Transcript
>> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premiere Business Owner Strategies and Successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS! Now let’s welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I'm your host Anne Ganguzza along with my very special guest co-host BOSS Laya Hoffman. Hey Laya, how are you?
Laya: I'm great. Anne. How are you?
Anne: I'm doing good. It's been a hectic week in the booth here, which is a good thing. I'm very grateful about that, but hectic in terms of I had clients who are asking a lot of me.
Laya: Oh yeah?
Anne: Not just voicing.
Laya: Aren't they always?
Anne: Yeah. Not just voicing in the booth, but they wanted playback. They wanted to invite the client in. And so I thought it would be a good day to talk about how to be the BOSS in the booth and handle these, handle the tech, handle these situations when a lot is being requested of us these days.
Laya: So much, you know. Gone are the days of just stepping into the studio and all you have to do is focus on your acting --
Anne: Remember that?
Laya: -- the copy and what it feels like to deliver, you know, the message. Now you have to have all the hats on --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- simultaneously while keeping your cool and still delivering an outstanding performance. And it is harder than we realize --
Anne: Oh my gosh --
Laya: -- especially when the going gets tough.
Anne: Yeah. And shout-out, okay, before anything else, a big shout-out to all the studios out there --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- and pre-pandemic too. Like I always appreciated studios and sometimes even more so now, you never realized what a luxury it is to walk into a studio and to be directed.
Laya: Yes, I miss it.
Anne: Right? It is a wonderful thing. And I think there's always a place for studios, but during the pandemic, when we had to kind of up our game and get our tech in place and be able to engineer and do all that, oh, that was tough. So thank you to all of those studios. Some of my favorite studios shut down, and it's so sad, and I hope that they, you know, we're now coming back to a different place. I'm so glad when I see people in studios, and they're like, oh my gosh, I'm so happy to be back in studio, seeing people, so.
Laya: Well, and it's true because even the engineers --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- like I have great respect for these engineers and the sound designers that are manning the board and the client in one ear.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And they've got another client patched in from somewhere else. And they have really been the lead for all these years --
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: -- to really help craft a comfortable setting for --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- so many of us that are dealing with our own insecurities or --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- our own demands or our own needs that are happening on every angle of the table or the studio. And so I have a whole new respect having really had to shift that in house, but now it's, you know, it's a new skill learned, and I really haven't seen anywhere where you can learn the art of how to be your own BOSS in the booth --
Anne: Right?
Laya: -- so this should be an interesting conversation.
Anne: Well, I think, first of all, you have to educate yourself on some of these technologies that are --
Laya: Yep.
Anne: -- that may be required of you. So number one, first of all, you've got to connect to a studio if you're doing a live direct, right? Or you have to be able to connect a client to be able to hear you. And so --
Laya: Yeah, your studio, right?
Anne: Yeah. There are a lot of ways to do that. I know that prior to the pandemic, we were doing, a lot of people were doing stuff via Skype, and then Zoom kind of became a thing. I've had people connect via Zoom.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I'm going to give a shout-out to, you know, our sponsor ipDTL, because I've always been able to connect other people to me via ipDTL and a very easy --
Laya: Yeah, flawlessly.
Anne: Flawlessly, seamlessly, in a wonderful -- and the cool thing is, is that I even have a phone number, like my ipDTL, somebody can call a phone number and connect up with me via ipDTL. So on the other end, if you've got a client who's not technical --
Laya: Yep.
Anne: -- at the very least, just give them a phone number and they can connect.
Laya: Always.
Anne: Now --
Laya: That's awesome. I didn't realize that about them. Good share, for sure.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: For sure.
Anne: But even before that, if you want to get even more elementary, right --
Laya: Of course.
Anne: -- I used to have people connect to me in the studio by having my phone and earbuds. And so I'd have them call my cell phone, put my earbuds in my ear, and then my headphones over, right, my ears.
Laya: Oh wow.
Anne: And they would be in my ear. And it was like before you had to do a complicated -- there were people that would talk about having complicated phone patch in to your studio. And then thank goodness for cell phones with earbuds.
Laya: Right. We still call it phone patch --
Anne: Right?
