Double Dutch

There’s no publicity like FREE publicity, especially if you run a small business on a small budget.

Right now I’m the media manager and PR-advisor to “Music for MS,” a benefit concert organized by and featuring my wife.

It’s my job to drum up as much media interest for this event as possible, and fill up the venue on February 26th by word of mouth and other means.

Every glossy flyer or multicolored poster we would print or ad we’d have to buy, would mean less money for the cause (the National Multiple Sclerosis Society), so I’m not doing that. Instead, I’m mobilizing the local press and I’m using social media to reach out to the community. It saves tons of paper which makes it eco-friendly.

The official campaign began yesterday, and so far we’ve already landed two interviews. This is where things get serious. Anyone can write a glorious press release, but not everyone does well on radio, television or in the papers. I know what I’m talking about because I have trained hundreds of people to get ready to meet the press.

One of the first things my students would always complain about is the focus of the media: Why do they only cover sensational stories? Why has the news become so superficial? Why don’t they come to me for a story? What they’re really saying is this: “Paul, you’re a journalist. I’m interesting and you should interview me!”

My knee-jerk response would be: “No you’re not, and why should I?” But of course I’d keep that to myself. Here’s what I’d say instead:

1. You have to have a hook to be heard.

If your name is Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton, you don’t have to do anything special to attract the attention of millions. In fact, that would be your only accomplishment: being famous for being famous. Mere mortals such as you and me have to give the news media a good REASON why they’d want to come to us. A hook. Preferably with fresh bait.

News is the report of an event that is:

• recent
• unusual
• previously unknown and
• interesting and relevant to a great number of people

Let me add something to that definition: If there’s nobody to cover it, it’s not news. Fortunately or unfortunately, these days, all we need is one idiot with an iPhone.

Secondly, news is news if conglomerates like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation or Bertelsmann AG decide we should learn about it.

Third, news is news if the corporate sponsors (or other powers that be) feel it does not undermine their interests. (click here for an example)

Fourth: the more local the outlet, the lower the bar for what is deemed to be newsworthy.

Let’s assume you’re a voice-over professional hoping to attract some interest from the local papers. You’ve just completed another audio book. That’s something recent, but is it news?

Well, it depends on how unusual the book is and how many people would be interested in it. If we are talking about the audio version of Hitler’s secret diaries that were thought to be lost, you might have a story, but I don’t think this type of publicity would do your career any good. Which brings me to my next point.

2. You have to have a clear objective.

What do you ideally want to happen as a result of the media attention you hope to generate? Unless you’re hungry for recognition, an interview is just a means to an end.

In the case of my concert, the overall goal is to raise money and awareness for the fight to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic, mysterious and often misunderstood disease of the central nervous system. In order to accomplish that I need as many people as possible to come to the concert. This gives me a way to measure the success of my campaign.

Please note: what you hope to accomplish and what the journalist wishes to accomplish, might be two very different things!

If you don’t know what you want to get out of the interview, don’t do it. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to. It’s better to wait for the perfect opportunity than to waste a mediocre one.

If you do have an objective in mind, it’s time to go to the next step:

3. You have to craft a compelling core message.

If you could summarize what you’d like to get across in one or two sentences, what would it be? Let me put it in another way: If at the end of the interview people would only remember one thing, one powerful image or one great idea, what would you want that to be?

That should become the heart of your message, and it is your mission to get it across no matter what.

In the age of information overload, it is harder and harder to cut through the clutter and be heard. People scan the news and rarely look past the headlines or sound bites, so give them headlines and sound bites. You’ll survive.

I don’t care if you think it’s shallow or giving in to sensationalism. Should you get the chance to reach thousands, if not millions of people, don’t waste it by being boring. It’s regrettable to be forgettable.

A sound bite is usually not something you’ll come up with when the intimidating cameras are rolling and you’re staring into the hot, blinding studio lights. Do not count on your magic talent for improvisation. You can’t wing it.

4. You have to be prepared.

Well, well… isn’t that a given? Of course you need to give it some thought. Or is it better to be spontaneous and ‘in the moment’? You don’t want to look too rehearsed, do you?

Here’s my take on that.

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make is not preparing for an interview. They’ve literally said to me: “But I’m the expert. You can throw any question at me any time. I don’t need interview training.”

Just because you’re an expert doesn’t mean you’ll do well during an interview. Readers, listeners, viewers… they all hate pompous know-it-alls that talk over people’s heads.

I have seen great thinkers, captains of industry and even bishops nearly faint because they couldn’t handle the pressure of the simplest unexpected question.

They approached a 2-minute interview as if they were delivering a half-hour sermon, and when time was up, they had said nothing of significance. Of course they’d blame the network for not giving them enough air time.

Everyone who’s ever been interviewed will agree with me: When you’re in the hot seat, time as we know it does not exist. In the stress and excitement of the moment, people forget the simples of things such as their middle names and the phone number of the organization they’ve come to promote.

Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. In the next installment I’ll tell you what you need to know before you meet the press.

Meanwhile, have you ever been interviewed?

What lessons did you learn?

Paul Strikwerda ©2012
www.nethervoice.com
Be sweet. Please retweet.

Technorati Tags: Bertelsmann AG, creating publicity, Dutch voice over, interview training, media coaching, media management, media training, meet the press, Multiple Sclerosis, Music for MS, Nethervoice, News Corporation, newsworthy, Paul Strikwerda, self-promotion, what is news

Etymology is the study of the origin of words. If you love language the way I do, you probably love looking into its history. Delving into the deeper meaning of the things that come out of our mouths is as revealing as it is rewarding.

Take the word competition. To most people it is synonymous with rivalry or a fight to outdo another; a race that can only have one winner and lots of losers. It’s Darwin’s theory in a nutshell.

It wasn’t always understood like that.

The word competition comes from the latin verb competere. Com meaning ‘together’ and petere ‘to strive or seek’. Hundreds of years ago, competition actually meant ‘to strive or come together’ or even ‘to agree’.

Whenever people tell me that the voice-over business is getting more and more competitive, I prefer to think of it in terms of the original meaning of the word.

Ideally, it should be about amicable cooperation and not about bitter confrontation. We shouldn’t be at each others’ throats. Instead, we have to strive together…. but for what exactly?

To me the answer is simple: to further our field and make this a profession we’re proud to be part of. The way to do that is to set and live by the highest standards, both professionally and ethically.

In a world where the lowest (and cheapest) common denominator often seems to win the day, this is not a popular message. Our culture promotes and rewards passive consumption, and it excels in upholding minimum standards. Take a look around you. Everywhere, highly skilled craftsmen have been replaced by robots and cheesy prefab.

Quality calls for experience, dedication, patience and passion. It’s so much easier to be average. Mediocrity can be phoned in. It doesn’t require effort, enthusiasm or attention to detail. It doesn’t ask for sacrifice, continued education or for high-end equipment.

Perhaps I’m prejudiced, but I see no pride in delivering a perfunctory performance or an ordinary product. There’s absolutely no value in that.

Some will say that today’s culture of coasting is a result of people playing it safe. If you ask me, it’s based on laziness, carelessness and fear.

If you never stick your neck out, you won’t get hurt, but you won’t rise above the rest either.

Do you know anyone who has ever reached the top of his or her game by playing it safe?

It’s only good for preventing two things: accidents and unwanted pregnancies.

ADDING VALUE
Two weeks ago, I promised to get back to the topic of adding value in voice-overs. At this point you might expect a top 10 of the best tips on how to increase your worth as a voice-over artist. Any blogger will tell you that readers love numbered lists. But without the right frame of mind, these tips could easily turn into tricks. Tricks are for circus animals and con artists.

When discussing value, we need to talk about your motivation first. So, let me ask you this:

What drives you to be in this business?

