Double Dutch

IMPOSSIBLE CLIENTS. We know who you are! You’re searching for a specialist who can handle almost anything. Isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Does your family doctor make a great brain surgeon? Can a novelist write irresistible advertising copy?

Yet, some clients are looking for a be-all, do-it-all freelancer with young, fresh ideas and years of experience. Is that too much to ask?

Some psychologists say that the fact that we humans are able to hold two diametrically opposed ideas in our mind at the same time, is a true sign of intelligence. Part of me wants to believe that this is indeed correct. The other part thinks it’s utter hogwash.

Does this theory imply that we have to develop a split personality in order to be perspicacious? Well, I’m more than torn about that too.

On one hand it seems kind of dim to define intelligence in such a limited way. On the other hand, aren’t most eternal truths simple and succinct in nature?

THREE CHEERS
Today I am celebrating the official launch of my company Nethervoice, exactly one year ago. To mark the moment, I started to reflect on the dichotomies of freelance life.

If you’ve just discovered this blog, you should know that I make a living as a full-time voice-over professional. Yes, I am the disembodied voice reading an audio book to you during long car rides. I tell you when to click the “next-button” as you’re e-learning on-line. I have sold cars in South-Africa, hotels in Spain, ski slopes in Austria and stoves in Finland. And that’s just the boring stuff…

But whether you’re making your money as a faceless voice, as a copywriter, a graphic designer or you’re in any other way self-employed, you and I have lots in common. Day in day out, we’re dealing with seemingly contrary forces that are interconnected and interdependent, that -somehow- give rise to each other.

Taoists already know what I’m talking about: the ancient concept of Yin and Yang.

Here’s an example of two concepts that seem mutually exclusive or at least contradictory:

1. SPECIALIZE or GENERALIZE?
Marketing gurus tell us: you can’t be a Jack of all trades. Don’t do what everybody else does. Find your niche. Create, don’t imitate. Lead, don’t follow. Distinguish yourself.

Here’s the problem: by narrowing your niche, you could be narrowing your market and you run the risk of becoming a one-dimensional, one-trick pony.

However, if you don’t differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack, you could become a dime a dozen. Why should a client hire Mr. or Mrs. More of the Same?

This is your challenge: you have to find your own voice and be flexible. Great inventors come up with a product that:

- solves a common problem

- is totally unique and

- appeals to a wide audience

2. FAMILIAR or FOREIGN?
Most people embrace the familiar and fear the unknown. But if you wish to grow on a personal and professional level, you must step into uncharted territory and invite the unpredictable.

During one of my voice-over coaching sessions, I asked a rather stuck-up student to read part of the Declaration of Independence… in a pirate voice. I ran into resistance from the get-go.

“I can’t do a pirate voice,” he said emphatically.

“Why not?” I asked.

“First off, it’s disrespectful. Secondly, I’m not going to make a fool of myself,” he replied.

I said: “You want to be a voice-over actor, don’t you?” “Actors have the ultimate excuse to be ridiculous. How are you ever going to expand your range, if you’re not willing to try something new? Were you one of those kids that only ate Mac & Cheese?”

Well, I didn’t really say that last thing, but it crossed my mind.

Reluctantly, my student became Bad-Rum Ronny and started:

“Arrrr… When, in the course of human events…”

And just as he was getting more comfortable with his new found identity, I said:

“That was fantastic! Now, please take it from the beginning, but this time, I want you to be a female pirate. Pretend you’re Johnny Depp’s big sister…”

My student looked at me as if I had lost my sanity.

“You’re really pushing the envelope,” he said.

“Oh, come on,” I pleaded. “The Founding Mothers would be so proud of you. And if you do it, I promise to write about it in my blog.”

That apparently worked because this time he sounded more like Geena Davis in Cutthroat Island.

“Wow,” he said. “I never knew I had that in me. That’s kind of scary…”

“Here’s what I learned,” I said. Some people avoid taking risks because they’re afraid of what the world might think of them. But playing it safe won’t get you very far. One day, you’ll have a client that will ask you to do something you’ve never done before. Something that might scare the living daylights out of you.

Do it anyway.

You have to be comfortable with who you are, in order to allow yourself to break out of your comfort zone. In other words: be comfortable being uncomfortable. It means you’re growing!”

3. ACT NATURAL
As a professional performer, this is another oxymoron you have to live with. You have to learn how to be natural in unnatural situations. It comes in different variations:

• Act, but don’t make it look like you’re acting.
• Read but don’t sound like you’re reading.
• Pretend not to pretend.
• Deliver a meticulously prepared and polished performance that seems spontaneous.
• Give it your all, but make it seem effortless.
• Don’t try it. Just do it. Be yourself.

It’s great advice, but nobody ever tells you how to get there, right?!

It all goes back to the “Four Stages of Learning,” a theory posited by psychologist Abraham Maslow. He coined four psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill:

1. Unconsciously incompetent: you’re not aware that you can’t do something
2. Consciously incompetent: you know that you are incompetent at something
3. Consciously competent: you’re developing the skill, but you constantly have to think about what you’re doing
4. Unconsciously competent: you’ve become so good at it, that it has become second nature

All of us go through these phases when we’re learning how to drive, how to type  and how to walk. Only when we’ve reached the level of unconscious competence, we are able to Act Natural.

In a world that revolves around instant gratification, quick fixes, easy answers and immediate results, this is a very unpopular 4-step process. We want it all and we want it now! Why is it so hard to find gratification in delayed gratification?

4. EXPERIENCED or EXCITING?
Do the following scenarios ring a bell?

a. You’re trying to break into the business, but you don’t want to come across as an absolute beginner.

b. You have years of experience, but you don’t want them to think of you as yesterday’s news.

It’s an impossible situation, isn’t it? Here are a few more stereotypes:

• Seasoned pros are old school and too expensive.
• Rookies are wild cards and need a lot of hand-holding.
• Veterans are rigid, arrogant and demanding.
• Newbies are unpredictable and have yet to hone their skills.

This black-and-white thinking is nothing but a distortion of reality. Do not fall for these false dilemmas. Challenge them instead. You might have years of experience but does that mean that you have lost your Mojo? Is a beginner by definition always new, fresh and exciting, or is he just a copycat? Are clients paying more because your rate is higher, or is it more expensive to hire an amateur?

A BALANCING ACT
As a freelancer you have to be able to deal with two diametrically different ideas at the same time. Don’t worry. You’re intelligent. You can handle it!

Let me leave you with some more freelance Yin and Yang:

- Have a strong backbone, but dare to be vulnerable.

- Be personable and keep things strictly business.

- Be spontaneous, but bite your tongue.

- Be proud of your accomplishments and stay humble.

- Be confident, but doubt yourself enough to evaluate your performance.

- Set the highest standards, but cut yourself some slack.

- Be available and accessible, but balance work and play.

- Sell yourself, but don’t sound like you’re selling yourself.

- Be passionate about your work, but know that it’s a means to an end.

- Keep your head in the clouds and your feet firmly planted on the ground.

- Be able to multi-task and stay completely focused.

- Be in the moment and plan for the future.

- Admire without feeling threatened.

A NEW YEAR
As I am opening a new chapter for Nethervoice, one of my friends asked me:

“Paul, what are your plans? Your blog is doing so well and you’re turning down voice-over work. Are you going to focus more on your writing or on narration?”

I thought about it for a moment, and then I said:

“Either way is better.”

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS Read the incredible story of how Bill “The Boomer” lost a $5000 gig and perhaps his reputation

PPS Stay in touch with Double Dutch and subscribe today!

No, I’m not going to tell you what it is just yet. Let me begin by asking you a simple question: Do words have power? When you think of it, aren’t they just letters in a certain order? Or are there words in our language that are so potent, that they have the potential to transform our life and our livelihood?

Now, before you think that I’ve gone all philosophical again instead of practical, just  STOP for a moment and think about it…

In the past few days I’ve asked some of my friends about words they feel have had (and still have) a profound impact on their professional lives. Here are some of the words they came up with:

As for me, the one word that has been my guiding light in the past 25 years as a freelancer, is neither grand nor deep. Yet, I believe it to be one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. Without it, my career certainly wouldn’t be where it is today. It consists of two letters.

It is the word NO.

NO is the ultimate reflection of where I draw the line in life; the line between what I am willing to accept and what I must reject. Right now I can honestly say that I owe most of my success as an independent contractor to this word. It’s quite simple:

In order to give yourself a leg up, you sometimes have to put your foot down.

Today I am offering you seven suggestions for shaping your freelance career by using the power of what William Ury calls a “Positive No”.

1. SAY NO TO MOST FREELANCE JOBS
In this recession it seems that many freelancers function in survival mode and operate out of fear. They jump on every job opportunity that presents itself, because “you never know what tomorrow will bring”. They’re like a batsman who’s hitting at everything the pitcher’s throwing at him.

Although you might consider yourself to be a versatile voice-over pro, web designer or copywriter, even the famous Swiss Army knife has its limitations. It is humanly impossible to be everything to everyone. Like a batsman, you have to wait for the perfect moment where preparation meets opportunity, to hit that ball out of the park.