Laya: -- but it's like, we're actually, we've upped the tech a little bit. Right?
Anne: Yup.
Laya: It's not necessarily a phone, but yeah, you're right. There's so many clients and partners out there that need to pass it on to somebody that isn't used to this program, you know, is used to just going into a studio and letting somebody else handle it. So you gotta make it easy for them with something as simple as a phone number --
Anne: Yeah. Exactly.
Laya: -- or a Zoom link or something that they're used to. You got to meet them where they are.
Anne: Yeah. I think that's your client non-technical person that needs to be able to hear what you're doing with their copy --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- is a phone patch, the cell phone number, the Zoom connection, Skype connection. And that's just something that you want to make sure that as a talent, when they are connected, they are either muted when you are obviously voicing the copy or, you know, you are muting them so that you're not getting the feedback. Or even if they're in your ear, you don't want that to bleed through. So --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- make sure that you have a good mute system or you know how to mute clients when you are speaking the copy.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And that I would say the very elemental client connect to us in our studio, those are some viable methods. Now what about connecting to studios? We have a couple of different options here.
Laya: Yeah, we do. And I even want to go back a step if, if that's all right with you, Anne.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: Because I found that more and more of my clients who are used to into a studio may not be used to connecting now virtually with a studio. And so they're just coming straight to me as the voice talent saying like, how do we get this done? And so I offer a few solutions, right? I say, you know, um, I have multiple connectivity options. You can connect with me via the digital methods, which would be Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom -- funny story as a side, I offered just to Zoom and Skype to a client that works with Google. And so they were like --
Anne: Oh wow.
Laya: -- oh no, we do Google Hangouts. And I was like, oh yeah, of course --
Anne: Got to offer that.
Laya: That's now, don't want to offend Google. So of course that's in the mix or phone patch, you know, I say, if you've got a conference line --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- but right from the jump I say, you know, or I would prefer to connect with a studio of your choice, or I can recommend one for SourceConnect or ipDTL --
Anne: ipDTL.
Laya: -- or anything like that that makes it easy on them. So I first put it in their court when approached with it, because I do find that so many times, they're like, uh, how do we do this? You know, at least that was the case in the very beginning.
Anne: Well, I want to add to that list, in addition to your visual hangouts, if they just need an audio hangout, there's also Bodalgo Call. There's also --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Right? That they can just connect up audibly. And by the way, I had some international clients that Zoom did not work. And so they had to use Skype. And that was the only thing that --
Laya: Skype is another one, yeah.
Anne: -- will work. Really depends on certain protocols, I know, of security.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: And so one was Skype. Another person could only connect via Zoom. The other, if it's audio only, it could be, but Bodalgo Call. There's also Open Connection. I'm trying to think what else is -- I think now, um, I'm just trying to think. There is a new capability of I -- maybe it's Mac iOS that you can connect an audio call. I'm gosh, I'm now, I'm going to, I'm going to go crazy trying to think of it. But anyways, there are those other options where if you just need an audio connection where they listen in, you can offer that, where they don't have to dial a number, but they can join in via computer.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: And there's audio options for any of these.
Laya: Oh for sure there is.
Anne: Yeah. So obviously if you don't have to have video, which I recommend, to be honest with you. I don't know if I really want people that in my booth, you know, when I'm performing --
Laya: I agree with you.
Anne: -- like you don't have to look at me.
Laya: I agree with you. In fact, I want to touch on that a little bit, because in addition to that, like I hear Zoom and I'm like, oh my gosh, I got to like, look presentable.
Anne: Gotta do my hair.
Laya: But a couple of key points there for me have been, well first, I'll ask them what their preferred connectivity, but I'll asterisk with, if you find that playback during our session is going to be essential --
Anne: Oh yes.
Laya: -- for decision-making with your client -- some clients are just like, no, just send me -- I just want to listen in. And they're very low hassle, I don't know.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: They're easy to deal with. And so that you've worked with them in the past. It's no big deal. They just want to listen in. And sometimes they've got a lot of people on the line, and a lot of personalities and they definitely want playback. And I said, well, hey, unless we're connecting to a studio, which can absolutely engineer that --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- the only way that my capabilities are going to allow playback are through Zoom. I haven't found any other playback capabilities, albeit I haven't looked very hard, but I'm like you, have an Apollo. I use Adobe Audition. And I have found that the only thing I can do playback on is through Zoom, if they're not using SourceConnect, of course. What are your options? Have you found any?