Fame? Fun? Fortune? Fulfillment?

I’m sure you can come up with some other f-words.

Please don’t just read on, but take a few moments to really answer the question. But think of it, not so much in terms of what you hope to get out of it, but in terms of what you’re willing to put into it.

You don’t need Dr. Phil to tell you that the more you’re prepared to give, the more you’re likely to get.

Eventually.

Back to the question.

What drives you to be in this business?

Write down five to seven things that immediately come to mind. Don’t censor or analyze them. Just jot them down.

Now, let’s go one level deeper and ask ourselves:

What determines what people are willing to give (and give up), in order to get something that’s valuable to them?

That -of course- depends on what’s important to them, how important it is to them and why. Ultimately, this is determined by their values.

Values are the intangible things we really care about; they are the fundamental principles we live by, and they’re often compressed into abstract words such as honesty, integrity, health, love or liberty. Most of us take these notions for granted and never really think about what drives us deep down inside.

We’re motivated by things that matter to us most.

If I were to use some psycho-babble I’d say: Values provide an upfront motivation and an after-the-fact evaluation of the things we do and the choices we make in any context of our life.

Take the value of being truthful. As with all values, it can mean different things to different people. To my friend Fred it primarily means being truthful to himself. He’s a Democrat and he’d never do a voice-over for a campaign ad for a Republican candidate, no matter how much it would pay. Principles are more important than money.

To my friend Julie, being truthful means being truthful to her art, which she translates to being as convincing as possible when reading copy, whether it’s written by a Democrat, a Republican or a Libertarian.

Julie loves taking on challenging projects, and she has no problem putting her own political persuasions aside. As long as she can sound as if she totally means what she says, she’ll happily take the money. After all, she’s just playing a role. She doesn’t have to vote Republican.

NO RESPECT
Fred and Julie have noticed something else. Every time they felt uncomfortable or uncertain about a job or their performance, it usually had to do with their values.

Julie wasn’t at all happy with the condescending way a director had treated her in one of her last sessions. She made good money but it came at a hefty price. Afterwards she told me: “I’ll never work with that man again, no matter how much he’d pay me.”

Not so long ago, Fred was offered a project that seemed to be made for him, and the client agreed. “Finally, there’s someone who recognizes what I’m capable of,” Fred said to me, right after his audition. But as soon as he saw what the client was willing to offer for his services, he felt offended.

It turned out that for both Julie and Fred, the value of respect was very important. Julie felt disrespected by the rude director, and Fred felt insulted by the rate they offered him.

When core values are violated, people draw the line.

Now, how does all this digging into our psyche relate to adding value in voice-overs? I’ll tell you.

Before considering the additional benefits you think you can offer your clients, you have to value what you bring to the table first (and I don’t necessarily mean in a monetary way).

It works a bit like self-esteem. You will never be able to convince others that you believe in yourself, if that timid voice inside of you doesn’t believe a word of it. At best, you’d be sending mixed signals. Here’s an example.

The worst salespeople are those who don’t believe that their product is worth the asking price. They start apologizing right off the bat, and most of them don’t even realize they’re doing it. They give themselves away by using innocent words like usually or normally, when discussing their rate or price. Here’s what they might say:

“I usually charge….” or “Normally, this would sell for…”

What’s the not so hidden message here, and how would you respond?

How about this: “So, you’d normally charge $350, right? Well, what can you do for me today?”

And so the salesman steps into the hole that he just dug for himself by using one revealing word.

As long as he isn’t convinced of the value of what he has to offer, you can forget about teaching this old dog new tricks.

In the past, colleagues have come up to me and said: “Interesting concept, Paul, but this doesn’t really apply to me. I’m a voice-over actor. Not a sales person.”

To them I say: “Believe it or not, you ARE in sales. It is your job as an independent contractor to negotiate the best terms and the best price for your services.

Secondly, as an actor it is your job to sell your character to me as convincingly as you can. If you don’t believe you can pull that role off, don’t waste your time. I’ll be able to tell within a matter of seconds.”

Your actions and your results start with what you value. It all begins with what’s important to you and why.

People who truly value what they bring to the table state their price with conviction and then shut up. And you know what? These people are more likely to get what they’re asking for. They know that quality knows no shortcuts or compromises.

If you’re committed to furthering the field and make this a profession you’re proud to be part of, I hereby challenge you to raise your standards and increase your value in the year to come.

Let the competition begin!

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be sweet. Please retweet!

Technorati Tags: competition, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice over, finding value, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, voiceover, voiceover blog, voiceovers

She jokingly called her students “germ bags” and described school parents as “snobby” and “arrogant.”

On Facebook.

As a result, this Massachusetts math and science teacher lost her $92,636-a-year job.

A waitress at a pizza restaurant in uptown Charlotte was fired after making derogatory remarks about customers who’d made her work an hour past the end of her shift and only left a small tip.

On Twitter.

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the Aflac duck, after the insurance company found out he was tweeting “jokes” about the devastating tsunami in Japan.

Free speech is a wonderful thing, as long as you realize who’s listening. Big Brother is following you. He might even be a Facebook friend or a Google Spy-der.

Digital Inspiration discovered last month, that:

“Googlebots, or the spiders that crawl web pages, are now reading Facebook comments on websites just like any other text content and the more interesting part is that you can also search the text of these comments using regular Google search.”

Many sites allow you to use your Facebook profile to leave comments. It’s easy and it saves time. But when you do that, your remarks are linked to your user name, profile picture and they link back to your Facebook profile.

As CNET’s Sharon Vaknin warned:

“A Google search for your name may reveal your comments. Since your Facebook account is tied to your (presumably) real name, anyone googling you may stumble upon your political, religious, or general views expressed in comments you’ve left across the Web. Consider this when leaving comments using the Facebook Comments platform.”

And it’s not just your comments that could get you in trouble.

One of my European colleagues had landed a voice-over job for a high-end electronics company. She was thrilled to be associated with such a big name, and she liked the video she had voiced so much, that she put a link up on her blog.

The next day the phone rang. The legal department of the electronics giant asked her to read the fine print in her contract. It stated that she was not allowed to publicly associate herself with the company and that she could not use any material for promotional purposes.

Even though she removed the link immediately, she never heard from this client again.

Later she told me: “It was just a link to a video that was on the company website. It was in the public domain. What’s the big deal? The way I see it, I was creating some free publicity for this company.”

It amazed me how quickly the legal department had discovered the link on a blog that wasn’t exactly popular. It goes to show that you never know who is watching over your shoulder.

This week, one of my agents received the following message from a casting director:

“Agents – it has come to our attention that many actors excited about their auditions, will post notices on facebook and twitter. This weekend, an actor lost a job because the tweet got back to the client on a product that had not been announced. Please ask your actors to not tweet/facebook the products for auditions.”

My agent immediately sent an email to all talent:

We know you get excited about auditions and bookings, but please do not tweet, facebook, blog, or share in any way before the finished media is out.

The safest sharing rule for the entertainment industry: only share information on your project AFTER the date of first insertion. No exceptions.

DO NOT announce clients or products for auditions, callbacks or bookings.

DO NOT check in on facebook.

DO NOT use social media on set.

Remember: You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you.

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be sweet. Please retweet.
PPS Next week I’ll talk about adding value in voice-overs.

Technorati Tags: Aflac, CNET, Digital Inspiration, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice over, Facebook, Gilbert Gottfried, Google, Googlebots, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, Sharon Vaknin, Social Media, twitter, voiceovers

“Those who can’t build value, have nothing left but to compete on price.” Paul Strikwerda

By the end of December, Alex Rodriguez will have earned $39,000,000. That’s 33 million in salary and winnings from the New York Yankees, and 6 million in endorsements. Not bad for a year’s work.

Do you think he’s worth it?