KNOW when to say NO. It’s early in the day as I am writing this article, but I’ve already said NO to at least fifteen jobs that didn’t meet my criteria. Why waste time applying for work I’m not totally qualified for?

I could get really ticked off by colleagues who subscribe to the “more is more strategy,” telling me: “It’s a numbers game. The more I try, the more chances I have to land a job.” Even though it might look that way sometimes, it is not a lottery. It is a business.

And why am I not ticked off? Well, we all have our life lessons to learn, and some people just prefer to learn things the hard way. And because they can’t…

2. SAY NO TO DIY
If you’re running your own business, it’s probably safe to say that you’re wearing many hats: CEO, CFO, COO, Head of HR, Advertising, Acquisition, Marketing, PR, IT, R & D, Quality Control, Social Media Manipulation… Are you tired yet? And guess who’s delivering the goods?

Just because you’re self-employed, doesn’t mean that you must do everything yourself. You shouldn’t, because you’ll burn out before you’ve even lit up the place.

KNOW your strengths. A realtor decided to shoot his own real estate video tours to save some money. As he was taking his shaky camera through a million dollar property, I could hear him do his own narration. The result was cheap, unprofessional and embarrassing. When he read my paper on video tours and voice-overs, he decided that he was not going to be the new host of House Hunters. Thank goodness for that!

So, here’s your assignment of the day. Ask yourself: What is the number one thing in my business that:

1. Is an essential part of my job
2. I’m not good at
3. I hate to do
4. Takes up way too much time

Now ask yourself two questions:

- How much more productive would I be, if I would outsource this to an expert?
- How much more profitable would I be, if I would outsource this work, especially if I…

3. SAY NO TO LOW RATES
In a society where most of us still equate value and quality with price, low rates are the trademark of an amateur. This strategy might bring you a few short term gains, but you’ll end up a long-term loser.

If you need nine more reasons why you shouldn’t sell yourself short, read my article: The secret to landing any freelance job.

KNOW the value of your work and the effect of your pricing on your bottom line and on your market. Then take the next step and…

4. SAY NO TO LOW STANDARDS
The Greek philosopher Mediocrates gave us the Law of Averages:

“Average standards lead to average results”

Look around you. Despite all the self-help hoopla that is sold as the “psychology of excellence,” the best most can hope for is mediocrity. Otherwise, “average” wouldn’t be the most common denominator and Walmart would have no customers.

KNOW that as an independent contractor you have the privilege of not having to live by other people’s rules. Look at your role models. Did they achieve success by following other people’s standards, or by setting their own? Become a non-conformist. Be utterly un-average and totally inimitable. Be younique and…

5. SAY NO TO BLAME
The Law of Causality deals with the relationship between an event and the consequence of that event. This interplay of Cause and Effect is reflected in our language as in: “My business isn’t doing so well because….”

We all know people who aren’t where they want to be in life, and they’re absolutely convinced that it is someone else’s fault. If only all the other people on this planet would change, they’d be so much happier! Those are the folks who blame the fast food industry for the obesity crisis and the tobacco industry for turning them into helpless, brainwashed chain smokers.

Blame makes people lame and seemingly dependent on things they have little or no control over. Mind you, I am not denying the devastating role some external circumstances can play in someone’s life. Neither am I trying to guilt-trip people for having been dealt some terrible cards.

I am talking about people who –rather than take responsibility for the things they have control over, expect others to fix them for them. Those are the people who’d rather complain about something than do something about it.

KNOW the difference between making things happen and letting things happen. It’s fine to subscribe to an on-line job search service. However, if you adopt a wait-and-see approach and blame the website when you’re not landing gigs within a week, you’re giving them way too much credit and you have effectively disempowered yourself.

I firmly believe that we’re not helpless leaves in the wind. I believe that we can harness the power of the wind and adjust our sails by the virtue of the choices we make. One of those choices we can make is to…

6. SAY NO TO UNCONTROLLED SPENDING
Why did the New York Times write that “one of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until her loans are paid off”?

The Times cited as one of the reasons, that Annie Leibovitz has had a “long history of less than careful financial dealings“.

In the ideal world, you always have a pipeline full of projects. In reality, work can come in waves. When you finally hit that freelance jackpot and you’re starting to make some serious money, nothing is more tempting than to go on a spending spree. After all, you deserve it, don’t you?

Yes, you totally deserve to reap the rewards of your labor, today, tomorrow…. and in a few months when that big project is done and the money is no more. It’s not fun to be brilliant but broke.

KNOW that when it rains it probably pours, and when it doesn’t, you must set money aside for… a rainy day. Your bills don’t care whether or not you were lucky to get a nice chunk of cash in June. There’s always July, August and -dare I mention it- the day you hope to retire.

The book “The Millionaire Next Door” is not about big spenders. It is about people like you and me who live well below their means. Those folks are likely to…

7. SAY NO TO TAKING INSTEAD OF GIVING
“What’s in it for me? I want it for free!” seems to be the mantra of the new millennium. This narrow focus on personal gain, often at the expense of others and our planet, is an egotistical and eco-destructive philosophy.

Yet, some self-styled entrepreneurs have made the following three words the cornerstone of their business: Gimme, gimme, gimme.

With the rise of social media, this new group of predators is all about ‘getting’ instead of ‘giving’. They want to befriend you in order to milk your network, so they can slam your contacts with overt or covert product- and self-promotion.

These vampires seldom contribute to a discussion, and when they do, it’s mainly to get their contact information in the comment field. They ask for referrals. They don’t give referrals. They want a sample of your work… and run away with it.

KNOW that the way to grow a freelance business is to become a contributor; by giving back. Over the years, countless people have given me their time and expertise free of charge, just because they wanted to help.

PAY IT FORWARD
The best way to honor the gifts they have given me, is by passing them on to someone else. That’s one of the reasons why I started this blog, and that’s why you might find me answering someone else’s questions on a networking site.

When you start paying it forward, amazing things will happen. Do you have time for three examples?

* A few months ago, Shelley Cryan, a brilliant freelance photographer and real estate videographer, asked for recommendations for a voice-over microphone on an on-line forum. I happened to read her request and gave her some suggestions. A few weeks later, Shelley asked me if I’d be interested in narrating one of her virtual home tours. I just completed my third narration for her.

* Earlier this year, master narrator John Pruden wrote an excellent article for VoiceoverXtra. After I had left a comment, John got in touch with me and we exchanged a few emails. Recently, he told me about an audio book project that might be a good fit because I’m a multi-linguist. He recommended me to the client and to cut a long story short: after an audition they offered me the job.

* In April, David Rosenthal -the enthusiastic driving force behind Internet Voice Coach- wrote me an email in which he told me how much he enjoyed my blog. Not so long ago he asked me if I would like to join his team of contributors at Internet Voice Coach as the “expert on all things international”. I couldn’t be happier!

Over the weekend, my IVC “department” opened its doors and it now features exclusive interviews with Bodalgo’s Armin Hierstetter and Arabic blogger/voice-over Mahmoud Taji (who recently published a free e-book called “The Modern Voiceoverist’s Guide to the Online Universe & Other Stories”).

I’m not telling you these things to impress you. I’m sharing these examples to impress upon you that wonderful and unexpected things can happen as a result of being attentive to opportunities to help and contribute.

TEST
One last thing. Should you choose to adopt these seven suggestions and become a no-sayer, expect to be tested! We live in a culture of YES and instant gratification. People don’t want to hear the word no. They’d rather cut off their no’s to spite their face. When they’re putting pressure on you to cave in, remember this:

The best students usually get the most challenging tests!

So, stick to the program and keep on saying “yes” to NO.

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS What are some of the things you have said NO to as a freelancer, and how has that worked out for you?

PPS What’s the number one question colleagues keep on asking me, and how do I answer it? Find out here!

Two psychoanalysts were walking down a narrow road. A colleague came up to them for a stop-and-chat and asked: “How are you today?”

Both analysts looked at each other and wondered: What would he mean by that?

When I first came to America some 15 years ago, I noticed something strange. Whenever I asked someone: “How are you?” people would usually respond by telling me about their work, as if I had asked them: “What do you do?”

TO DO OR NOT TO DO
This begs the question: is our work so important that this is how we ultimately define ourselves? Isn’t there’s a big difference between ‘being’ and ‘doing’? Isn’t what we do only a part of who we really are?

Now, I completely understand that for some people, a profession is an expression of their identity, especially for those working in a creative field. But if we confine our definition of ourselves to the job we do, are we giving ourselves enough credit?

On one level, it is a privilege to be able to turn a passion into a profession and make it the center of our universe. Beethoven did it. Picasso too, perhaps. It can also be dangerous. How dangerous? Let me tell you about John*.

RADIO DAZE
John was a colleague of mine at the station I used to work for. Radio was his life. It was his ‘magnificent obsession’. In fact, that’s all he ever talked about. He was a walking encyclopedia of all things wireless.