Anne: So that's really interesting because I have an Apollo, and I use Twisted Wave. So my Apollo acts as a virtual audio output device --
Laya: Interesting.
Anne: -- because I can play it within Twisted Wave, and they'll be able to hear it, which is something I didn't have until I got the Apollo. Other interfaces, they did not act as that. There's some software that you can load on your computer that can act as a virtual audio output device, like Sound Flower. The other thing too, if I need to play back for a client or a studio, I use ipDTL, which allows me to --
Laya: Right, perfect.
Anne: -- play it back. But it's always like, oh, can we get playback? And I'm like, all right, but it's the raw audio.
Laya: Yeah, I haven't cleaned it.
Anne: I haven't edited anything out. But that's my paranoid, non-engineer, you know --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- going, oh my God, all right, I can play it back, but you're going to hear that mouth or something.
Laya: And those curveballs can really throw you off your performance games.
Anne: Yeah, yeah.
Laya: So it's important to know all these avenues. And I'm so glad you pointed out those playback options. It might just be in my lack of knowledge or education --
Anne: ipDTL.
Laya: -- on the matter. So I'm going to look that up, but yeah, of course. So I'm going to offer that. They're my partner now too.
Anne: But if I had my choice, if I had my choice, if I am on the line with a studio, and I'm connected via ipDTL, SourceConnect, Connection Open, and I think there's another high quality audio connection option out there right now. Forgive me that I can't think of it right now, but ipDTL and SourceConnect are the two big ones, but I --
Laya: And SessionLink, I think I've done --
Anne: Oh, SessionLink.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: That's it. That's the one I was thinking of. So those are options when you want to connect up to a studio, and when that happens, I love it because the studio engineer can typically do the playback.
Laya: Same, same.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I'm like, yes, I can finally just focus on me --
Anne: Being an actor.
Laya: Yes. Uh, I wish buyers knew what a better performance they probably get --
Anne: Right?
Laya: -- and a smoother transition when they get, when you're dealing with a studio and an engineer. It really does take the pressure off. So let's talk about what happens when it doesn't go so well.
Anne: You're flustered.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So number one, I'm going to say this, just from experience and just from a tech experience as well. Not just voice over, but being, being a techhead for 20 years, always have a backup plan --
Laya: Always.
Anne: -- because things can fail. Connections can fail. I've been noticing recently there's been some conversations about one of the providers not working so well. I've had my days where, you know, things just happen. Like ipDTL is slow or weird or something doesn't connect, or SourceConnect, right? It's just not working the way -- maybe SourceConnect Now. Oh, that's the other one, by the way, they can do playback, probably, SourceConnect Now.
Laya: Okay.
Anne: So those things, what do you do if one thing doesn't work? You always have to have your backup. And you know, in the heat of the moment when the client is there, and you don't know when you can reschedule that session, you certainly don't want your interface failing. You don't want your Internet network to fail. So if you can have backup points all along the way, meaning what if your microphone, I don't know. All of a sudden your microphone like dies, right? Do you have another microphone? Can you swap it out quickly? Do you have another audio interface? Do you have another network, Internet network, like a backup Internet connection? Those are things that I think as a professional, you need to have those in place. So that during an important session, usually when it's a live directed session, I'm going to say it's probably a pretty important, not that our self-directed sessions aren't important, but when it's a live directed session, there's that added pressure. You've got the client usually on the line or the studio on the line that you're trying to make a good impression. Like, hey, I got this. And you certainly don't want to seem any less than professional or prepared --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- when something bad might happen. So that's my first, my first advice.
Laya: I can't agree with you more. And let me just share from experience.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: First of all, it happens to all of us --
Anne: It does.
Laya: -- and we're all human. So just admitting calmly and in control to whoever may be affected --
Anne: Calmly.