In 2006, entertainment tycoon David Geffen sold Jackson Pollock’s painting No. 5, 1948 for 140 million dollars. Assuming you had that kind of spare change, would you spend it on a painting described by some as “stunning drip”?

Can you tell me why 15-year old actress Abigail Breslin reportedly made $65K for 5 hours of voice-over work for the animated film “Zambezia”? Yes, that’s $13,000 per hour!

Let’s be honest: what did these people really do?

Mmm… let’s see. Rodriguez is pretty good at hitting a ball with some sort of stick; Pollock simply threw some paint on engineered wood, and all Breslin did was talk into a microphone. Why is that worth so much money?

Two words: PERCEIVED VALUE

Before I deal with the notion of perception, let’s first talk about the connection between cost, price and value.

Unless you are selling something that is basic and interchangeable (such as a commodity), there’s often no direct correlation between the cost to produce a certain article, the price the article sells for and the value people attribute to it. Art is an extreme example.

“No. 5, 1948” is currently the most expensive painting ever sold. Did you ever wonder how much Pollock spent on paints, brushes and the 8′ × 4′ sheet of fiberboard he drizzled on? Does it even matter?

What does matter is the subjective value of the painting and not the cost of the materials. In fact, to the new owner, the subjective value of Pollock’s masterpiece might very well be more than 140 million dollars.

Warren Buffet summed it up nicely:

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

That’s why people who only compete on price (those darn lowballers), are making a huge mistake. By doing so, they are devaluing what they have to offer, even before the client has had a chance to respond.

As soon as you start competing on price, you treat your valuable service or product as a dime-a-dozen commodity.

Peter Drucker was right when he said: “In a commodity market, you can only be as good as your dumbest competitor.”

Perceived value is in the eye of the beholder. It’s intangible. It’s a reaction to the assumed benefits you receive from owning and using a certain product or service. It’s an emotional response, based on a belief (and I define a belief as “a feeling of certainty”).

BELIEVING = SEEING?
A belief can be very powerful in overriding logical reasoning:

• as long as we believe that these dirty pieces of paper with the faces of dead people on it represent a certain value, we will continue to use them as money.

• people who were given two identical red wines to drink, said they got much more pleasure from the one they were told had cost more. Brain scans confirmed that their pleasure centers were activated far more by the higher-priced wine. (source)

• at least a third of the population consists of so-called placebo reactors. This means that if they feel that something is doing them good, it will indeed do them good.

Do you believe that?

Now, I’m not saying that “the market” has nothing to do with the way we put a price on goods and services. But economics is not always about numbers. It’s just as much about psychology. Let me give you two examples.

The law of scarcity states that if what you desire is in (seemingly) limited supply, its perceived value increases. This, in turn, increases the urge for people to want it and want it now. That’s why marketers love to create the perception of scarcity by saying things like “for a limited time only,” or “while supplies last.” Don’t miss out, people!

WALL STREET WISDOM
How about the stock market? What causes stock prices to change? Well, the idea is that the price movement of a stock indicates what investors feel a company is worth. For that, they look at things like earnings. Without profit, no company can survive.

However, during the dotcom bubble, some internet companies were valued at billions of dollars without ever making a profit. Their value was based on the perception of Wall Street, a strong feeling that these companies would do well in the future.

Feelings overruled facts.

Whoever said “Feelings don’t lie,” was in for a rude awakening!

For one last blast about the power of perception, let’s look at politics.

Why did republican hopeful Herman Cain suspend his bid for the White House? Did it really matter whether or not he had had extramarital affairs? If anything, his campaign was killed by allegations.

What mattered was that Cain was not able to change the perception of the public. Where there’s smoke, there must be fire, right?

BACK TO YOU
Now, let’s move away from politics, placebos, wine and the stock market, and talk about how all of this relates to your pricing strategy. Let’s summarize:

The price people are willing to pay greatly depends on how people evaluate what you have to offer. Value is a matter of perception. Perception is personal and therefore subjective. Perceptions influence a client’s expectations upfront, and the level of satisfaction after the purchase has been made.

Here’s the good news: because perceptions are subjective, they can be changed. That’s what branding, marketing and advertising are for. A successful campaign can turn simple pants made of rugged blue cloth into desirable designer denim.

True Religion’s top-selling jeans, the Super T, cost about $50 to make and sell wholesale to retailers for $152 a pair. The average price in stores is $335. (source) Gucci Low-rise flared jeans sell for $720. Talk about perceived value…

Most solopreneurs don’t have the funds to hire Saatchi & Saatchi and have them create a campaign to convince customers. Luckily, there are other -much cheaper- ways to position yourself in the market and sell your services at a higher price. This has to start with one question:

Do YOU believe you’re worth it?

Alex does. Abigail does, and so do their agents.

And guess what? The New York Yankees and Triggerfish Animation Studios agree!

They know that the added value A-rod and Abigail bring to their game, is much, much higher than their salaries.

You and I see price. They see value.

The pricing of art is an example of the art of pricing.

I can guarantee you that since 2006, the price of Pollock’s painting has gone up considerably.

Have you raised your rates lately? Are you selling yourself based on price or on value?

In the next installment, I’ll look at ways you can add value to what you have to offer, so you can stop selling yourself as a commodity, and start positioning yourself as a premium service.

Are you sold yet??

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

P.S. Be sweet. Please retweet!

Technorati Tags: Abigail Breslin, Alex Rodriguez, David Geffen, dot com bubble, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice over, Herman Cain, Jackson Pollock, law of scarcity, Nethervoice, New York Yankees, Paul Strikwerda, perceived value, Peter Drucker, placebo reactors, Saatchi & Saatchi, Triggerfish Animation Studios, value added pricing, voice-over, voiceover, voiceovers, Warren Buffet, Zambezia

On August 1, 2007, serial entrepreneur and Boston-based tax accountant Lewis Weinstein quietly launched the beta version of ReferralKey, an on-line referral management system.

Some called it “LinkedIn on steroids.” Others feel it’s just another version of the traditional inbound marketing strategy. How does it work?

Once you create a ReferralKey online profile showcasing your amazing accomplishments, you can invite others to join your network and start exchanging leads. Does the following viral email look familiar?

Are you taking on new clients?

If you’re taking on new clients, I’d like to include you in my private referral network to send you business leads through Referral Key. Please accept my invitation below. Thanks!

Best,

Person’s Name
Name of Their Company
City, State

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but there was one problem. It didn’t take off. Weinstein told the Boston Globe that professionals using the site felt it just wasn’t helping them generate enough new business. Weinstein: “The common response was, ‘I thought you were gonna send me referrals.”’

A wait-and-see approach never works and Weinstein discovered that something essential was missing from his system; something that drives all human behavior: an incentive.

TAKING THE BAIT
You see, the average RefferalKey member wasn’t just going to refer a colleague or a friend on the basis of his or her merits or the existing relationship. Before they were willing to make a recommendation, they needed one question answered:

“What’s in it for me?”

Weinstein’s answer: Cash, Omaha Steaks, L.L.Bean or Callaway Golf gift cards.

ReferralKey was relaunched in April 2010, based on the following principle:

“Grow your business by offering rewards to other people who send you successful referrals.”

This winning idea turned boring, unresponsive professionals into bounty hunters, ready to stake their claim and claim their steak. I just received an email from a colleague offering me 10% of whatever she will make, if she lands a job based on my referral.

RefferalKey even lets you track referrals to “ensure your relationships are reciprocal”. Yes, my friend, if you rub my back, I’ll rub yours and just so you know… I do keep score!

Do you like it so far? If you’re having any doubts, you’re not alone.

