We Want to Talk to You. Here’s Why

“Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.” - Sound of Music

Some content writers rely primarily on fillable forms or brief instructions to learn their clients’ needs. Fill in this form and we’ll write your resume. Fill in this form and we’ll come up with a branding statement. Give me a subject and a word count and I’ll write you a blog post. 

But we’ve found the best way to really understand a client and their needs is through old-fashioned conversation. Our ideal process is one of collaboration, where the client is a full partner in the creative process. It’s a little more effort, but well worth it.

There are some things that should be in writing

We do have a questionnaire we use for branding, although we often use our meetings to help the clients think through the answers. We certainly read through an existing site before revamping it, and review existing blogs before writing new ones. 

In our experience, these are best used as a starting point for a conversation. We look at their website and ask what they wish was there that isn’t. We push them to get past their quick answers on branding to think more deeply about who they really are and what they want to project. 

We communicate with our clients in text and email once a project gets going, but we like to start with a conversation. It’s one reason we’ve never used agencies like Fiverr that generally won’t allow face-to-face communication.

We’ll talk on the phone if we must, but our ideal is on Zoom or in person. 

What You Miss When You Aren’t Face to Face:

Non-verbal cues

We’ve all had email exchanges where our inability to read tone and see gestures lead to serious misunderstandings. Research Albert Mehrabian famously said that when expressing how you feel, the words you use are only 7% of the message. Other studies have suggested different numbers, but most agree that much communication is non-verbal.

The quick back and forth

Email messages tend to tackle multiple points at once. Each idea requires follow-up questions, and those must be answered in turn. Some get missed and must be re-asked. You can spend days getting it all figured out - and don’t get us started on finding a conversation thread.

Conversation results in instant feedback. “I want this.” “Do you mean this?” “Yes, but more like this.” So like this?” “Yeah.” It’s easy to throw out ideas, and move quickly from one to the next, circling back and doing it all in so little time that, unlike a days-long email exchange, you haven’t forgotten half of what you’ve talked about at the end.

Your face instead of your emojis

We all know some things can’t be said in words, which is why we also use emojis and gifs. But it’s a pale imitation of tone and gesture. If you’ve got an emotion more complex than 😊 or 😡 you’ll find it difficult to express.

The you that only you can show us

Some people are so busy that they turn over communication to an assistant or another third party. But no matter how smart and communicative and thoughtful that associate is, without direct communication it’s hard to figure out what the client truly wants in their heart of hearts. No one can speak for you but you.

The best way to establish trust

According to a study discussed in Harvard Business Review, a face-to-face request is 34 times more likely to succeed than an email one. Asking 6 people in person is as effective as asking 200 people by email. 

One reason is because you can’t project sincerity in an email. That requires those all-important non-verbal cues. We want to know you, and we want you to know us.

Being a part of the process

We are less interested in being wordsmiths for hire than in being collaborators who work with you, exchanging ideas and finding our way together to the right voice and message. A good collaboration is difficult without conversation.

The joy of conversation

Pearl Consulting NYC is a friendly business! We like to get to know people, learn their interests, hear about their hobbies, chat about their latest projects. Conversation allows the space for a human connection. And we like those.

Let’s talk!

If you need blogging, branding, website copy, or other content writing, we’re ready to talk about it. Want to learn more? Contact us and we’ll have a conversation.