John was one of those gentle men you would easily overlook at a party. He seemed socially shy and out of place. But put him in front of a microphone, and you almost wouldn’t recognize him: he was engaging, energetic, funny and full of… life! The two sides of this golden coin couldn’t have been more different.

One day, serious looking men in charcoal gray suits walked into our station. They had one mission: to make us do more with less. Cutbacks were unavoidable. Layoffs were a certainty. It was only a matter of time.

Rumors were spreading fast. Would they get rid of those who had joined the station last, or would they turn to the veterans who, because of their seniority, were making a very decent salary, thereby draining the budget?

A LOST MAN
Two weeks later, I got my answer. John and I shared an office, and he was putting some old tapes and CD’s into a cardboard box. “Getting ready for the show, tomorrow?” I asked. Then I took a good look at him. His face had lost all color as if he had donated too much blood. “John, are you alright?” I said. “Do you need some help?” He never said a word to me, and continued packing, as if in a trance.

The next morning, the sound engineer knocked on my door. “This is John’s desk, right?” he wanted to know. “You’re looking at it,” I said. “It’s never been cleaner.”

“Do you happen to know where he is?” asked the engineer. “We’re supposed to tape his show in a few minutes. Usually he sets things up way ahead of time and I can’t find him anywhere.”

“To be honest with you, I haven’t seen him all morning,” I replied. “That’s not like him at all.”

Of course we called John’s home and he didn’t appear to be there either. Where could he be? All of us knew that he lived for his radio show and that he hadn’t missed a taping in thirty years. We were getting worried.

THE FINAL ANSWER
Two hours later, the management said they had an announcement to make. They had found John. Two kids playing together had spotted him… hanging from a bridge.

One of John’s long-time colleagues and closest friends exploded when he heard the news. He stormed off saying: “Those bastards. They killed him. They should burn in hell!”

“What was that about?” I asked the sound engineer.

“I just heard,” he said.

“Heard what?” I asked.

“John had a meeting with the management, yesterday.”

“And?” I wanted to know.

“They fired him. Just like that.”

A LIFE’S WORK
The example of John is extreme.  But I’m sure you know people for whom their work is their life. We praise them for their dedication. We admire them for what they accomplish. And when the reason for their existence is suddenly taken away from them, they are left with… a void.

So, let me ask you: How are you? Who are you? How much of you is shaped by the work you do? Are you still chasing your dreams of a life filled with fame and fortune? Do you feel that you’ve achieved success?

CHOPRA
Writer, endocrinologist and one of the principal proponents of mind-body medicine, Deepak Chopra, came from India to study in the United States. He authored more than 50 books, including “Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul.”

His writings, CD’s, seminars and appearances have made him a wealthy man. But does he consider himself to be successful? Well, it depends on the definition.

I had the pleasure of interviewing him once, and Chopra defined success as follows:

The progressive realization of worthy goals;

The ability to love and have compassion;

To be in touch with the creative source inside you;

To ultimately move from success to significance

ALWAYS ON THE GO
So, measured by those standards, how are you really doing? And how are we doing as a society? Sometimes it’s best to have others hold up a mirror.

Many years ago, a visitor from a distant land came to the New World.  He had never seen any skyscrapers, department stores or the subway during the Monday morning rush hour. He was obviously overwhelmed and couldn’t wait to get back to his country, to report to his tribe what he had seen.

“What are the people like?” was what they wanted to know.

“The people?” he said? “I’ll tell you!”

“All they do is hurry-worry, hurry-worry. Day in day out.”

“What are you wearing on your wrist?” asked one of the elders, pointing at a watch that was given to him as a present.

“This is a device that tells you what hour of the day it is. It’s called a watch,” the man said.

“And you know what?” he continued,

“In this New World I visited, everybody wears a watch.

But nobody has time.”

GROUP THERAPY
“Nice story”, said the psychoanalyst to the narrator. “Thank you for that.” Then he turned to me. “I believe we have to welcome a new member to our group today. Tell us who you are.”

I took a deep breath and said:

“Hello. My name is Paul, and I’m a workaholic.”

“Hi Paul” answered the group in unison.

“Great,” said the therapist.

“Now we all know who we are, let’s get to work!”

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS What’s the one word that saved my freelance career? Find out in my next article.

*John’s not his real name. I have changed it to protect the identity of those involved.

How much do you charge for your services? What determines your asking price? If you charge too much, you run the risk of losing the job. If you’re selling yourself cheap, you look like an amateur. Here are 10 ways to win the bidding war.

“Do these cookies taste as good as they look?” asked our friendly neighbor.

“Even better,” said my almost 8-year old daughter with a big smile on her face.  “I baked them myself this morning!”

Last week, she went door-to-door to raise money for our Walk MS team. She’s a much better fund-raiser than her father, who’s still hoping to do better with his “Giving a Voice to MS” campaign.

“How much are they?” the neighbor wanted to know.

“You can get two cookies for a dollar,” answered my daughter. A moment later, she had four shiny quarters in her hand.

“Fantastic,” I said. “I’m so proud of you! You just made your first dollar. Now, do you want to know a little secret to raising some serious money?” She was all ears.

“Next time someone asks you how much your Snickerdoodles cost, tell them:

‘You can give as much as you want’. Then you just wait… and see what happens.”

“But what if they only want to pay fifty cents?” my daughter asked.

“Well,” I said. “You’ll have to tell them that they have to give at least one dollar. Always know your bottom line. If they don’t think they’re worth that much, there are plenty of other people to sell them to. It’s okay to walk away from a bad deal.”

THE WILD, WILD WEST
In the unregulated world of freelancing, putting a price on a product or service is one of the most talked about and controversial topics. Why?

Copywriters know all about crafting compelling copy; web designers are great at creating sticky sites, and voice-over actors can sound like they know what they’re talking about, even if they don’t.

Here’s the problem: just because you’re good what what you do, doesn’t mean you know how to sell yourself. If anything, you’re probably selling yourself short and you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.

How many schools or vocational training programs are actually teaching business 101, sales techniques or negotiation skills? With a diploma in hand, many graduates discover that it’s a jungle out there, and the only way to learn is by trial and error. That’s an expensive strategy.

In my last article, I talked about the consequences of predatory pricing and about why low rates are bad for business. The next question is: how can you make sure you get a decent price for your product or service? Let’s begin by avoiding these

10 CLASSIC MISTAKES WHEN QUOTING A PRICE

1. Blind Bidding. Especially in today’s market where lots of freelance jobs are auctioned off instead of negotiated, it’s tempting to just plug in a number, no questions asked. Clients love it because your eagerness, ignorance or desperation practically guarantees them a bargain.

Project details are left vague for a reason! But how can you make the right offer without having the right information? That’s because you’re falling into trap number two. You are…

2. Making Assumptions. Poor client! She said she was operating on “a small budget,” so if you really want that gig, make sure you put in a lowball offer or give a discount.

NOT SO FAST! What might be a “small budget” to some might be a large chunk of money to others.

How can you be so sure whether or not a customer you don’t even know can or cannot afford you or your product? Did you just read the tea leaves? Did that little voice in your head tell you so? The “limited budget excuse” is the oldest trick in the book of cheapskates. And you’re buying it because you’re…

3. Not Doing Your Homework. Do you have any idea who your mystery prospect is? What company does she work for? How many employees does this company have and in how many countries? What clients do they serve? What’s their market share? What reputation does this firm or this person have?

You’d be surprised by how much can be found out by spending a few extra minutes on your computer (just look at how much info I was able to dig up on the editor of Newspapers for the Blind). Wouldn’t you want to have these data available before you quote a KIA price to someone with a Bentley budget?

Of course some website-seeing won’t give you all the answers, nor will it give you a chance to build a more personal relationship with your prospective buyer. Dry facts always have a backstory, and you’re not getting it because you’re…

4. Not Asking the Right Questions. Ideally, your product or service is the solution to your client’s problem and the pleasure to their pain. But if you don’t know what their specific wants and needs are, you won’t be able to fulfill them to their satisfaction.

Any price will be too high if your prospect doesn’t feel that what you’re offering is what he really needs.

Ask yourself: what do I minimally need to know to make sure that I am the right person for this job and to put in a reasonable bid? My article about breaking down an audio book rate gives you a sense of how much is really involved and how much is usually left out when bidding.

Once you’re fully prepared, why not turn the table by asking: “How much have you budgeted?” (notice the not so hidden presupposition) I must warn you: it’s easy to sabotage this process by…

5. Too much talking. Not enough listening. It boils down to this: do you really want to know, or are you just asking? If you’re passionate about your profession, chances are that you’re full of it… Some people -not you of course- are even full of themselves. And because you know and care so much about what you do, it’s very easy to go on and on and on about it. Zzzzzz

As I said to the computer guy at Staples: “I don’t need to know how it works, as long as I know that it works.” He didn’t get it. He was in his own little world. I think he’s still talking to me, even though I left the store two hours ago…

When you’re actively listening to your prospect, make a mental note of certain buzz words and phrases that are an indication of why this project is important, and what this project is all about. If you’re on the phone, write it down. If you don’t keep track of these buzz-words, you’ll be…

6. Describing the benefits of a product or service in your terms; not in your client’s terms. What might be important to you is utterly irrelevant. What really matters is what’s important to your client. Never tell a prospect why they should hire you. People do things for their reasons, not for yours.