Chris Reimer is Vice President of Social Media at brand developer Falk Harrison. He writes in his blog:

“The first time I got an email with the subject line “Are you taking on new clients?” Holy crap, I was excited! You bet I’m taking clients! (what a hook). Ten seconds later, I felt the shame of spam, deflated, and just a little pissed. After receiving 100 of these emails? No one likes spam.”

Kathryn Delany is a web designer and Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Specialist. She writes:

“I have been sucked into the vortex of the Referral Key saga. I usually am very cautious about these emails. However, the initial invitation generated from a long trusted colleague so I signed up. Sadly I followed the instructions on importing my LinkedIn Contacts little suspecting that this site hijacks the list before you can choose who you would like to invite to your circle. As it ‘imports’ your contacts it automatically sends out the invitation to everyone on it!”

Chris Reimer concludes:

“Stop joining services that blast out marketing messages Uzi-style as ReferralKey.com does. The bad taste you are leaving in people’s mouths is not worth it.”

A MORAL MAZE
Apart from receiving downright annoying emails, I have  a more moral objection. There is a good reason why professionals like lawyers, realtors, accountants and therapists have adopted codes of conduct, specifically prohibiting them from taking payment for referrals. It is considered to be unethical.

Look at the definition of bribery:

“an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient”

RefferalKey says it is based on “trusted relationships,” but if you’re meeting a need with greed, what does that really say about your definition of “trust” and “relationship”?

Do you really think you can buy my opinion and influence my behavior by offering me a bounty? Is that how you think I operate? I almost feel insulted!

YOUR TRUE MOTIVES
If I were motivated by money, I probably wouldn’t even be in the voice-over business. Take it from me: You will never do your best work for the love of money. You do your best work when you hold yourself up to standards no one else can or will match. Your best work is always a labor of love and never the result of greed.

Here’s my bottom line: a referral needs to be earned, not bought. I owe a huge part of my business success to referrals, and I am frequently asked to recommend colleagues. For those recommendations I get paid big time.

Before I tell you what I receive in return, you should know that I take my referrals very seriously. The fact that I will recommended a certain person, reveals as much about me as it does about the person in question.

One can usually judge someone by the company he or she keeps. When you pass the name of a colleague onto someone else, you put your reputation on the line. So, how do you go about it?

When you’re thinking of recommending someone, ask yourself the following question:

How do I know that someone else is good at their work?

Here are your options:

• See – I need visual evidence (e.g. I need to watch them do their work)
• Hear – I need to hear them (e.g. listen to their demo)
• Read – I need to read about them (e.g. a review, a report, a website)
• Do - I have to work with them to get a feel for how good they are

In certain circles, the answer to this question is called a “Convincer Strategy,” and most people come up with more than one answer.

The next question is:

How often does a person have to demonstrate that they’re good at what they do, before I am convinced?

• A number of times – e.g. Three or four times
• Automatic – I always give someone the benefit of the doubt
• Consistent – I’m never really convinced
• Period of time – It usually takes e.g. a week, a month… before I can tell if someone’s really good

The last thing you need to be aware of is your frame of reference:

• Internal - No matter what anyone says about her, only I can tell whether or not she’s any good
• External – A source I trust recommended her and that’s good enough for me

It’s very common for people to have an internal frame of reference with an external check, or the other way around. If your frame of reference is completely internal, no one will ever be able to convince you of anything. If it’s completely external, your opinion will be dependent on what others have to say.

Whether we realize it or not, all of us have different ways of convincing ourselves. If my frame of reference is pretty much internal and a person needs to consistently demonstrate to me that he’s any good by working one-on-one with me, systems like RefferalKey are useless.

It will only work for people with a more external frame of reference who are convinced by reading about someone, and based on that, give the person the benefit of the doubt. How big of a group is that?

QUALITY REFERRALS
Should you decide to give RefferalKey a try, ask yourself how well you know the contacts you’re about to invite and how well they know you. In other words: what is the quality and the depth of the referrals this system generates? Is it worth the risk of pissing people off with automated impersonal email messages?

Referring people can be very rewarding. It’s an essential part of being in business and staying in business… as long as you do it for the right reasons. If you landed a gig as a result of my recommendation, I demand that you pay me back by doing the best job you could possibly do. As one of my teachers used to say:

“If you look good, I look good, so you better make me look good!”

Secondly, don’t send me any money or vouchers for Omaha Steaks. You booked the job because you’re the best and you deserve it. I don’t take any credit (or cash) for that.

Take your 10% and give it to a worthy cause. Pay it forward.

That’s the key to referrals!

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS Please refer someone else to this blog by retweeting and “liking” it on facebook.

Technorati Tags: Chris Reimer, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice over, how does ReferralKey work, how to give business referrals, inbound marketing, Kathryn Delany, kickbacks, Lewis Weinstein, LinkedIn, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, ReferralKey

Something strange and unexpected has happened. Thanks to the growing popularity of this blog, some of my readers now write to me saying:

“Dear Mr. Nethervoice, I enjoy your articles but I never knew you were into voice-overs as well. For how long have you been gracing this world with the sweet, seductive sound of your pleasantly persuasive pipes?”

At that point, I patiently explain that I’ve been working the mic since I was 17, and some three years later I’m still at it. Well, that’ s not entirely true. I feel and act like I’m seventeen… most of the time. Of course information about my illustrious career has been available on other pages of my blog. You know, the ones next to this text that nobody bothers to read.

Since every question is a golden opportunity to enlighten my fans, colleagues and clients alike, I will do something I have never done before, at least not this openly.

For once, I will shamelessly sing my own praises, and if you’re not comfortable with that, I shall retreat into a corner and weep bitter tears of shame and disappointment… and proceed as planned! After all, who is going to stop me?

This is me in a nutshell:

• full-time voice-over artist and writer
• records in English, Dutch (mother tongue) and German
• most in-demand accent:  “neutral” or “European” English
• specialty: intelligent international narration
• impressive clients: Novartis, Deloitte, Plantronics, Farmers Life
• expert-contributor to Internet Voice Coach
• websites: www.nethervoice.com, www.dutchvoiceover.net
• Favorite quote: “Your voice is like velcro. Whatever you say sticks.”

Based on that last line, I should perhaps go by the surname of Stick-worda.

GUIDED TOUR
Now that we’ve made our formal acquaintance, allow me to take you on a quick tour of some of my voice-over projects.

The Dutch are known for being great ice skaters. This is me, telling them about another exciting sport: skate boarding!

On to another mode of transportation. Here’s the only Dutch commercial I ever recorded for the black market:

Ready to get more mileage out of your gas tank? Then you should listen to “Muzzle the Guzzle: 50 Fuel Saving Strategies” by Michael Minsky.

This audio book received an average rating of 4.67 out of 5 stars on the earth-shattering Audible.com Richter scale. Narrated in English by yours truly.

On to other modes of transportation.

Meet Andreas Klauser. He’s the President and CEO for CASE IH, one of one of the world’s largest brands of agriculture equipment.

Born and educated in Austria, Mr. Klauser is a native German speaker. CASE IH asked me to dub a series of meet the CEO-videos, as the voice of Mr. Klauser… in German, that is! Kein Problem für mich!

 

The Austrian ski resort of Zauchensee is one of the hidden treasures of the Alps. Not for long, if it’s up to me.

 

 

 

The Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises was one of the most influential proponents of Liberalism.

Jörg Guido Hülsmann, professor of economics at the University of Paris, tells the full story of his dramatic and inspiring life and contributions in a 1143-page biography.

The Von Mises Institute commissioned me to record the complete audio version of this masterpiece (some 20+ hours) and next week, work will start on a second book.

The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia. Wharton is the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States.

I’ll tell you more about Wharton in this presentation:

Haliotika in Brittany (France), offers everything to do with sea fishing, including displays of boats, fish varieties, interactive education for children and boat rides. A very fishy place, indeed.