Laya: -- you know, we're having an issue -- exactly. Oh my God, freaking out, is not the way to go with your clients. But if you can admit, hey, you know what, I'm experiencing something that's unusual right now. Give me just a few minutes. And if we can break for five, I'll get right back to you. Sometimes --
Anne: You are like the epitome of calm. I'm just saying, like the way you just said that, I just love it. I'm not quite sure I could say it so coolly, but you just -- that was awesome.
Laya: You know, just give me a moment.
Anne: Just a moment.
Laya: Get your meditation voice on. No, so to me, I've actually had this happen on two occasions where the power surge has gone out, like a brown-out in the middle of the afternoon for no reason. There's not even -- it's like a rolling blackouts. You know, sometimes, city's done -- that has happened to me once before. And let me tell you, I had a plan and I had a backup. Now I wasn't able to use the Apollo because that's powered, but I have -- Sound Devices has another DAW system that I use. And I was able to use -- my power was backed up --
Anne: Nice.
Laya: -- and flipped on a candle. And I was able to conduct a session --
Anne: Careful in the booth with that candle.
Laya: Exactly. Right, right. Having a power outage.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I mean, something as crazy as that.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And of course everyone understands, but you know, they may have a lot riding on the session as well, under deadline, with a new client and what have you. So you got to have a backup.
Anne: Can I just say that absolutely the power is super important, and you may not even realize until you're live, right, and with a client, your Internet connection failing --
Laya: Yes. Yep.
Anne: -- or especially when you're connected wifi. And if you're connected directly to a studio or to a client, it really does help to have that dependable, reliable Internet connection that doesn't have dropouts.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: And wifi, I'm sorry, guys. I know wifi is convenient and easy and not a lot of people are necessarily technical or know, but it helps to be directly connected --
Laya: Definitely.
Anne: -- to your router, to your Internet at all possible costs because that is going to be one less point of failure. So.
Laya: Yep, hard-wired in is the way to go for sure. As soon as you can, uh, establish that connection with your studio or with your home Internet, and even upgrade to a business Internet system where you've got more bandwidth, hopefully you, you know, maybe even got fiber in your area.
Anne: Sure, yeah.
Laya: That's just some key stuff. And that way you can use, if -- as your backup can be your wifi hotspot on your cell phone, if need be. That's happened to me before as well.
Anne: Oh yeah, that's always my second. My second Internet connection is my wifi hotspot, which is great to have that Internet connection. Now, what about, okay, mentally, right? Technically, look, you just have to be prepared with backups, and you have to understand hopefully enough to know how to disconnect, reconnect. I always, by the way, if I'm going to finish up on the technical aspect of being prepared, take a picture of your connections into your DAW and you know what I mean? And, and into, into the whole booth, right? Your monitor's connected this way, your microphones are connected here into your audio device. And so take pictures of the back of it --
Laya: Great tip.
Anne: -- label your cables and --
Laya: Oh, label my cables, that's absolutely key.
Anne: Label your cables.
Laya: Label the cable should be like hashtag.
Anne: Label the cables.
Laya: I love it.
Anne: And also, well, computer backup too doesn't it hurt. So always have that second. And I use my travel rig as my backup, right? So I have a laptop, and I've got a different interface, and I've got another microphone at the ready pretty much so that I can go there. And, but if you don't, make sure that you're taking pictures of how things are connected. 'Cause even me being a technical person, you know, in the heat of the moment, you want to make sure that you can react quickly.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: So now mentally, I had an experience where I had a live directed session with a very large client. One of the clients that -- a client I've always -- a dream client that I've always wanted to be connected to. And I actually experienced an engineer who was trying to, I don't even know how to say it, was trying to impress the client in his own way and made me do like, I'm going to say, three takes of every single line of a fairly large medical narration project. And it became very stressful for me because every single -- and I didn't know, he had planned on doing three takes of every line, and this what should have been an hour session turned into three and a half hours. And by the time that was done, I was exhausted. And mentally I was really frustrated, and it was starting to affect my performance. So --
Laya: Absolutely.