For instance, you might believe that price is a decisive factor in the deal you’re discussing, because that’s how you operate. Nothing is ever bought based on price alone, and perceived value might really be what the client is basing her decision on.

Some of us prefer more expensive brand name products. Others favor more affordable store brands. Do not bring up the price or your fee until the customer does. Otherwise, you fall into the trap of…

7. Bad Timing. Every sales trainer will tell you: never mention the price until a customer has fallen in love with the product. Highlight the benefits first, and be sure to use your client’s criteria and your client’s buzz words. Make the sale based on value. Value is usually defined as benefits received, divided by the price paid. If the perceived value is higher than the price paid, your customer’s a happy camper.

But what if a prospect tells you: “I can’t possible afford that. That’s too much money.” Is it ‘game over’? Only if you keep on…

8. Believing that Objection = Rejection. Wrong! Objections are opportunities to better understand your client. One salesman put it this way:

“I love objections. The more, the better. How can you sell somebody something unless you find out what he or she is thinking, and what his or her reservations might be about your product or service?”

Here’s the thing: it’s almost impossible to handle objections if the customer’s interest is not high enough, or when the prospect is not a “qualified buyer”. Those are the people who are “just looking” and who aren’t authorized to make purchase decisions.

“Your price it too high” is the oldest objection in history. Linguists call it a ‘comparative deletion’ because the obvious question would be: “Compared to what?” And without knowing the price concern, you can’t possibly help your prospect overcome it. Usually there are two reasons:

-the perceived value of your service or product is lower than your price or your fee;
-your prospect genuinely can’t afford it at this moment in time

In the first scenario, you haven’t convinced your client that what you’re offering truly meets his or her needs, or is valuable enough. In that case, you need to backtrack a little. In the second scenario, you can start offering other options (more about both in a future article).

There’s a third possible response to the price objection: giving in. That has to do with…

9. Being insecure about your own value. If you start apologizing for your prices, or if you’re undervaluing your services because you don’t think you’re worth it, stop negotiating because you look like an amateur.

The least you can do is go back to number 3 and educate yourself about the going rate for a particular project in a specific market.

Secondly, read “The Money Book for freelancers, Part-Timers, and the Self-Employed” and get a grip on your finances. Know how much you need to make to break even, and how much you want to make to lead the life you feel you deserve. Get a backbone and be proud of your price!

Losers lower their prices. Winners know what they’re worth!

A word of warning: if a prospect senses any sign of insecurity, you’ve just shot yourself in the foot. Remember that people equate price with quality. If they contacted you, they’re interested in hiring you, so hang in there and avoid…

10. Falling for False Promises. Never accept a job based on the promise of future work. The job is the job. Even when the client holds up a juicy carrot and says: “If this works out, chances are that a whole lot more will come your way,” treat it as a big red flag. You know that you’ll end up doing more for less, and you’ll never hear from them again. End of story.

FORTUNE COOKIES
Well before we’d reached the end of our block, my daughter had sold all her cookies and a minivan stopped in front of us. It happened to be a family that had already bought a few bags of Snickerdoodles for the MS Walk.

“Here sweetie,” said the mother, as she handed over a 20 dollar bill.

“But I don’t have any more cookies to give you,” said my daughter.

“That’s okay,” replied the Mom. “When you came to our door, I could only pay you a few dollars, because that was all the money I had in my wallet. I just went to the bank to get some more. All of us agreed that your Snickerdoodles were the best we’d ever had!”

Even though she was smiling, it looked like the Mom was holding back tears. As my daughter was talking to her kids in the back of the car, their Mom said quietly:

“My mother died from MS last year. We miss her so much. Thank you for doing the walk!”

“You’re very welcome,” I said. “I am so sorry to hear about your loss.”

I always tell my daughter: 

Different people do different things for different reasons.

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS If you feel that this article has been of value to you in any way, please  show your appreciation by making a donation to my Walk MS team today. Thank you!

PPS Ever felt like telling your clients how you really feel about them?  I just wrote an Open Letter to Voice-Seekers.

The voice-over market is a buyer’s market. Voice-talents are exposed; voice-seekers are protected. As voice-over pros, we want to work. We need to work. Sometimes we’re so happy to be picked out of a pile of 100+ auditions; it’s tempting to say “YES” when we finally get a break. But would we have done so, had we known the facts?

The World Wide Web has put me in touch with the wonderful, the wacky and the weird. Anyone can pretend to be anything on the Net. That nice guy you met online might very well be the next “Craigslist Killer”. Or he could be Prince Charming! How can you be sure?

THE VOICE-OVER AS P.I. (VoPi)
I have a question for you: do you think you should have to play Sherlock Holmes if you audition for a job on a site like voices.com? Aren’t you paying the staff to do their homework to make sure you’re not connected to some creep?

If you’re a member of voice123, you might have seen the following disclaimer:

Legal note: Although Voice123 tries to establish the legitimacy of all voice seekers, you are responsible for conducting your own investigation into any and all claims made by prospective voice seekers, agents and/or clients. You assume all liability for use of any information you find through Voice123, LLC, or any of its publications.

Good luck, especially if the voice seeker is purposely hiding his or her identity! As we have seen in the case of the founder of Newspapers for the Blind, the voice123 team responded after members had complained about the way they had been treated. Make no mistake about it: at the end of the day, “You are responsible for conducting your own investigation.”

Here’s the good news: the Internet is not only a place for con-men and convicts. With so much information in the public domain, we might as well use it as a tool in our fight against the frauds, the fakes and the phonies. My story of Newspapers for the Blind is the perfect example. Before I get into that, I have an admission to make.

A GOOD CAUSE
When I was young, idealistic and hopelessly naive, I honestly believed that people involved in philanthropy must be good people. It never occurred to me to do a background check on a charity. What can I say? Even Steven Spielberg thought that Bernie Madoff was a nice guy…

After my story about Will May, some of you wondered: Is his organization a real charity?

On its website, Newspapers for the Blind (NFBT) says it’s a 501C-3 Corporation. This is a type of incorporation that is used to set up a charitable corporation, founded with the intention of providing a service to the community, rather than making a profit.

Incorporating a company makes it a legal entity, responsible for its actions in the community. This is important, because it removes a great deal of the responsibility from the person who is starting the company.

One source puts it this way: “If you start a 501(c)3 company, you want the legal liability for possible damages to be the responsibility of the 501(c)3 corporation so that your personal possessions are safe from creditors.”

FACT CHECK
So, how do you separate the chaff from the wheat? The IRS web site has a search engine that makes finding a registered charity a piece of cake. The Better Business Bureaus* have a similar function on their website. In both databases, Newspapers for the Blind does not come up as a registered charity, and I have asked the IRS and the BBB to look into this. I also checked the Maryland Charities Database (the state where NFTB is based). Again: nothing came up.

But there’s a catch: Elisabeth Leamy, the ABC News Consumer Correspondent warns:

“ (…) even if the IRS really has granted non-profit 501C-3 status to a group, that’s no indication of quality. The IRS doesn’t have the time or staff to really scrutinize those who apply for charity status. I once investigated a company that earned 501C-3 status. The IRS overlooked the fact that the founder was a convicted felon who kept most of the group’s money for himself and didn’t even register with the state as required by law.”

In her article “How to Identify a Fake Charity”, Jamie K. Wilson recommends we carefully examine a charity’s website and look for the following signs:

• A board of directors numbering at least six people, with their credentials or regular job titles and place of employment listed
• A permanent street address in the United States or your own country
• A 501(c)3 statement
• Success stories
• An outline of this charity’s goals
• Downloadable financial statements that detail where money has been expended in the past
• Accurate statistics with verifiable and legitimate sources
• Good writing, spelling, and grammar

She concludes:

“Any charitable website lacking two or more of these traits is suspect. That does not mean the charity is fake. On the contrary, it might be very new and very legitimate, but without a track record. However, fake charities generally lack at least two of the above items.”

Steven Lowell of voice123 had this to say about Will May, the founder and editor of NFTB:

“Truth is…if he is rough to deal with, and pays, that is one thing. You get your money and never work with the person again. But to pose as a charitable organization, then not pay, and pull the routine that the people who delivered work must be the problem, when he in fact hired them…It is not a better business practice, and to some extent, illegal. I am not up to date on laws governing posing as false charity, but he did promise payment, and never came through.”

WHO IS WILL MAY
Again, using what is in the public domain, what can we learn about the founder and editor of Newspapers for the Blind? Let’s first see what Will May tells us about himself on his LinkedIn profile:

Interests: I like to sail boats and fly aeroplanes

Groups and Associations: Chief Medical Examiner of the Lesbian Fighter Pilots Association

May lists himself as the owner of Nevis LLC. A Nevis Limited Liability Company is based in the Caribbean tax-haven of Nevis. For $1495 USD, you too could become the proud owner of a Nevis LLC. It has a few benefits:

• Nevis does not impose corporate tax, income tax, withholding tax, stamp tax, asset tax, exchange controls or other fees or taxes on assets or income originating outside of Nevis.
• The owners and managers are not registered anywhere, which provides for complete secrecy.
• A Nevis LLC allows you to shield your assets from lawsuits, agencies, and financial creditors.
• Owners can manage the company without becoming liable for company financial obligations or legal liabilities.