Take the audio tour, and you’ll hear me as the German voice of Philippe and Claude, two local fishermen talking about net profit.

Camp Gurs was an internment and refugee camp constructed by the French government in 1939. In 1940, it became a concentration camp for Jews of any nationality except French, as well as people considered dangerous by the government. I was honored to narrate the German audio tour.

This Dutch company has produced an ingenious interactive digital movie course. It contains a large collection of known and unknown film clips from 1878 up to the present day.

Each clip is an example of a new discovery in cinematography: editing, camera movement, image cutouts, sound, talkies, color film, acting method, etcetera. This time, I step into the role of English tour guide.

Speaking of tours, we all have our dream homes. I happen to have quite a few of them and thanks to Spartina Studios, I get to be the host of many of Connecticut’s most precious properties. Here’s one of these humble abodes:

There’s no doubt about it: video increases home sales as long as it’s done right. That’s why I have written “Real Estate Videos & Voice Overs,” a white paper for videographers and real estate agents.

Some people still believe that voice-overs is all about doing silly voices (click here for more misconceptions). Well, sometimes it is! Who would have thought that a Dutchman would ever dub Johnny Depp?

Here’s a video I voiced  for an insurance company. It will never win a prize for best animation, but I sure had a blast doing both voices! (the fun starts at 0:53)

This paint of this last video is still wet. Made in Kibbutz Gat, it tells the story of a multi-national  company most of you have probably never heard of.  It’s in Dutch, so I’ll leave it up to you to figure this one out!

Well, that’s all folks!

Thank you so much for enduring this exercise in self-indulgence. I admire your persistence and perseverance. Now you can go back to your daily chores as you reminisce about the delectable servings of eye and ear candy I had the pleasure of serving up for you.

I’m just going to look and listen to all the videos one last time…

… can’t help myself!

Paul Strikwerda ©2011

www.nethervoice.com

Be sweet: please retweet!

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The Holidays are a great time to meet new people and catch up with folks you only see once or twice a year.

This season I noticed a new trend. I’d be quietly munching on a Christmas cookie, and a relative of a friend of a friend would come up to me with a glass of eggnog in his hand.

“I hear you do voices, right?”

“Well,” I said, “I’m a voice-over, if that’s what you mean.”

“You do books for the blind?” he wanted to know.

“No, not really. I….”

And before I could finish he continued:

“Because everyone’s been telling me that I have a great voice and I should be doing what you’re doing if you know what I mean. No offense, but it can’t be that hard. I bet you make some pretty good money. I said to the wife: “I talk all day long. I might as well get paid for it.”

“I wish someone would pay him to shut up for a moment,” said the wife, who had been listening to the conversation.

No matter where I went in these past few weeks, I’d always run into guys with eggnog, ready to show off their Sean Connery impersonation or some version of a “movie trailer man voice”.

All of them had three things in common:

1. They knew as much about a voice-over career as a rodent would know about the art collection at the MoMA.
2. What they did know was based on misinformation and unrealistic expectations.
3. They all wanted me to tell them how to “break into the business,” preferably in two minutes or less.

In order to make my Holiday experience a bit more enjoyable and less repetitive, I thought I’d prepare a short slide show debunking some common misconceptions about what I do for a living.

Instead of having to listen to grown-ups single-handedly reenacting entire SpongeBob episodes, I now hand them a link to my YouTube-presentation:

Have an inspirational New Year!

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be sweet: please retweet!

PPS Next up: Ted Williams: The Revelation behind the Internet Sensation

Technorati Tags: Bob Bergen, Dutch voice over, getting into voiceovers, getting started in voice-overs, how to get into voice-overs, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, voice acting, voice casting, voice talent, voice-over, voice-over career, voice-over tips, voice-over training, voiceover casting sites, voiceover misconceptions, voiceover training, voiceovers, voices.com

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” – Benjamin Franklin

WARNING: do not read the following sentence.

Yes, this one!

Why did you read it when I asked you not to?

Don’t even think of reading the next line either.

Are you blind? You just did it again. What’s up with you?

Why is it so hard to follow simple instructions?

You’re a grown-up, aren’t you?

Kids are different. You go to the store and make them swear upon their teddy bear’s life not to touch anything. And what do they do? As soon as they get a chance, they start picking up stuff left and right. You tell them not to cross the road and before you know it, they run to the other side of the street. But that’s youthful spontaneity, isn’t it?

What about you? When you tell yourself not to do something, do you do it? Or rather: not do it?

Then why is it so hard not to hear that stupid tune that has totally taken over your brain? By the way: this is not a test. There’s no need to remember the last time a silly melody got stuck in your head. It wasn’t one of those cheesy, catchy Christmas songs that kept following you around from store to store, was it?

We’ve all experienced that the more we don’t want to think about something, the harder it is not to think about it. Why is that?

It turns out that our brains have a tough time processing negatives, as demonstrated by the famous blue elephant experiment. You’ll play along, won’t you?

Just for a moment, don’t think of a blue elephant.

Really, whatever you do, try not to think of a blue elephant…

… with big blue ears, blue eyes and deep blue tusks.

Thanks for being a good sport. We’ll get back to the elephant later. If anything, this little thought experiment demonstrates that

We can’t think about what we don’t want to think about without thinking about it first.

Think about that for a moment! Why would this be extremely relevant to you personally and professionally?

LIGHT BULB OR LASER BEAM
It has to do with the power of focus. Focus can be defined as the concentration of attention or energy on something.

Are you having a hard time staying focused? Are you easily distracted? Is your freelance business all over the place? Well, you’re not alone.

We live in an age of information overload and a culture that has embraced distraction. People prefer being entertained to being educated. Never has there been a generation that is so bombarded with a constant stream of nonsensical stimuli. Doesn’t your head feel like Times Square times ten, sometimes?

With so much going on all the time, can we even shut it off and attempt to separate what’s truly important from the trivial -especially, when the trivial is seducing us with the brightest colors and the loudest sounds?

The trivial is all about the immediate. The latest is automatically the greatest. It doesn’t matter whether it is relevant or even important. Who cares about yesterday’s paper or this morning’s tweet? That’s old news.

The trivial also tends to tap into to very basic emotions of pain and pleasure, hoping to elicit a gut response by emphasizing the simplistic, the outrageous and the grotesque. A few examples:

• Newspaper editors will tell you: If it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t lead.

• Madison Avenue knows that boobs and babies boost business.

• Certain politicians get more media coverage by talking about Grizzly bears instead of addressing intricate issues in an intelligent way. Three cheers for democracy!

• The masses prefer twitter chatter to in-depth intellectual arguments.

We don’t read anymore. We scan texts. And if the author doesn’t get to the point in the next paragraph, we move on. By now I’ve probably lost 90% of my readership. Thanks for being exceptional!

Meanwhile, shouldn’t you check your email? I think someone wants to chat with you on facebook. It’s rude not to respond. Did you just receive a new text message? I wonder what it says. You better look at it now. It might be important!

Distractions, distractions, distractions.

ENOUGH ALREADY!
The French philosopher Blaise Pascal hit the nail on the head when he said:

“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”

I would add to that: “…. sit in a quiet room alone, and do absolutely nothing.”

Life’s like a glass of water. Someone or something comes along and drops some dirt in it. Then someone else comes along and does the same thing… and they start stirring and stirring until the water’s all murky and muddy. When that happens, it’s impossible to see clearly and think clearly.

Only when you let it rest and allow the dirt to sink to the bottom, things start to become transparent again. And when they do, what do you choose to focus on? On the fact that your glass is half full or half empty?

I happen to believe that what we focus on consistently is more likely to materialize (emphasis on “more likely”). That’s not something I came up with. Just think of a few people that “have made it”. Do they seem distracted or dedicated? Are they bad planners or well-organized? Do they focus on futilities or do they lead their lives “on purpose”?