Anne: -- mentally you need to be prepared for that kind of a pressure. And sometimes I say, it's good to have a practice session with somebody. If you've got a close connection, even a voiceover talent that you are -- have an accountability group or something, do some test sessions and have things go wrong, and see how you can react. It does help at least the preparedness or feeling better, because mentally, if your performance is suffering, that's tough. What are your --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- do you have some suggestions, Laya --
Laya: Oh gosh, sure.
Anne: -- for mental, you know, how to recover mentally?
Laya: Yeah. Well, sure, and again, that happens to everybody also, right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Even the pros of the pros, the top people --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- there's always sometimes just somebody in the group that's either trying to establish themselves --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- because they're posturing for whatever reason is going on for them, maybe they haven't had the best day, or they're trying to prove themselves --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- in the room. And you know what? You just have to remember, you're the hired gun.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: You're the hired -- you, you're just there to listen and just take orders --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- and leave your ego at the door --
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: -- and just try to serve them and the copy and the client to the best of your ability. But I have been in that situation several times before, and it really doesn't come down to -- if you can remember, it really is not about your performance. Sometimes it's easy to recognize these people sometimes in a session.
Anne: Yep, yep.
Laya: You know, first sometimes even taking a step back, there's a lot of people coming at you. And so when I'm in a self-directed session or not a self-directed, but when I'm engineering the session myself, and I'm not connected to a studio, and if I am, sometimes there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and there's a lot of people coming at you with all different opinions.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And sometimes I'll listen to them all. If it calms down, you know, maybe it's bubbling up for a minute or two -- if it calms down, I'm able to get the focus again. I usually come back and say, okay, so-and-so, so tell me, this is how I thought I heard that. This is my translation of that. But to keep it super clear, moving forward, do you think I can get that direction from just one person? And sometimes it's a reframe, and that sets a neutral tone --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- for all the personalities that are on the phone. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And so, because that can mess with you mentally as well.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Laya: And so I think establishing that and like re-getting control of the session, that can help when all those personalities are chiming it, or they're asking for multiple retakes, and you're just, you're like, well, but I'm doing it. You know? You start to second guess yourself.
Anne: That's the thing that's such an -- I'm glad you brought that up because it's so important when they're asking for a different take. And sometimes the people that are asking for it, they don't know how to ask for it.
Laya: Yep. They don't know the language to use.
Anne: They don't know the language.
Laya: Right?
Anne: And hey, sometimes even people that do know the language don't know how to ask for that. And so you have to be very aware that this is something that will happen to you. And at one point, if they're asking you for so many retakes, then your confidence level starts to really fluctuate.
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: And I like in my head, I'm like, oh my God, did I not give them what they want? Well, I just gave them that. What, how did that not work? Really? And so that sort of conversation that you have in your head, that can really start to affect your performance. My go-to is breathing, just breathe, you know, in through the nose and exhale. I just heard my nose [phonetic].
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: Breathing in deeply. And that helps a lot.
Laya: Even on top of that shaking, like sometimes it's okay to say, hey, you know what?
Anne: I need a minute.
Laya: I needed just a moment. If you can take a break for just a few minutes, let me shake it off real quick --
Anne: Yup.
Laya: -- and come right back to you with a fresh set of ears on my own, you know, in my own headphones.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And maybe that will help.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: 'Cause I want to make sure that you're getting exactly what you want out of this session.
Anne: Exactly.
Laya: And as long as you continue to put it back on them, but are humble and human enough to say, you know what? I just need a moment. Um, let me get some water, step out for just a second. And I'll be right back with you.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And sometimes that's enough to break up even them in their own headspace. Maybe they didn't even realize that's like a good way to send a signal. Like, you're overdoing it.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: And the talent needs to regroup. And that's a very professional thing to do.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: And it's totally acceptable.
Anne: And sometimes, sometimes they'll either say too much or they won't say anything and you'll be like, oh, okay. Or they'll just, you'll do a number of retakes. And then there'll be like, okay. And then you'd be like, oh my God, I didn't give them what they need. That's it. I'm done. They're never hiring me again. That's the other kind of like, self-deprecating language that might happen --
Laya: Oh, for sure.
