Can, Will, Do vs. Can't, Won't, Don't

The Earful – July 2011
By Tim Underwood
www.thewebvoice.com

A customer asks:
"Hey...you guys have any openings next week?"

A business answers:
"Nope and unfortunately we won't until the following week."

A customer asks:
"Hey...you guys have any openings next week?"

A business answers:
"We can get you in the following Monday bright and early at 8 o'clock...will that work for you?"

In essence, the question was answered the same way in both scenarios.

Though one of the two responses certainly sounds less off-putting than the other. If you chose the second example as the more welcoming of the two, good for you!

It's a little rule I have and insist that my employees follow - telling clients what we CAN do for them versus what we CAN'T do for them.

Your business won't always have the right light bulb or be able to accommodate that last-minute repair; restaurants inevitably run out of their Catch of the Day and the dentist isn't always readily available after the sticky taffy was.

It happens.

So, when you're responding to a customer, take note of how many times the words can't, won't and don't appear in the transaction. Then, the next time the situation presents, try substituting can, will and do.

It's a very subtle change that WILL help turn short-term disappointment into long-term satisfaction.

A Guy Named Joe

The Earful – May 2011
By Tim Underwood
www.thewebvoice.com

A small din of laughter rippled through the last of the standing campers; weary, fighting sleep and in varying states of all partied out. More whispers than reverie, more embers than flames - sure signs the day was coming to an end.

Joe was a friend of a friend. Three hours ago, he was just a tall guy with a beer in his hand and the first person I spied after pulling into the campsite after a late start out of town.

Little did I know that what started out as a conversation about one-hit wonders of the 1970s would turn into a valuable lesson in business and accountability.

Joe was a very unassuming, gregarious fellow - the kind of guy you gravitate toward especially in those awkward first moments of joining a conversation already in progress when not knowing most of the participants.

Throughout the night (and into the next morning), Joe and I traded music trivia, laughs, drinks and more trivia.

Near the end of our musical ping-pong match, Joe brought up a couple of songs that he loved, though had been unable to find at his neighborhood record store. Years before iTunes and even at a time when not everything had been released on CD, it wasn't uncommon to come up empty-handed in one's quest for slightly obscure, forgotten songs.

At the time, I'd been in the radio broadcasting business for about 15 years and as such had amassed a fairly impressive collection of albums, 45s, cassettes and CDs. To Joe's delight, I had both of the elusive songs he'd been trying to locate.

Before retiring for the evening, I told Joe that I'd be happy to make him a cassette copy of the songs and drop the tape in the mail upon returning home after the weekend getaway.

When I awoke Monday morning, I dutifully copied the songs, got Joe's address from our mutual friend and popped the package in the mailbox.

Two days later my phone rang. It was Joe.

He was overwhelmed by my gesture and couldn't thank me enough. Aside from his pure enjoyment at hearing those songs again, he said something along the lines of, "you know Tim, most people rarely follow through on the little things they say they'll do, let alone for a total stranger and even more so with beer involved. I really, really appreciate you doing this...it means a lot to me."

Joe's abundant gratitude changed me. It made me realize that as a society we've let our fellow man down one too many times, even with the very simplest of commitments. The delight in his voice instilled within me a wisdom that I'm convinced is not learned even after four years of pursuing a business degree.

I replay this story in my mind time and again whenever I witness failures of commitment.

Now, I'm not talking about breaking marriage vows or flaking out on showing up for your job (although some people do take it to this extreme), I'm merely focusing on those little, offhanded promises we make to one another:

Call you tonight!
I'll definitely get the lawn mowed tomorrow.
Let's grab lunch next week.

It seems as though gestures like these, while no doubt well-intended, are rather unwittingly tossed about as pleasantries in our everyday conversations. We say them because they "sound" nice and we feel good that we're being polite. Trouble is, we're ignoring the deeper value that we should be placing on these words and thus the obligations imbued within them.

To prove my point, I tracked 10 such comments over a one month period a few weeks ago. There was the business that promised a quote within 24 hours, the friend who said we needed to get together and told me they'd e-mail and even the loan officer who'd twice promised a call the next day at 1 o'clock sharp.

Would it surprise you to know that of the 10 assurances made only ONE person followed through?

This lack of accountability in our culture has gotten to the point that some feel the need to include a clause to cover any lapses in their pledges.

Just the other day, I sent my credit union an "after hours" e-mail message requesting they get in touch with me to talk about an error I'd made on my account. After pressing the send button, I was miffed at what appeared on the screen:

Your message was sent to our Phone Branch and we should respond shortly. If you have not received a response from us within two business days, please contact us by phone or visit any of our branches to talk with a representative.

