Tried sending a voice memo instead of an email and it backfired hard | Talking to Clients - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Tried sending a voice memo instead of an email and it backfired hard
I had a client who kept misreading my tone in emails, so I sent her a quick 2 minute voice memo to explain a change in scope. She wrote back saying it felt 'too casual and unprofessional' and asked me to stick to writing. Now I'm second guessing if voice is ever okay with new clients or if I just picked the wrong person to try it on. Has anyone else gotten weird reactions from switching up how you communicate?
My friend tried this with a new graphic design client and got told it felt like she was 'cutting corners on communication'. Ended up having to send a formal apology email and went back to written updates the whole project.
Going full apology email mode for switching to phone calls feels like a lot. Unless the client specifically demanded written updates in the contract, it's just a different way to communicate. Some people prefer talking over typing, and that's not a red flag. Was the client really upset about the form, or maybe they just didn't like the actual content of the call?