Anne: -- in your head, is like, oh, okay. They didn't react. And so what are they thinking? And so that can make it a little bit scary --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- in your head. So just, you know, for me, I love how, you know, let's take a moment. That always helps me and the breathing, and understand that sometimes you may be giving them exactly what they need, and they're just not responding.
Laya: Yeah. Maybe they're distracted. They're something else.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: They're scrolling on their phone or another email's come through.
Anne: That's right.
Laya: That can be a challenge --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- when you're working virtually like this, you don't know what the other person is experiencing.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: I remember one time recently I was on a call with two producers that were partners in two different states, and they clearly did not gel up. They were neck and neck.
Anne: Yup.
Laya: One of the producers had her kids screaming in the background. So it's in those moments that you have to kind of quickly empathize and identify where the energy source is and the chaos that may be happening for them.
Anne: Sure, absolutely.
Laya: Bring the calm to the mic and say, you know, what, what I'm hearing from you is this, what I'm hearing from you is this. Would you agree that it's more like this, and you want -- this is the end result here? And then also, like you said, kind of command the room to the best of your ability. You know?
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: Sometimes it's easy to say, to get the best performance today and I want to deliver what you want, I'm going to need everybody to mute their microphones, and let me get one source of direction or feedback going. And if they don't give it to you, like you're saying, say, okay, so can I get some feedback? You're welcome to ask the questions. And I think sometimes we forget that we can take control of those sessions.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: It's one of the most empowering things to feel when you finally feel confident enough to do so.
Anne: And the other thing too is just to know that these things do happen, right? It's so hard to predict what can happen in the booth when you have multiple people, what kind of like -- did you mention -- what kind of day they're having, too many people like that are hearing it differently than their head. Remember that we all hear the copy differently in our heads. The best thing you need to do is try to align that sound to what the client wants, right? And that client can differ. You could have a, I don't know, you could have a one, a marketing director or the, that hears it one way. And you could have a producer that hears it a different way. And as you mentioned, the two are clashing, and they might be at the same time directing you or even not. Let's say you've done the session. And then they come back and ask you for something different. So understand that that's absolutely something that can happen. And it has nothing to do with your performance.
Laya: Right.
Anne: And you could have given them exactly what they asked for. And a lot of times, I say this all the time, the way that you got the job is not always the way that you'll be directed to do the job once called upon to do it.
Laya: So much so.
Anne: Right?
Laya: Right? That happens all the time.
Anne: Because you have a different director, you have a different set of ears, and you have somebody that hears it differently directing you. So it is always very subjective to the person that is directing. And also, I'm just going to say, if you get the check, that's it. Consider it an amazing day.
Laya: Yep.
Anne: Consider you've given the client what they've wanted. It may not be what you agree or think is the way it should be. Right? But you've given the client what they wanted. And that's the most important thing.
Laya: Yeah. And I would say that the -- in the end, no matter how the session goes, I always like to close with a big thank you. Thank you. I -- first of all --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- I write, and I forgot to say this in the very beginning, but I've always got a notepad with me. As people are making their introductions, I always write down everyone's name so that I --
Anne: Good idea.
Laya: -- call of them by name throughout the session, to the best of my ability I can call the director or the producer, whoever's calling the shots by their name, repeat their names again and again so they know that you're very focused on who you're dealing with, even though you're not in the same space.
Anne: Sure.
Laya: And then at the end close by being, you know, thank you very much for having me. I'm so proud that you selected me for this project. I really hope to have the opportunity to work with you again in the future.
Anne: Absolutely.
Laya: Good luck on your project and thanks again.
Anne: And bam.
Laya: And then I think the engineer, if there is one and, you know, wrap it in a nice bow --
Anne: Yep, yep.
Laya: -- so they know no matter what, you left with a big smile --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- and very grateful for their time --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- and for selecting you. And then, you know, maybe they'll remember, you know, it, wasn't just an awkward, like, okay, thanks. Thanks, guys. Bye.
Anne: Yeah. End it professionally gracefully, and you know, again, it's one of those things, then don't stay too long either at the very end.
Laya: No, yeah.
Anne: Don't expect -- there should be nothing, except thank you. It was a pleasure working with you and good luck with the project. They do not owe you anything else. They don't owe you praise. They don't owe you, hey, well, you know, we'll contact you for the next job. They owe you nothing --
Laya: Yeah.
