ask them what they think are not working at first?
When you're hear to ha, but end up with a hm...
Many clients are not so clear in visual language..
But you guys said this is like being order taking, like you want fries with it
after 25 years freelancing minimal means they want as much detail as humanly possible in the building design and rendering and they want to pay the minimal even zero if they can.
What if that client is just being plain difficult and wants to change the design just to make you work more?
I thought I’m first
this never works most of the time. you can't ask customer which font they want to use. or even colors. you talk to them, understand their feelings and you transform that emotions into design which is basically your job. spend your time on how to design better or listen this video to learn how you should not interact with a real customer.
Hey Matt, I didn’t find this very useful for a couple of reasons-
1. This video demonstrated a conversation between two designers, instead of a client & a designer. Clients can’t explain Minimal, typefaces, textures, tracking etc... it gets way too abstract with clients which is what I expected to get out of this video but :/
2. Sometimes you gotta SHOW the client examples to understand what he exactly wants instead of merely ASKING him, because they can’t explain what’s in their mind with words, moreover they aren’t designers and the kind of visuals they have in mind when they say CLEAN might different from our Understanding and Visuals of CLEAN.
I always ask what objects do they imagine when they think of clean. It helps me get a good idea at least structurally.
Most clients don't even know what minimal means to them(They don't know what they want). Ben is very familar with design terms, so I don't he is the right person for this roleplay.
don't get caught up in the exact response but study the way questions are framed and how Matt is probing deeper.
@@thefutur It is a whole new video if you focus on the questions being asked. Thank you!!!
frst