THE LAST TYCOON
Voice-over colleague Juliette Gray worked for Will May and never received a penny. She confirmed what I had suspected when I questioned where the money for Newspapers for the Blind was coming from. Juliette wrote:

“One long conversation I had with him he told me that he had put a lot of money himself into it and he was a retired real estate tycoon from NYC.”

This is confirmed by the information May listed in his LinkedIn profile under “experience”:

“Chairman of Wm. B May & Company- Real Estate from 1982  – 2006”

This is not your average local realtor. The William B. May Company once was the nation’s oldest real estate brokerage firm, and it has been in the hands of one family for four generations. The website of the New York Real Estate Institute states:

“William B. May’s impeccable reputation has been built on a singular philosophy of integrity, trust, full accountability and integrated service. To this day, we pride ourselves on unwavering ethics, steadfast client loyalty, and competitive endurance.”

In a December 2000 newsletter, the company boasts:

“With age comes wisdom. The development of 57th Street at the heart of New York City was what first put William B. May on the map in the late 1860’s. At that time, we sold property to the Carnegies, the Fricks and the Vanderbilts.”

Today, the company is no more. Only the brand William B. May has survived. The business concept is owned by Broker Services Holding, LLC and it is operated as a franchise.

On his  LinkedIn page, Will May concurs that the company as it had existed, ceased operations in 2006, after -as he put it- “a tumultuous take-over fight”.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Gabriel Sherman is contributing editor at New York Magazine and a special correspondent for the New Republic. Prior to 2006, he was the media reporter at the New York Observer. In April of  ’05, he witnessed the demise of the venerable family firm.

When I read his article  “William T. May Sues Agency On Century 21 Ads”, a few things fell into place. This is how it begins:

“William Talcott May is the co-chairman of the storied real-estate brokerage founded by his great grandfather in 1866 and inheritor of the New York real-estate dynasty that bears his father’s name, William B. May.

But when the 44-year-old eccentric bounded into City Bakery on West 18th Street on a recent Thursday morning, wearing a fire-truck-red Scottish kilt and a navy-blue wool sweater, his broad, leonine cheekbones streaked with charcoal-hued face paint, he looked more Braveheart than businessman.”

If you don’t have time to read the entire article, here are some of the ‘highlights’:

• Mr. May studied economics at Duke University. He dropped out in 1982 after two and half years. At Duke, Mr. May was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, played rugby and co-founded the school’s polo club with 40 ponies he said his cousin won in a craps game in South America.
• After leaving Duke, Billy May -as he was known- returned to New York and worked in William B. May’s brokerage business while managing some of his own buildings. On the job he was stabbed and shot by tenants.
• As he was flying his private plane on 9/11/’01, he witnessed the entire disaster from 10,000 feet above New York Harbor. He told Gabriel Sherman: “I was on the radio to McGuire Air Force base in 20 seconds saying there had been a terrorist attack.”
• In December of 2001, the FBI and police arrested Mr. May for leaving six fake bombs at the New Castle County Airport in an attempt to highlight lax security.
• Between trial and sentencing, he served 31 days in solitary confinement. Mr. May received a felony conviction and four years probation for the incident.
• Mr. May’s attorney at the time, Penelope Marshall, said in reports that Mr. May was not medicated for his bipolar disorder.

Sherman ends his report from 2005 as follows:

“Mr. May, who says he has already spent $1 million of his own money to stanch the attacks on his family’s business, said he will not surrender until his family wins its name back. “I’m like a one-man pack of wild dogs when I get angry,” he said.”

LESSONS
You don’t have to be  a psychologist to realize that past behavior can -to a certain extent- predict future behavior. In the case of William Talcott May, knowing about his background made me understand where his Mr. Nice and Mr. Nasty type of behavior was coming from. I just hope that he doesn’t unleash his ‘one-man pack of wild dogs’ on me. I’m more of a cat person.

As I said before: I think that Newspapers for the Blind offers a terrific service. I sincerely hope that it will survive Will May’s erratic actions. Eventually, his karma will catch up with him.

INTERNET CASTING
As for our friends at the voice-over casting sites (sometimes known as Pay-to-Plays)… we realize that you don’t have the time or the resources to conduct extensive investigations. However, it would be very helpful if you would publish information on those individuals who have pulled a fast one, and share it with your members and with other voice-over casting sites. That way, scammers who are exposed on one site, won’t be able to set up shop at another site.

Instead, you have left it up to our trusted colleague Mahmoud Taji, to come up with a Scam-Alert for our industry. As much as I applaud his hard work, this should not have been left to the efforts of one blogging voice-over talent in Egypt.

As voice-seekers, we pay you in order to take advantage of your internet voice-casting service. We don’t want to be taken advantage of, because you choose to protect your voice-seekers from our phone calls.

Come to think of it… isn’t that how we used to do business? We simply picked up the phone and introduced ourselves to a prospective client. What would Sherlock Holmes call that? Elementary, perhaps?

Paul Strikwerda © 2010

www.nethervoice.com

*The BBB Wise Giving Alliance has developed Standards for Charity Accountability to “assist donors in making sound giving decisions and to foster public confidence in charitable organizations. The standards seek to encourage fair and honest solicitation practices, to promote ethical conduct by charitable organizations and to advance support of philanthropy.”

PS Is your accent preventing you from booking gigs and if so, should you change it? My next blog is about tweaking your twang!

Posting jobs under false names, not paying invoices and Jekyll and Hyde-treatment of voice-over talent… these appear to be the trademarks of William May.

Mr. May is the founder and editor of Newspapers For The Blind Organization,Inc,  a web–based service, offering a daily selection of newspaper articles for the vision impaired, read by voice-over pros. The site was quietly launched during the last quarter of 2009 (and should not be confused with NFB-Newsline®).

The idea behind Newspapers for the Blind (NFTB) is not new but certainly noble. The other two people involved, Dr. Edward E. Boas Jr. and Noelle Mills Adler, have impressive credentials. Dr. Boas is a Professor of Computer Science, Data Processing and Electronics at Cecil College in North East Maryland. Ms. Mills Adler is a past president of the Ladies Christian Union of New York City (now known as the LCU Foundation).

But it’s the voice-over professionals known as “newspapercasters” who are at the heart of NFTB. Newspapersfortheblind.org  raves:

“Our three dozen readers, culled from 3000 auditions, bring the precise vocal skills to reach and meet our unique audience.”

THE OFFER
At the beginning of September, last year, I became a member of this “elite team,” after auditioning for the following job posted on voice123:

Newspapers for Blind
This is a daily long term commitment to read a newspaper article into an MP3 for webcasting and free-phone service to the blind and hearing-impaired.

The files would want to be recorded from roughly midnight to 6AM US Eastern Time, so, geography may be important to readers.

The pacing of the delivery is painfully S-L-O-W, and the voice resonance is highly critical for the hearing-impaired. Tenors and sopranos need not bother; it won’t work for the hearing-impaired. Professor Henry Higgins diction is important; bite the words.

Voice-seekers name: confidential
Company name: hidden

I was absolutely thrilled to have made the cut. Regular gigs are hard to come by in this industry, but there was another reason why I was so excited. Some jobs we do for the money; others because it is the right thing to do. This was the best of both worlds!

THE AMAZING MR MAY
On top of that, the founder/editor seemed to possess an incredible drive and contagious enthusiasm to make things happen. His initial emails were personable, funny and encouraging. After I started reading leads from The Independent and The Times, he commented:

“My Cat; BraveHeart, loves your voice. She always perks up when I play your readings.  You have a fan.”

One day, I shared with him that I wasn’t feeling too well. He responded:

“Paul, hope you shake the cold…..just don’t shake this perfect voice, W”

This was clearly a man with a heart! One thing bothered me a little, though. Whenever I asked May if he intended to formalize the relationship and how payment would be handled, it took him months to come up with something that came close to a straight answer.

WORRIES
A month or so into the job, I had yet to be paid. Then I noticed that May had placed another job posting on voice123. Why would he be looking for new recruits? When I asked him about it, he answered:

“Please don’t worry about not enough readings for NFTB. Stick with me; I have to keep a Chinese Wall between the not-for-profit and other activities. There will be plenty of other activities to follow.”

He was right. Not only would I be recording and editing at least two articles a day, Will asked me and four other colleagues to record public service announcements for NFTB (a 501C-3 Corporation). I was tickled when he told me:

“Out of the 5, they chose your Public Service Message on 970 AM, New York.”

By that time I was on a roll. The only thing that was missing was a regular paycheck and eventually, that became an ordeal. I had to send out countless reminders, only to hear that my “address was lost” or that someone would be looking into it.