We should respond shortly?

Even more troubling is their deflection of responsibility back to their customers - suggesting we contact them should they not follow through. Personally, I find this appalling. They might as well of worded it as:

We're really busy around here and may forget to check our e-mail correspondence. If we don't do our job, would you be so kind as to get a hold of us to remind us to do it?

This is further proof that humankind have developed an almost unconscious propensity for promising things we don't deliver upon and then diverting the blame or accountability elsewhere. It would be akin to me saying to Joe:

"Hey...sorry about the music I promised. I had a little to drink that night and it was late."

As I once again reflect upon that night with Joe, one thing is abundantly clear: society has lowered the bar of commitment to a degree that those who can merely hop over it will be the ones who succeed in business and who earn the respect of others.

Can we be 100% perfect?

No.

Though when you do fall short despite your best intentions, place the blame squarely where it belongs (likely on yourself), don't make excuses and remedy the oversight as quickly as possible.

And for all those times you do remember to do what you say, be prepared to bask in the infectious exuberance you'll no doubt experience from the recipient of your good word.

Lesson learned from a guy named Joe.

How to Be a Go-To Voice Talent | Part 3

The Earful – January 2011
By Tim Underwood
www.thewebvoice.com

 

Over the next three months, I'll be sharing material that was supplemental to my June keynote at Voice 2010 in Los Angeles. The presentation was divided into three important skill sets that envelop all professional voice talents: business skills, technical skills and session skills.

The session was very well-received and I've had several requests from non-attendees to publish the material.

Here's installment three of three.

Session Skills - I love Tom Cassidy as a voice actor. For those of you who don’t know about Tom, he’s the owner of SunSpots Productions in Asheville, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida and is one hell of a voice actor.

Aside from his voicing abilities…

Tom is one of the best at session etiquette I have ever encountered.

I’ve had talents who broke into some shrieking voice that pegged the meters on my ISDN box and console and riddled my sound booth (and my client’s ears) with a god-awful cacophony of unfunny babble.

Tom listens. Really listens.

When he does “free-from”, it’s brief, volume appropriate and more often than not, puts a smile on my client’s faces. If there’s anyone guilty of getting carried away when Tom’s in the house, it’s probably me; Tom’s always kind enough to indulge me with his spot-on Christopher Walken, when appropriate.

Bill Barrett is an equally brilliant talent from nearby Eugene, Oregon. His Bing Crosby floors me every time. On a whim, he did a throwaway take of a rather average piece of copy as Bing, knowing we had a few moments to spare and that…well…I was a sucker for it.

More importantly, he correctly sensed that my clients were impressed at the brevity of the session, his ability to nail the direction and that a moment of levity would be welcomed.*

When he finished the copy, everyone was laughing...truly laughing. In a bizarre shift of direction, the agency actually used the Bing take start to finish!

Recommendations:

If you need to be loud, please be loud two feet away from the microphone. Remember, the engineers have set your recording level based on you reading the script (for example) as a kindly grandfather selling health care, not as Marilyn Manson selling a monster truck show.

I understand that these little nuances are often critical to a performer feeling uninhibited during a session and that often the best takes during said session immediately follow a spontaneous moment of improvisation.

Of the three skill sets, I can be the most forgiving of shortcomings in this particular one. This is acting. This is you doing what you love and giving it your all. This is the one category where a little something unexpected, loud or goofy, can blossom into something truly magical!

My intent with both this article and my VOICE 2010 presentation is to help you avoid pitfalls like these and to make you aware of habits/traits you may not even realize you have.

If you're not getting hired as much as you think your talents merit, the answer could lie within your degree of professionalism rather than within the age of your demo reel.

I will not sugarcoat my opinions; though by the same token, will do my best to be constructive rather than nagging. It's my sincerest hope to give you something of value to learn from – ergo helping you with your business, your income potential and your career.

As I’ll mention in the opening of my VOICE 2010 presentation, ANY one of you could do a keynote on How to be a Go-To Engineer/Producer. We all have our stories, insights and professional opinions and by involving ourselves in information symposiums like VOICE 2010, can feed off the synergy created by the expertise of our combined disciplines - hopefully learning a thing or three along the way.

In the end, the most important achievement is creating for our clients, a product that lures more customers, sells more widgets and reinforces the demand for exceptional work from exceptional professionals.

Thank you for time and your talents!

*I wasn't trying to be cute in rhyming brevity and levity...just noticed this during the 11th reread. Don't feel like another re-write and besides, Forensic Files is starting on truTV!