More importantly: do they zoom in on what they want or on what they don’t want?

Beginning today, start listening carefully to the language people use when they describe what drives them; what they pay attention to and why. Then look at their results and discover how the words we choose to use are translated into the outcomes we achieve.

Don’t take my word for it because I can’t convince you of anything. Just open your eyes and ears and dissociate yourself from what is being said. Content is irrelevant. Concentrate on how things are said.

FEELING BLUE
I ran into one of my freelance friends the other day. He looked absolutely miserable. Christmas is coming up and he was trying to figure out how to pay the most basic bills. In desperation, he had taken on a couple of low-paying jobs and now he was dealing with overly demanding clients (I had warned him). A few things he said stood out for me:

• I don’t want to go broke
• I don’t want to go back to my old job
• I don’t want to miss that deadline
• I don’t want to lose another client
• I don’t want to mess up again

No wonder he was down in the dumps. He was clearly thinking of blue elephants. Focusing on what you don’t want is a tried recipe for self-sabotage. People, who habitually focus on what they don’t want, usually do that out of fear. They’re willing to do more to avoid something than to accomplish something. Ironically, they may end up with more of what they don’t want.

Fear is paralyzing. Fear smothers all creativity. Fear is reactive, not proactive. Fear activates our fight-or-flight response, purposely limiting our behavior to a few options.

Fear makes us run away, instead of going for it.

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes, fear can be a good thing. It’s perfectly normal to stay away from burning flames or roaring lions. But often, fear is nothing but an irrational, conditioned response, linked to our interpretation of something that we believe happened to us long, long ago.

STUCK TO THE PAST
In places like Thailand and India, people still use working elephants. What always amazes me is that these mighty, intelligent animals don’t run away into the jungle. Instead, they stay where they are and help their masters with logging and other heavy lifting. They seem to know their place. Why is that?

Someone once told me that at a very young age, these elephants are tied to a strong tree. Whenever they try to get away, the chain will pull them back. Once they’re a little older, the tree is replaced by a heavy ball, restricting their range of movement. These elephants are trained to stay put.

Later in life, there’s no need to restrain them anymore. They have learned their lesson and have become conditioned to stay within a limited space, even though they’re technically free to go and explore the world.

That’s what fear will do to you.

Fear makes you play things safe. Instead of focusing on the future, it ties you to the past -even though those ties are long gone.

Are you still mad at your Dad or afraid of your Mom, even though they have passed?

I’m not telling you we shouldn’t pay attention to the past. Our roots are part of who we are. But we should learn from it and move on. It is time to grow some wings and leave the nest!

STRESSING OUT
There’s another reason why it’s counterproductive to focus on our fears. It causes stress. Stress is not just a state of mind. Physical, emotional or psychological strain is harmful. Stress negatively affects immune responses, and it also affects how well the body heals itself. (source)

But here’s the thing: we can’t get rid of it by focusing on what we don’t want. That’s why I have to laugh when I see an ad for the “Less Stress Center” or the “Pain Clinic”. Don’t think of a blue elephant, folks!

It’s just as bad as that disturbingly distracting billboard, urging us not to become a distracted driver. But it goes even deeper and it becomes more personal.

At times, it seems we just love to identify ourselves by what we don’t want, or by what we no longer are:

- I’m a scientist against global warming
- I’m an anti-war activist
- I’m a non-smoker
- I’m a cancer survivor
- I have been sober for 15 years. I am an alcoholic.

Comedian Tina Fey recently joked: “They address her as Gov. Palin, which is like calling me ‘Dairy Queen employee. I was once, but I quit.”

In order to move forward, you have to think of who you are NOW and imagine what you can be, instead of focusing on what used to be or on what you don’t want to happen. You are not an elephant! You are free. You are a freelancer!

HOLDING UP THE MIRROR
Let’s wrap this up by talking about YOU for a change. I’ve asked you to listen to other people talk, and find out what drives them. Now it’s time for you to start analyzing your internal dialogue.

Are you a closet masochist and do you beat yourself up on a regular basis, mistaking it for motivation? Do you prefer the stick to the carrot? In that case, stick to the carrot. Are you moving away from what you don’t want? Do you even know what you really want?

Now listen to yourself, talking to others. If you intend to calm a friend down, do you tell her not to worry? If your partner panics before a presentation, do you tell him not to be nervous? Do you tell your daughter not to get sick when she sneezes? Do you ask your husband not to forget the keys? Do you tell your team that failure is not an option? Do you tell your client: “No problem!”

If that’s the case, you have some work to do.

The Indian sage Patanjali is known for a collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice, the Yoga Sutras. Thousands of years ago, Patanjali suggested:

“Repel disturbing thoughts by pondering the opposite.”

Back in 1902, James Allen, author of “As a Man Thinketh,” put it this way:

“Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.”

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be sweet. Please retweet!

PS Do you believe that doing voice-overs is easy money? Find out the Troublesome Truth!

Technorati Tags: As a Man Thinketh, Blaise Pascal, conditioning, Dutch voice over, fear, freelance success, freelancer, Freelancing, James Allen, negative thinking, Nethervoice, overcoming fear, Patanjali, Paul Strikwerda, positive thinking, staying focused, stress

If we blame the economy for all of our freelance failures, perhaps it’s only fair that we should credit the economy for all of our successes. After all: we’re hopelessly helpless. It’s the economy, stupid!

In 2000, Cleanthi Peters sued Universal Studios for $15,000. Cleanthi claimed to have suffered “extreme fear, mental anguish, and emotional distress” after visiting Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights haunted house. She said it was too scary.

My European friend Philippe is eager to bring these type of examples up whenever he tells me that Americans live in a country of finger-pointers. I agree.

If we get lung cancer from smoking, we blame the tobacco industry. If we slip on a wet surface, it is the cleaning lady’s fault. If we burn our lips on a cup of fresh WaWa-Java, we sue the company that forgot to print a warning. Heaven forbid we should take some credit for our own actions. Why should we? Blaming someone else could bring in big bucks!

So, what’s next? Are we going to take Smith & Wesson to court for purposefully producing products perfectly designed to end the lives of our loved ones? If my lawyer would fall for that, I would fire that son of a gun on the spot!

A WORLD OF WHINERS
Complaining is convenient. Rants on Talk Radio draw millions of listeners. Campaigning politicians pack stump speeches with it. In the corporate, 9 to 5 hierarchical world of cubicles, board rooms and business lunches, it’s easy to find something or someone to blame when things go wrong. It’s the management, it’s the sales department, it’s the CEO…

But those of you, who are -voluntary or involuntary- making the switch to becoming a freelancer, are in for the shock of a lifetime: all of a sudden, YOU are in charge! You are the management, the sales department, the CEO, the customer helpline and all that jazz. Oops… There’s no one to blame anymore! Whose fault might that be?

No one’s going to make sure you get out of bed on time. There’s no punch clock keeping track of your hours. If you want to play on facebook all day long, be my guest. Tweet to the world what you had for breakfast, if you must. I’m not your boss. You are!

Being self-employed can be a blessing and a curse. You have no water cooler conversations anymore. No paid holidays or health insurance or end of the year bonuses. Freelance freedom comes at a hefty price and you can’t put it on a company credit card.

DAYDREAMS AND NIGHTMARES
In a past life, I used to teach people how to successfully set goals. Most of my students had set goals before and had failed miserably. Take weight loss. Some people professed to be 100% committed to losing those extra pounds, but when it came to impulse control, they had a hard time resisting the terrible temptations of the devious fast food industry.