GIVE ME A BREAK
On November 15th, May surprised me with the following message:

“Lets let your money catch up with your readings; take a break.”

I responded:

“(…) As you know, I am very supportive of your charity, and I don’t understand why I should take a break. (…) If you do not have the money to pay me, you should have said so from the beginning. As a professional, I made my commitment based on your commitment. Financially, I plan ahead and make future projections based on assurances that have been made by my clients. Knowing that payment would not be forthcoming or would be seriously delayed, would have given me the opportunity to reconsider my commitment to NFTB, and possibly spend my time and energy generating income in other ways. (…)”

The answer:

“I had interpreted your last mail as unhappy. I was simply saying lets let the accounting, our weakest link, catch up with you. We have enough money, just not enough accounting bobbins.”

But on November 20th, I received the following email:

“Don’t count on any more readings in your planning; nothing to do with you.  We’ll catch up the accounting, and probably just wind things up.
May try to limp along at half or one-third normal see what happens.

(…)

Also, frankly, not enough users to merit all of the work; I’m working 18-20 hour days to throw 8-10 k out the window each week…what for.

I think we made sliced bread, when the world wants baguette.”

ANOTHER VOICE
The truth is that it was business as usual at Newspapers for the Blind. They didn’t miss a beat, and never have. I was sidetracked for no apparent reason, while waiting for my checks. And I was not alone:

Voice-over colleague Juliette Gray picks up the story:

“I was hired in November. They required reading articles (in my case from the London newspapers). These articles were long and the editing took ages. Then the person in charge decided because these people were also partially deaf that I needed to change my sound system. I did this willingly because I thought I had a steady job.

At quite a bit of expense I was ready to start working again and it was then he turned out to be a complete nightmare. We exchanged numerous e-mails, phone conversations, etc. and then he did a 180 degree turn – sort of like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Became impossible to communicate with and finally did get nasty in his final e-mail. Needless to say I never got paid.”

VOICE123
Steven Lowell handles the PR for voice123. This is what he said when I asked him about NFTB and Will May::

“When I first saw the job posted a while back, I was very excited because in NYC, I got some early voice over practice in the 90′s doing charity by reading books to the blind at a local church. It was something a coach recommended I do for practice.

The job made me think, ‘Wow! Good to see something like this again! Yet, what followed was an unpleasant experience of several talents with decades of experience, complaining to me that he was harsh and unfriendly to work with.

When reaching out to Mr. May to present that there have been problems, merely as a way to communicate feedback, his reply to me was, ‘Who complained? I don’t have the time to coach every talent to perfection….’

Before hearing my side of the story, voice123 heard from Juliette and 2 other voice-over professionals; one from the US, and one from the UK. As I was researching this article, I got in touch with other newspapercasters. Without exception, they asked me not to reveal their names, because they’re still hoping to get paid and they want to keep their job. But all of them told similar tales about Mr. May, and I wondered if voice123 had taken any action.

BANNED
As a rule, voice123 only investigates non-payment matters that are 60-days old. Steven Lowell: “This is because we do not get involved, and most payment disputes are resolved quite easily with a reminder email from me.”

Having examined concrete proof from email correspondence as to what had happened, voice123 banned Will May from the site. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the matter. Lowell:

“Mr. May posted the initial jobs under his own name. Once removed from the site, he began to use different names. During verification efforts by our staff, it was discovered who was posting the job. The staff at Voice123 has not changed in 2 years, and we have become very aware of ‘who is who’, and as such, have been able to catch people easily trying to repost after being banned.”

MONEY
Juliette Gray is still waiting for her paycheck, and she’s not the only one. I was lucky. Even though Mr. May still owes me a substantial amount of money, I did get paid for approximately two-thirds of my work.

For months, I asked May to pay the remainder of the balance, but he was MIA. When my knocks on his door became louder, he finally sent a very unfriendly email, accusing me of “futzing the dates” on my invoices. He wrote:

“I am in no great rush to go through hours of checking to deal with whatever might be outstanding to you. Checking truth versus falsehood is a nuisance.”

I responded:

“The invoices were sent on November 9th of last year, so you have had over two months to figure things out. I resent your remark that I “started futzing the dates”. My invoices accurately and faithfully reflect the work I have done for your organization at your request, and that’s the work I deserve to be paid for.”

CLOSING THOUGHTS
I think that Newspapers for the Blind offers a terrific service. The newspapercasters are dedicated and talented readers who can be proud to support their families by bringing the news to the blind and vision-impaired, day in day out.

The website has an impressive list of reputable institutions labeled as “dedicated listeners“. There is no doubt in my mind that the energetic editor has moved mountains to realize this project. Based on my email exchanges with him, Will May works night and day to keep the service up and running. I don’t know for sure,  but I suspect that he has invested a substantial amount of his own money into this worthy undertaking.

I also believe that people are not their behavior. From time to time, all of us do things that we are not proud of, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t know any better. Just because we do something crazy, doesn’t mean that we are crazy.

Having said that, it is not okay to treat people the Will May-way, and voice123 was right to ban him from the site. Other sites have been alerted to make sure he doesn’t pull the same stuff. Furthermore: May needs to pay his talents. Without them, there would be no Newspapers for the Blind.

For now, I am left with one question: why would someone who is clearly invested in and dedicated to such a noble cause, turn from Mr. Nice into Mr. Nasty?

In my experience, there’s always a story behind a story. And believe me, in this case there is.

But that’s for another time and another day.

Paul Strikwerda © 2010

Overnight, the world turned white…..
I always like to go outside before snow plows and shovels ruin a perfect picture. There’s something very magical about the light reflected by billions and billions of unique crystals. Fallen from heaven, those tiny flakes perform a timeless, selfless act. Down to earth, they reflect the light of the moon and stars, giving back what they receive, before melting away, only to be reincarnated.

A Buddhist might say that the beauty of snowflakes lies in their transient nature. One moment they’re here. The next, they’re gone. But leave it to less-philosophical people to attempt to defeat the inevitable passing of time and stop the clock from ticking. We’ve become quite good at it, actually. I’m not referring to the treatments available in certain celebrity spas. Mankind has developed even more sophisticated time capsules that do not involve the use of Clostridium botulinum.

FACE IT
Instead of smoothing away the ripples of the past, I wish to preserve them as best as I can. Why? Because those wrinkles are the storylines of our life. It’s where our ‘biology reflects our biography’, as Caroline Myss would put it. So, how do I go about my acts of self-preservation? It’s quite simple.

For this purpose, I use a clever device that is capable of capturing the moment, right before its echo is about to disappear into nothingness. It’s called a microphone. The very moment my sound meets the silence, I catch it; I record it and I store it in a safe place.

A PIONEER
It wasn’t as easy for Wilson Bentley. Born in 1865, he grew up on a farm in Jericho, Vermont. As a teenager he became fascinated by snowflakes. When he was fifteen, his mother gave him a microscope, and soon Wilson was on a mission to capture what he affectionately called “ice flowers”. Trying to draw them was impossible, because the flakes would vanish before he was able to finish the picture. His breath would take them away.

After years of experimentation, the 19-year old Bentley became the first person ever to photograph a single snow crystal, using a bellows camera to which he adapted a Dutch invention, the compound microscope. And it was Bentley, who discovered that no two snowflakes are alike.

During his lifetime, he captured more than five thousand snowflakes. He also published articles for magazines and journals including National Geographic and Scientific American, and filled nine notebooks with 47 years worth of his observations and analysis. In 1925 he wrote:

“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”

Earlier this year, on a trip to meet the talented team of “Suchavoice” in Vermont, I visited the Snowflake Bentley Museum at the Old Red Mill in Jericho. There I learned that this pioneer of science and photography, who had dedicated his life to studying snow crystals, eventually died of pneumonia after walking home through a blizzard. But, as that blockbuster movie trailer voice-over guy would say: “His legacy lives on.”

COMING HOME
While the world around me was covered up in white, I found myself reminiscing about a year that had nearly come to an end. Most moments had melted away, almost without a trace. But then I had to think of memories that had actually crystallized into something concrete. There’s this small collection of blog posts that can still be read, and of course my voice can be heard on countless projects that, hopefully, will be around for a while.

No matter what we do in life, at some point in our journey, all of us have to ask ourselves the big questions:

“Does what I do really matter? What’s the purpose? Do I make a difference? What do I leave behind when it’s my time to go home?”

I’m no expert in the afterlife, but who knows… long after I’m gone, my grandchildren might even pick up one of the audio books I recorded this year. And as they listen to my voice, painstakingly preserved for posterity, the sounds that were frozen in time become fluid. In a  flurry of words, past and present embrace each other in the now of the moment, and nothing, nothing will ever be the same again.

Call me a flake, but I think that’s just very cool!

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

PS This article is dedicated to the memory of Steve Christen, a gentle man, a wonderful Mensch and a heck of a horn player.

PPS 2009 has been a tough year for voice-over talents. That’s why I am starting a mini-series about ways to turn your business around. First up: how dreams can turn into nightmares.

When his BMW Roadster pulls up at the back of the church, the parking lot is already jam-packed. Folks dressed up like Eskimos have braved the biting cold to see the man some call “the super conductor”.

