Understanding a client

One reason why AI will have a hard time taking over humans is that we humans have a hard time expressing what we really want. Even with a sophisticated catalog of words and good communication, it's still hard for us to clearly picture and translate into words what we really want to accomplish. Even when it's the case, even when we do know how to express these things, often times we come to realize that what we wanted, turned out to not be what we actually wanted in the end. It's something very mind-boggling to say the least. My guess is that AI will have to become better at understanding our gibberish or at the very least predicting what we really want, which isn’t really something far-fetched to do.

Working with clients

Every project requires for multiple parties to come to the same understanding, you have to be able to understand what the other person has in their mind, make sense of it all and reciprocate in the end. This process can be really daunting and time-consuming, it's made easier through documentation. If you had to sit and listen to a client describe to you what they really want, then you might spend all day and all month talking. This is where a clear contract comes in, pretty much outlining everything each person has to do in clear and concise terms, it's much easier to do it this way. At least, any external party can easily evaluate what had to be done compared to what was eventually done.

Being a freelancer, I’ve had to work with countless persons with different personalities, some know how to communicate their ideas better than others, some are more eccentric, yet again some just have vague ideas they don’t even fully understand. Sometimes everything is a whole mess you have to come in and fix, or else it becomes an even bigger mess at the end of the day.

The transition

People are so diverse in their approach and there is a whole plethora of different ways of acting, communicating and thinking out there. If I had to try and understand everybody and adapt to their specific context then I might actually run mad.

For example with one client you get to move fast and iterate quite easily, while with another you struggle to even get things going to begin with. Some clients are much more available for feedback than others and so on and so forth.

There are a set of processes you can adopt which can make the whole process of working with a client much easier. Instead of relying on your ability to understand the person, you can instead set up specific procedures which can guarantee you reach the results in a predictable amount of time and quality. In a company there are usually different departments which have to come into agreement before and after things are done, departments such as; management, legal, administrative, commercial etc. Teams from both ends do the necessary to get things moving smoothly.

As a freelancer you don’t quite have all this luxury, it's much more complicated since you have to deal with everything by yourself. Sometimes the client might not even be willing to pay, other times they just pay and leave you stranded trying to figure out every detail.

A working framework

Not to make things very complicated, there are a few documents you have to get ready before engaging in a project with someone (as a freelancer).

• The first obviously is a contract which outlines clearly what each person is supposed to do and what the end results are going to be,
• the second is a payment slip with clear details about how and when the payments are going to be done
• the third is a disclaimer which shields you from every and any liability, in this you clearly outline the risks associated with your activity and on whom the responsibilities fall.

All these documents have to be agreed and signed by both parties before even engaging in any work to avoid disagreements in the future. I know as a freelancer working remotely these might not seem as a big deal but it's only when you get into trouble that you realize the importance of these measures.

These don’t just serve to shield you but also your client and protect both parties from liabilities, unless you are a fraud.

Conclusion

Working with people can be challenging, but there are many lessons which can be learned from the past, and they have culminated into these procedures and working frameworks designed to give us the optimal work ethic. You should definitely take them into consideration.

Thanks for reading ☺️