It was interesting to see people unveil their mental make-up by looking at the way they tried to rationalize and justify their lack of a backbone. It would only take me a few seconds to figure out whether they were taking responsibility, or they were playing the lame blame game. I saw too many people chicken out, and point their greasy fingers at KFC. Apparently, the bucket stops there and we’re all under orders from Colonel Saunders to take his wings and fly.

Taking responsibility for the direction of our own life is not as easy as it sounds. Some folks are better off in the army, taking orders from above. Others depend on the church to tell them what to do (again, taking orders from above). Any Thanksgiving Turkey can tell you that sticking your neck out is risky business. Who knows whether or not you’re making the right choices?

That’s why in the land of the free, many choose to hide behind the mainstream, and go with the flow of the silent, mediocre and often immoral majority… and moan and groan about the terrible deck of cards life has dealt them.

Are you still following me?

HEARING VOICES
In my own line of work it’s no different. I’m a freelance voice-over professional, and colleagues are complaining left and right about the lack of work and low rates. Talk has become cheaper, and some say this is because more and more people think they can make a fortune by blabbering into cheap Chinese microphones. As a result, we’re dealing with an oversaturated buyer’s market.

What people are really saying is this: if we can’t blame our superiors anymore, and we’re not willing to look at our own role, let’s blame the anonymous forces of supply and demand. It’s the stupid economy that’s bringing us down! It’s the invisible hand of market forces, leading to the survival of the cheapest, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

I call this mindset “leaf in the wind-thinking”. Psychologists would probably call it a victim mentality. It’s the most disempowering attitude on the planet. Why would we attempt to change something that we perceive to be beyond our control? It is what it is, isn’t it? Don’t fight it. Accept it. Well, if that were true, American women would still have no right to vote and the descendants of Rosa Parks would still be giving up their seats on the bus.

INTERDEPENDENT
I happen to believe that “the market” is not some anonymous force that operates outside of our sphere of influence. In one way or another, all of us are part of the intricate interplay between supply and demand. As such, WE are the market, and we’re as much part of the problem as we are part of the solution. We either let things happen, or make them happen. Unfortunately, we sometimes make things happen that are not exactly positive.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I have an issue with colleagues who practice blind bidding and predatory pricing. Attempting to crush the competition by underbidding is a losing strategy used by cheap and now bankrupt airlines. Plugging in a number when bidding on an online job without asking any questions, is as dumb as it is destructive.

Some colleagues have urged me to stop advocating for reasonable rates. Their argument goes as follows: it’s a free market and if people wish to sell themselves short, that’s their prerogative. We’re all independent contractors, meaning: every man and woman for him- or herself! The low end of the market does not influence the high end.

Pardon my French, but that’s just a load of smelly stuff. No one lives on an island. We are not independent contractors. We are interdependent contractors.

FOOD ON THE TABLE
“But,” said one of my voice-over buddies, “I just want to put food on the table. I would rather be a cheaper priced working voice-over than an out of work greedy VO!”

This is what I wrote to him:

All of us deserve to make a decent living that allows us to pay our bills, stay in our home, feed our family, take care of their health and education, invest in our business and give back to our community. I assume that most freelancers are running a for-profit business. That doesn’t make us Ebenezer Scrooge.

While negotiating a fee I always like to think in terms of added value instead of the cost of my services. Each and every day, we -the voice over professionals- help sell millions of dollars worth of product and we educate and entertain millions of people. We voice online learning modules; we read to people during long road rips; we greet them as they dial a phone number and we narrate their favorite shows on television.

Big corporations recognize the power of a persuasive voice and that’s why they hire celebrities to be the spokesperson for their brand. As far as I know, very few people have stood up and complained about the paychecks these actors are getting, on top of their movie star salary. I’m sure they’re worth every penny.

But even if we’re not a Jeff Bridges or a Robert Downey Jr., I think we deserve some credit… in the bank and otherwise.

In this time of economic crisis, experts keep on telling us that people need to start spending again, in order to drag this economy out of a slump. If we wish to do our part as loyal, contributing citizens, we should start making more money, so we can pump that cash back into our neighborhoods, our businesses and into our nation.

We should stop using the economic situation as an excuse to underprice our profession and undercut our colleagues. Let’s work together to raise professional standards and raise rates… and help rebuild a sustainable economy in which all of us can thrive.

HALLOWEEN HORROR
Cleanthi Peters never got anywhere with her Haunted House lawsuit. It was driven by fear and you know what they say about that. It’s nothing but False Evidence Appearing Real.

So… do you still feel like a leaf in the wind, or will you use the winds like the captain of a catamaran? I’m not claiming that we can always control the conditions at sea. Things might get pretty rough. But cyclists know that adverse winds create strong muscles.

And one last thought:

The most difficult tests are usually reserved for the best students!

Paul Strikwerda © 2010

PS Be sweet: Trick or re-Tweet!

PPS More thoughts on the economy? Read how I beat the recession.

Technorati Tags: blame game, blind bidding, colonel saunders, Dutch voice over, freelance rates, freelancer, Freelancing, frivolous lawsuits, halloween horror, how to increase freelance rates, it's the economy, Jeff Bridges, KFC, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, predatory pricing, Robert Downey Jr., setting goals, stupid, the buck stops here, Universal Studios, victim mentality, voce-over pricing, voiceover rates, voiceover success

Thanks to the internet, any business is now a global business. Getting through to non-native English speakers can be a serious challenge.

But just because your client knows a few English words, doesn’t mean he understands everything you’re saying.

Here’s how not to get lost in translation.

“I have a good one,” I said to my friend from France.

“Why do gun-carrying Americans usually wear short-sleeved shirts?”

“No idea,” he answered. “You tell me.”

“Because they believe in the right to bear arms.”

Silence…

“Sorry, but I don’t get it,” said Philippe. “Explain.”

“Well,” I said, “I can try, but I don’t think it would make the Second Amendment any funnier.”

“Oh, was it supposed to be funny?”

“Well, Philippe, some people think that puns are bad by definition.”

“What’s a pun?” Philippe wanted to know.

Have you ever had a conversation like that? All along you thought that you and your foreign friend were on the same page, but now you’re not even sure you’re reading the same book. How is that possible? Both of you speak English, don’t you?

ENGLISH RULES
I’ll be totally honest with you: native English speakers are spoiled rotten. Practically the whole planet has adopted your language as the lingua franca of business, and so you expect everyone to be on your page… linguistically and -dare I say- even culturally.

Not so fast, my Anglophone friends! There is a whole world out there of people who don’t get it that you don’t get it when they don’t get it… Got it?

Even though your mother tongue blasts out of every radio and television station 24/7, you shouldn’t automatically assume that we understand everything you say or write. You really have no idea how complicated Shakespeare’s language can be.

Take a simple word like “call.” Pick up Webster’s dictionary and you’ll find 15 definitions for the noun alone. That’s asking for trouble. Here are two actual mistranslations from movie and TV subtitles:

A priest explains “That’s when I got my call from God.”

The subtitle reads: “That’s when God telephoned me.”

A general has to decide whether or not to bomb an urban target, and he says: “It’s a tough call.”

The subtitle reads: “It’s hard to make a phone call.”

As someone who has been breathing in the English language from birth, it is almost impossible for you to imagine what life is like with English as your second or third language. That only changes once the tables are turned and you start learning another language yourself.

NO GAIN, NO PAIN
Imagine being in a crowded Parisian bakery to get some fresh bread. Suddenly, you are overcome by that embarrassing surge of helplessness, because your French vocabulary is still limited to that of a bedwetting toddler. All the locals are staring at you as you utter these infamous words, while pointing at a warm baguette:

“Pain pour moi madame. Merci.”

Painful, indeed.

Thank goodness the woman behind the counter was merciful.

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
In my last article, I stressed the importance of following-up with your contacts. Today, I’ll take a closer look at written communication, in particular, when it comes to dealing with non-English speakers.