This Jersey Christmas ritual started 22 years ago, when a charismatic priest and former student at The Manhattan School of Music, founded the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea. His name: Rev. Alphonse J. Stephenson. But most most people simply know him as “Father Alphonse”.

Stephenson formed his very first group of musicians in New York’s Theater District, back in the eighties, while serving as assistant pastor at St. Malachy’s, the Actor’s Chapel. When his parochial duties were over for the night, you could find him moonlighting as a pianist at a Broadway hangout. He recalls that the confessions he would hear while playing were often more truthful and candid, than the ones he would hear in church.

FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT…
Torn between Pit and Pulpit, as People Magazine once put it, Stephenson joined a touring company to conduct more than 2,000 performances of  “A Chorus Line”. In ’84, choreographer Michael Bennett tapped him to conduct the musical at the Shubert Theatre.

But tonight, there’s no “Tits and Ass” on the program, although the symphony orchestra effortlessly transitions from Beethoven to Broadway at the touch of a baton. Tonight, Corpus Christi Church in Chatham NJ, has opened its doors to hear the familiar sounds of the season.

Only a few days ago, the orchestra and its conductor were featured on an ABC Christmas special: “A New York Holiday” alongside Cirque du Soleil and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.

To be honest, the Catholic Community of Chatham deserves some holiday cheer. On October 23rd, Rev. Ed Hinds, a beloved local priest, was found brutally murdered in his clerical robes, in the kitchen of the rectory in St. Patrick’s Church. His death left this Northern Jersey town in shock. Authorities were quick to arrest the church janitor. “He’s the last person I would have suspected,” a parishioner commented. Now, all the faithful of Chatham have come together for an evening of heartwarming music and… humor.

FORCED TO BE HERE
After opening with “Adeste Fidelis”, Father Alphonse turns to the audience and thanks them profusely for coming. Then he asks: “How many of you have heard us before?” Almost the entire church raises their hand. In this part of New Jersey, Christmas without Father Alphonse is like Thanksgiving without turkey. “How many of you are new to the orchestra?” he wants to know. A few hands go up in the air. But he isn’t done yet. “Now, who was forced to be here tonight?” he asks. One brave man in his late fifties pleads guilty, only to hear the conductor follow-up with: “May I ask who forced you to be here?” Predictably, the man points a trembling finger at his wife.

That was the cue Father Alphonse had been waiting for. “I am working on my next book,” he says with a grin on his face. “It’s called ‘The Joys of Celibacy. You see, I don’t have to go anywhere I don’t want to go.” The audience roars.

THE CANDY LADY
An evening with St. Peter by the Sea is no ordinary evening. But of course, Father Alphonse is no ordinary conductor, or priest for that matter. He once stopped his 45 musicians in the middle of a performance, because a woman in the front row was struggling with a very loud candy wrapper. He turned around; asked her to come up to the stage with the sweets, and then he yanked the candy right out of her hands. Thankfully, she had a great sense of humor and the audience had a good laugh. Till this day, the ‘candy lady’ always shows up to the same concert and has a front row seat. And at some point during the program, she hands the conductor a bag of sweets and he gives her home-made cookies.

In a way, he reminds me of Danny Kaye, who often conducted orchestras as charity fund-raisers. It was always a mix of stand-up comedy and musical magic. Stephenson founded the Cecelia Foundation, a nonprofit group, giving professional quality musical instruments to deserving children who, in his words, “promise not to break them.” Proceeds of the sale of the orchestra’s CD’s go to the foundation, but last year, their conductor surprised everyone with a new fundraiser. He published “Le Canzoni Della Cucina, Songs of the Kitchen”, a cookbook (+ CD) filled with Neapolitan and Sicilian family recipes he wrote with his cousin Antoinette Scillieri.

DAY JOB
Though he was ordained in 1975 and always wears his clerical collar when conducting, he has never had his own parish, nor has he ever wanted one. Throughout the week, Stephenson wears a very different uniform. He is in fact a Colonel and the Command Chaplain of the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard, Headquartered in Fort Dix. (this is about to change. See the News Update at the end of this article)

Just because he works with those who keep our nation out of harm’s way, doesn’t mean that you’d be safe at a Christmas concert. Let’s go back to the action in the church. Right before the intermission, Father Alphonse turns to the man who was forced to be there; he hands him the baton and has him conduct Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride”. After the man-turned-fan gets a well-deserved ovation, Stephenson is ready to talk about serious matters.

A SPECIAL MISSION
“This year”, he tells the audience “has been a special year for me. As you may know, I was asked to come to Arlington. I can’t exactly tell you where I work; that’s a state secret. I can only reveal that the building has five sides.”

Behind the scenes and far away from the podium, Colonel Stephenson is conducting a different operation. He is working hard to invigorate the evolving role of military chaplains in a nation at war. He tells his audience:

“Here in Jersey you might think that being a Colonel is a big deal. But when you work at a place where everybody is a four star General, it means absolutely nothing. After I introduce myself, they usually say to me: ‘Nice meeting you Colonel. Now, get me a cup of coffee! And that’s an order!’”

BEETHOVEN ON THE BEACH
Dynamics usually change during the summer. At that time, Stephenson outranks everybody, because he’s at the helm of the Festival of the Atlantic in Point Pleasant Beach. It’s New Jersey’s largest outdoor music festival, founded by… you guessed it, a certain priest.

Expect thousands of people gathered on the beach, listening to opera, symphonies and show tunes. Some of them bring food, drinks and candles. During intermission, a group of dedicated volunteers collects donations. They’re nicknamed “Father Alphonse’s Angels”.

Meanwhile, at Corpus Christi, the soloists, Edward Perretti, Thad Shirey and rising star Victoria Cannizzo, are singing of different angels. As their music permeates even the darkest corners of the church, something remarkable happens.

Suddenly, the good people of Chatham, still shaken by the evil that was in their midst, start seeing a glimmer of light in a night filled with darkness. The light was always there. But sometimes, we manage to obscure it with our thoughts, with our words and with our actions.

When things are too profound for words; when we are left speechless, music takes over. Music lifts us up. Music brings hope. Music heals….

It’s almost a religious experience.

Especially when the conductor… is a priest!

NEWSFLASH As of June 2010, Father Alphonse will assume full-time duties as the Director of the Joint Chaplaincy Staff at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, VA. As the highest ranking officer, he will be in command of the Army, Air Force and National Guard Chaplaincy with an office in the Capital building. The Festival of the Atlantic will go -as he put it- “on hiatus.”

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

PS click here for the Orchestra’s concert schedule, CD’s and cookbook.

PPS Busy, busy, busy… that’s what most of us are. Our in-box is never empty. Do we ever pause to ask the fundamental questions? Or does it take a snowstorm, to stop us in our tracks as we wonder why we work and work and work…? Click here to find out.

How much money would you pay to flip a switch? How about $770! That’s Superior Court Judge Jack Panella’s winning bid to turn on the Easton Peace candle. At 106 feet high (32 meters), Easton’s Peace Candle is the worlds largest non-wax candle.

Easton Pennsylvania is my home town, and if you look at a map, you’ll see that it’s right next to towns like Bethlehem and Nazareth. I always joke that I live in the unholy part of the county. Unholy maybe, but not unimportant. George Taylor, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, had a tavern in Easton where customers like George Washington and Ben Franklin used to enjoy their pint. The building dates back to 1753 and was recently sold for one dollar.

Kids might know Easton because it’s home to the Crayola Factory. And if you’re a boxing fan, you have heard of the “The Easton Assassin”, former heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes. On November 27th, Holmes helped his friend Panella to light the Peace Candle. How many men does it take to flip a switch these days?

O TANNENBAUM
Easton has a strong German heritage. Rumor has it that the Germans put up one of the continent’s earliest Christmas trees in Easton in 1816. There’s a plaque suggesting that the very first Christmas tree in America was erected here, but several other towns are making that claim as well. Do we really care? Then why am I telling you this?

Even though the Dutch are celebrating St. Nicholas Eve (known as “Sinterklaas”), I have my eyes and ears set on December 25th. In fact, I just narrated two versions of the Nativity story, one taken from the New King James Bible and the other one from the Good News Testament. These recordings are my thank you gift to those who are willing to sponsor me for taking part in the yearly Walk MS Event in the spring of 2010.

As a voice-over actor I do a lot of talking but not enough walking. Here are two of my reasons to start ‘walking the talk’ for MS:

1. raise awareness
2. raise money

THE BIG UNKNOWN
One of the unfortunate things about Multiple Sclerosis is, that it’s hard to pin down. Like Christmas, MS is a bit of a mystery. We’re still pretty much in the dark about a cause as well as a cure. MS symptoms are unpredictable; they differ from person to person and can vary from day to day. One day, you might see my wife Pam walking with a cane, struggling to get to the car. The next day, you might spot her on a morning walk in the park. That’s something people don’t always understand.

How can someone appear to be doing fine one day, and almost ready for a wheelchair the next? Well, luckily you don’t have to be an expert to be informed. But some people don’t get it, until they get it. Believe me, you don’t want to be that person.

