You cannot freelance without using some or the other form of communication. In fact, it is not just communication but good communication that is the key to winning when freelancing. As a freelancer, there will be very few instances where you will ever come face to face with the client during the course of projects and therefore you need to brush up your communication skills to the full.
There are many forms of communications but they can be broadly classified as oral and written. In this post, we will take a look at both the forms of communication and learn how they are important to further your career as a freelancer.
Oral communication
Oral communication means communicating verbally with your client or the team. Oral communications can be done on phone, through video conferencing, or through face-to-face meetings. Here are few points, which you should keep in mind when interacting with a client through oral communications.
- Be there on time: Always be there on time for meeting. Be prepared. The client is less likely to trust you when you have not come prepared for the meeting. Putting the client on hold while you search for materials or stuttering during the conversation does not present you in good light.
- Be clear and straightforward: Take care that your diction and grammar correct at all the times. Remember that when you are taking on phone or on a video conference over the internet the voice clarity depends on the carrier, therefore speak slowly and clearly.
- Make points before the conversation: It would help you a lot if you have some points that you would like to address during the conversation written down with you. This will help you in being concise during the conversation. You can also take down notes during the conversation or record it for future reference.
Written communication
Written communication includes written letters or applications, emails and chat conversation. For a freelancer written communication is very important as it forms the foundation long lasting client relationships. You have to pay more attention to written communication than oral communication because you cannot take the written words back. Keep the following points in mind:
- Reply quickly: Reply to emails, letters and chat messages as soon as you can. Of course, this does not mean that you should be online 24 hours and check your accounts every minute. Make sure that the client and prospective clients all know about your working hours so that they can easily reach you. Don’t keep your clients waiting for reply.
- Be honest: Be honest when writing an email or letter. Do not commit in written what you cannot do.
Always proofread: Use the spell check on Microsoft word, use the spell check within the emails to check for any spelling, or formatting mistakes in the document. It is easy to
Apart from the above types of communications, there are some common points, which you need to keep in mind when communicating with old, current or prospective clients:
- Do not oversell: When conversing it is very easy for freelancers to over commit in order to secure a client or when deciding the payment of the job. Commit only what you can do in the stipulated time given. In freelancing jobs, time is always a crucial key.
- Listen to instructions: When working, keep the instructions that the client gave you always in your mind. If you have any doubts with the instructions in mind write to the client immediately and clear the doubts.
- Don’t make changes without informing: Don’t deliver purple when the client asked for yellow. One of the main reasons why you need to keep the lines of conversation open is that you should be aware of any changes that need to be made.