Even though I live and work on the East Coast of the U.S., fifty percent of my clients are on other continents and for many, English is a second or third language. That means that I constantly have to bridge the linguistic and cultural divide as I respond to job offers, negotiate rates or simply share information about my voice-over services. Because English isn’t my first language either, I might be more sensitive to translation issues.

This is what I have learned so far:

1. Beware of the power of The Written Word!
Isn’t it true that, although we provide less information, printed words always seem to carry more weight? Even though communication experts tell us that we convey most of our meaning through inflection and body language, somehow, the written word seems more authoritative. Especially when coming form a trustworthy source,  people are not inclined to doubt what they read.

Case in point: when I published a completely fabricated story on an invention called “the Mic Warmer,” most of my readers fell for it, in spite of the fact that the news broke on April Fools’ Day. The next day I revealed and retracted the hoax and yet, the serious comments kept coming in. I still get emails from folks who want to know when the Mic Warmer will be on the market and how much it will cost.

The fact is: people believe what they want to believe and they are inclined to seek confirmation of those beliefs without verifying sources. We all know that President Obama is a Muslim, don’t we?

Who has time to fact-check those Tweets coming from ordinary people turned biased reporting bystanders? The need for speedy news flashes has taken precedence over the need for accurate information. It turns out, we can’t even trust news professionals anymore.

Mike Wise, a sports columnist at The Washington Post, was suspended after purposely spreading false information on Twitter (source) to prove that people would believe pretty much any tweet. Guess what? He was right. Other news outlets picked up his ‘scoop’ and ran with it, no questions asked.

Here’s one more reason why you should weigh the written word more carefully, not only as a reader.

The private is becoming increasingly more public. While spoken words disintegrate as soon as they are uttered, your emails could be kept for years. That hasty, silly comment you left online after you drank a glass of wine, still pops up when people Google your name… even after three years. Reputation management is booming because…

2. Readers are inclined to take the written word more literally.
People can’t see that twinkle in your eyes or hear the subtle sarcasm in your voice when they’re reading your email or text message. That’s why emoticons were invented. But is it professional to use a smiley face when you’re writing to that senior German project manager? Personally, I feel that emoticons should be sent back to where they came from: to the teenage chat rooms LOL.

The fact that the written word is taken literally, is also a reason why humor doesn’t work well. First of all, what seems hysterical to one person could be offensive to another. Secondly, as my conversation with Philippe illustrates, not everyone will be equally thrilled when you throw in a pun or two. Understanding wordplay requires a greater command of a language, as well as a more in-depth knowledge of a culture.

My advice: be personable but keep things business-like. And please consider this…

3. Manners Matter.
I can’t get over the fact that some folks can be downright rude in their writing. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m inclined to start a movement to bring the words “please” and “thank you” back into everyday language.

How much does it cost to be polite? How hard is it to treat people with a little respect? And what about all the name-calling?

Just because you are used to dealing with people on a first-name basis, doesn’t mean that the rest of the world has followed suit. In fact, you’ll find that -compared to the States- most countries are far more formal, and even more so in a business context.

If you’re not sure about the correct etiquette, err on the side of caution. As a rule of thumb, I always let the other party take the lead. If they wish to be addressed by their first name, believe me, they will let you know.

I also think it is a common courtesy to proof your messages before you send them. Cheq your grammer and speling. I know its nice to here from me, but your not looking very proffesional right now. Their you have it! Now, remember…

4. Keep your focus on the client.
Do yourself a favor and look at one of your most recent business emails. How many times did you count the word “I” in that message? What does that tell you? What could you have done differently to make that message less about you and more about your customer?

If you’re a follower of my tweets, you’ll have noticed that I started a “Less Self Campaign” in response to the ME, ME, ME mentality that has gone absolutely viral. I can understand that people are trying to market themselves using social ME-dia. But could you please stop quoting from that book called ‘my career’ all the time? In most cases, it’s rather thin and quite repetitive.

This is what I’d like to ask those Me, Me, Me-people:

Why do you feel the need to make yourself the center of the universe? Did your parents not love you enough when you were young? Does your partner take you for granted? Are your friends unappreciative? Do you think that this is what ‘branding’ is all about?

Don’t you realize that what others say about you is taken far more seriously than what you’ll ever have to say about yourself? Your customers are your best credentials.

Understand first… then be understood. It’s never about you. The needs of your client take center stage, whether they live next door or abroad. I also hope you’ll embrace the following principle:

5. KISS your clients.
So much to do. So little time. Now you want me to read this email-novel listing all your accomplishments followed by an endless list of clients, projects and other claims to fame? Give me a break!

I think that there’s much to be said for keeping things short and simple. Perhaps I should leave it at that. But you know me…

Especially when writing to a non-native English speaker, it’s important to use plain English without dumbing things down to Kindergarten level.  Simple doesn’t mean simplistic. Avoid long sentences, colloquialisms, slang, jargon and expressions that aren’t exactly universal.

The first time someone said he would give me a rain check, I had no idea what he was talking about and it really rubbed me the wrong way. I thought that person was off his rocker.

Also avoid references to politics, songs, TV shows, advertising campaigns or other phenomena that might be part of your culture, but perhaps unknown abroad.

Even though a show like ‘Seinfeld’ is in syndication all over the world, the impact it has in the context of another country is very different. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Just realize that things like ‘double-dipping,’ the ‘soup Nazi’ or other famous phrases and characters might not have the same effect they have on average Americans. How much do you know about Italian sitcoms?  And finally…

6. Be kind. Unwind.
One of the biggest adjustments a European needs to make when coming to the States is the fact that work never seems to stop. Even God rested on the Seventh Day, but the American people keep on truckin’… I even receive business emails on national holidays and my U.S. contacts expect me to answer them promptly.

In Holland (my birthplace) we have things called weekends where people actually relax and spend some downtime with friends and family…

So, don’t be surprised if you’re not getting an immediate response to that urgent email you sent on Friday night. You’re not being ignored. These crazy Europeans are just unwinding and practicing preventative health care. They’ll get back to you on Monday.

If they happen to be on vacation, they might get back to you in four weeks. Did you honestly think that they’d be checking their work email every day? Are you nuts?! Work is work. Time off is time off.

It’s so easy to forget that as an American you live in a no vacation nation. Out of the 33 richest countries in the world, the U.S. is the only one with no legally-required paid vacation for its workers.

To Americans, vacation is a luxury. To Europeans, it is a necessity.

MINDFULNESS
What I’m really saying is this: please become a mindful (international) communicator. This doesn’t start with acquiring knowledge. If all we’d need to change our lives was information, no one would still be smoking or send text messages while driving. Am I right? Information does not transform people. We have to become mindful first.

Mindfulness is an attitude. It’s about being perceptive and sensitive. It’s about the willingness and ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes… for a change. The easiest way to do that is through immersion.

Go away on a shoestring budget! Visit foreign lands. Taste bizarre foods. Become dependent on the kindness of strangers because you don’t speak the language. Don’t bribe the locals with dollars to treat you decently. Let’s see how long that lasts when pickpockets steal your cash, credit cards and passports…

Most importantly: participate. Don’t just observe.

Believe me, on your return, your homeland will never seem the same.

BULLET PROOF
The other day I got an email from my friend Philippe. He wrote:

“Paul, I have a good one for you!

I looked up the right to bear arms.

This is what I found.

Your Constitution says it is okay to carry guns.

But it doesn’t say that these guns have to be loaded.

Now, that’s funny, no?”

“Oh, Philippe,” I said. “You just gave me more ammunition to write a whole new blog.

I guess I better roll up my sleeves!”

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS What lessons have you learned from communicating with international clients?

PPS If you do wish to read up on international etiquette, I highly recommend Dean Foster’s books and other offerings.

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