Then there’s a group that seems to think that MS is “all in the mind”, and that MS patients are “faking it”. Thank goodness it’s a minority, but to address these kind of misconceptions, there are stickers and shirts that say things like:

“My disabling chronic illness is more real than your imaginary medical experience.”

or

“You can have my handicap parking spot, if you take my MS too!”

FAMOUS FACES
Raising money to fight MS is not always easy, in part because MS doesn’t really have a familiar face. President Josiah Bartlet in the West Wing (played by Martin Sheen) had MS; actress Teri Garr and television personality Montel Williams have MS , but other than that, there aren’t too many “celebrity sufferers” to champion the cause. I’m not saying that it’s a must, but it doesn’t hurt to have famous spokespeople with whom the public can identify.

This year, “The Amazing Race” host Phil Keoghan took the MS Movement on a Ride Across America. Keoghan and others biked 3,500 miles from Los Angeles to New York City and raised half a million dollars.

GIVING A VOICE TO MS
My goal is not as ambitious, although I’d love to give Keoghan a run (or a bike ride) for his money! Phil had hundreds, sometimes thousands of people join him at every stage of his Amazing Ride. Corporate sponsors, local businesses and other teams injected his journey with cash. For now, I am just a one-man band, kicking off my “Giving a Voice to MS” campaign. That’s why I am asking you to join me, and please, let your friends, family and colleagues know about it too. The more the merrier, especially around Christmas!

LIVING AND GIVING
Meanwhile, snow has started to fall in Easton. The Peace Candle lights up the historic town square. I wish I could flip a switch and MS (and any other disease) would be gone forever. But it’s going to take a whole lot more than 770 dollars. We do need the wisdom of a Judge and the fighting spirit of a boxing champion to shine the light on Multiple Sclerosis, and find that cure. But in the meantime, there’s a lot that can be done to make the lives of people with MS so much brighter.

Come walk with me; join my campaign and become a sponsor, wherever you are! My Walk Website has all the details, including how you can get the 9-minute mp3 Nativity story read by yours truly.

Christmas-sample, NKJV

Christmas-sample, GNT

Thank you!

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

PS you’ll find more information about MS on the website of the National MS Society.

PPS Christmas 2009 is history, but we’re just warming up for the MS walk in May. On my personal MS-site, you’ll find a new voice-over thank you gift for your donation.

PPPS If you’re an independent contractor like me, you probably wear many hats. Can you afford not to? Either you run your business, or your business runs you. But is it possible to be everything to everyone? My next article is about a unique man of many talents, and his journey from Broadway to the center of America’s military power.

It was one of the most cynical cartoons I’d ever seen. A colleague had just put it up on the wall of the newsroom at Radio Netherlands International. The frenzy of fanatic reporters filing their stories disappeared into the background as I read the headline: “WHAT IS NEWS?”

The question couldn’t be simpler. The answer couldn’t be more complicated. And yet, everything around me was buzzing with deadline-driven activity, as if all of us actually knew what we were doing.

“NEWS” is one of those words that you and I hear many times a day. In fact, we hear it and use it so frequently, that we rarely question what it means. There are many words like that; words such as crisis, support, or health care. These words are so common, it’s pretty obvious what they stand for, isn’t it? Do we really need to define them?

SEMANTICS
Scientist and philosopher Afred Korzybski, the father of general semantics, would strongly disagree. He coined the phrase: “The map is not the territory”. By that he meant that an abstraction derived from something, is not the thing itself. In plain language: you can’t get wet from the word water. The word water (the map) is only a representation of something that’s much more fluid (the territory). But when we use the word water, it is generally assumed that we know what it means. That very human assumption is the basis of many conflicts, big and small. People confuse maps with territories all the time. It’s like eating the menu in a restaurant.

BUMPER TO BUMPER
“Support our troops” it said on the bumper sticker. Most Americans couldn’t agree more. Especially these days, it is important to support our troops, don’t you think? But on a deeper level, what does ‘support’ really mean? Remember: the word ‘support’ is just a map. But of what? How exactly, should we support our troops? By increasing the defense budget? By sending more troops to Afghanistan? Or should we support them by pulling them out of trouble spots and bringing them back home?

As long as we’re talking on the level of abstractions, it’s easy to agree. Who isn’t in favor of world peace? How it should be achieved is a different matter, and that’s usually where the fighting begins.

There’s a vital element through which we consciously (but most of the time unconsciously) determine meaning. Imagine seeing the “Support our troops” bumper sticker on a pickup truck with a veteran license plate. There’s also a “Semper Fi” sign on the F-150, and a third sticker saying: “Anti-War = Pro-Terrorism”. With that information in hand, how do you think the owner feels we can best support our troops?

Here’s a different scenario. You’re on the highway and you spot that same “Support our troops” sticker. But this time it’s stuck to the back of a beat up Volvo station wagon. Next to it is a “Bring them Home” sticker, and another one that reads: “Against the War. Not the Warrior”. Knowing what you know now, what assumptions would you make this time, about the owners views on how to best support our troops?

Even though we’re talking about the same sticker, the meaning of the words is context-dependent. And without knowing the context, we’re all in danger of mistaking the map for our territory. As a result, we carry on entire conversations based on mind reads and interpretations that have very little to do with the reality of the person we’re talking to. That person can be a friend, a foe, a politician or our life partner. Our lips might whisper the words: “I know exactly what you mean,” but truthfully, our perception is greatly based on distorted personal projections. And yes, it works both ways.

THE REAL WOR(L)D
We’re not just talking semantics here. Every soldier knows that the reality on the ground could be very different from the map that was used during the briefing. Confusing the map for the territory could lead to deadly mistakes. It has killed many relationships and numerous attempts to build bridges between people, cultures, faiths and political systems. And because it is so ingrained in human nature, it won’t hit the headlines any day soon. The familiar might be deadly, but it’s also boring.

So, WHAT IS NEWS? The cartoon at Radio Netherlands showed a very simple formula for determining the newsworthiness of an event:

“the number of people killed, divided by how many miles away from home it happened”

I did tell you it was one of the most cynical cartoons I had ever seen, didn’t I? It criticized the “If it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t lead” type of journalism that is so pervasive these days. A plane crash in some far away land won’t make the six o’clock news, unless Americans are involved (if you live in the States, that is). Had it happened closer to home, it would have made the headlines. It’s the proximity effect. People tend to care more about what happens in their own backyard, especially if it’s grotesque, gruesome and controversial.

HOLE IN ONE
So, let me ask you this: how many cars strike a fire hydrant or a tree every day (even in your own neck of the Woods)? Is that news? Only if the driver happens to be a certain famous golfer. It’s an example of the prominence effect. Whenever a celebrity is involved, the media will jump on it. The proximity effect and the prominence effect are just two of the filters journalists use to determine what news is. To a certain extent, these two filters are based on objective criteria. But is it possible to be utterly impartial, and leave personal values, opinions and history at the door when evaluating the newsworthiness of a story?

In 1996, the U.S. Society of Professional Journalists dropped the word “objectivity” from its code of ethics. Deborah Potter writes in The Handbook of Independent Journalism (a U.S. Department of State publication): “Journalists are human beings, after all. They care about their work and they do have opinions.  Claiming that they are completely objective suggests that they have no values.”

NEW SOURCES
Twitter has now become the world’s fastest growing news source. How objective do you think most of those microblogs are? By definition, blogs usually reflect opinion instead of fact, and most Twitter-users don’t subscribe to a code of fair and balanced news-gathering, based on checking and double-checking sources in an attempt to provide a complete picture. Again: by definition Twitter-chatter is highly subjective. That’s one of the reasons for its popularity.

But let’s bring it a bit closer to home. You’re a reasonable person, aren’t you? When push comes to shove, you can set your own prejudices aside and open your mind to whatever information comes your way, right?

THE MIRROR
Well, let’s see how objective you really are… Remember the pick-up truck with the “Anti-War = Pro-Terrorism” sticker, the veteran license plate and the “Semper Fi” sign? That redneck driver is surely a right-wing republican Fox-news watching marine in favor of killing our way out of any conflict. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is… a duck.

As you get off the highway to pump some gas, you end up parking your car right next to the F-150. A young guy in a “Life is Good” shirt, steps out of the truck and starts filling it up. A woman at the next pump is clearly upset about the provocative stickers on the bumper, and she says to the young man: “Anti-War is Pro-Terrorism… that’s a terrible message you have on your car. I’m against the war but that doesn’t make me a terrorist, does it? Do you call yourself an American? Shame on you!”

The young man looks at her in shock. His face turns completely red. Then he takes a deep breath and says: “I’m on my way to the hardware store to pick up some stuff. I’m working on a house for Habitat for Humanity. This truck belongs to a friend of a friend. I didn’t even see the stickers, but I couldn’t agree more with you.”

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

PS My next article is a complete change of focus, but it’s about something that’s just as urgent as the news. This time, it’s personal.  It will take you right to center square of my home town, and I assure you: it’s quite a switch! Click here to read on.