Anne: -- because that is a job. And ultimately, if you've done it to their satisfaction, you'll get paid for it. And so don't be, don't be emotionally affected by any of it at the end. Just close it warmly with a nice little bow. I like that. Wrap it up with a bow and onto the next one.
Laya: Yep. And I would say the other thing, and I've -- I made this mistake early on. I realized very quickly it was inappropriate, but the end of the session is not a good time to say, hey, I'd love a copy of that spot when you're done.
Anne: Yeah. Oh gosh. Yes, yes, exactly.
Laya: Unless you really know the person --
Anne: Good point.
Laya: -- or like, it's just, you one-on-one, I'd love to see what you come up with. You know, when this is thing is done.
Anne: Yep.
Laya: If it's not that easy and comfortable, that is not the time to be asking for anything. Just bow out gracefully.
Anne: I totally agree with you right there. Totally. That makes you look a little bit, I don't know, desperate, maybe?
Laya: Hungry. Yeah, a little hungry.
Anne: And I would say it's a good opportunity for you maybe a month or two down the road when you know the spot's been released to maybe reconnect and then say, hey, thanks so much. Just wanted to say it was a wonderful opportunity. And by the way, if, at that point, if, hey, if you wouldn't mind, is there a way that I might be able to see the finished product? I love it when engineers and producers send me the -- that's the best when they send it to me when it's done. And I'm like, oh my God, like too few people do that.
Laya: Yeah. I wish they knew how valuable that was, that currency is.
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: You know?
Anne: I have a couple of really awesome producers that I work with who will just send me the spot, like on, I don't have to ask for it. They send me the spot when it's done. And I'm like, oh, this is so awesome. So that gives you that permission to share it. And just, it's just a good thing to see your finished product. But --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- yeah.
Laya: And I would like to mention too, that part of that follow-up process, only when appropriate --
Anne: Yes.
Laya: -- but it helps to write down those names because a --
Anne: Sure.
Laya; -- few weeks later, or even a few days later, in some instances -- you got to feel it out and trust your gut -- if it was appropriate for you to make contact, meaning your agent didn't book that for you --
Anne: Right.
Laya: -- and there's not a middleman or anything like that --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- having their name or their studio affiliation, it'll at least allow you to find them or follow their studio on Instagram. Sometimes we are given the name of the studio or their production company that's working with it or the agency that's creating the piece --
Anne: Sure.
Laya: -- not necessarily the client. Great time to make a followup connection, be it LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and follow their work, continue to champion them and cheer them on.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: Or just drop them a line on LinkedIn and say, hey, I had a great session with you last week. Just wanted to say and take care of yourself. Hope all is well.
Anne: Yes.
Laya: I look forward to keeping an eye on your creative output, you know, in the months to come or something like that. It's a great way to follow that up too.
Anne: Excellent point about if you get this work through an agent, and I just want to reiterate this, if you get work through your agent, I strongly recommend reconnecting with your agent first, before.
Laya: Yes.
Anne: Like don't connect the client directly --
Laya: No.
Anne: -- connect to the client directly after the job or at any point, really, if it came through your agent, because that's a relationship that that agent has worked probably for a number of days, months, years, whatever, to connect and to secure. And you don't want to just kind of go in between that. So handle that professionally. Always go through your agent if the agent is the one that set that up for, if you have any questions or if you want to connect or say, do you think it would be okay if I sent them a thank you or ask for a copy of it? So excellent point. Wow. It was a great discussion today, Laya.
Laya: Yeah, love these BOSSes in the booth.
Anne: BOSSes in the booth.
Laya: I know our listeners are going to be able to take control of those situations --
Anne: Yeah.
Laya: -- because all of them can crop up. But in this day, this modern times, you really need to wear multiple hats --
Anne: That's right.
Laya: -- in the booth. And that comes down to client relations, to engineering, to tack --
Anne: Yep.
Laya: -- to being your actor, your best performance self, all those things with eloquence and grace, and then you'll win.
Anne: There you go.
Laya: You know, you'll be the BOSS in the booth.
Anne: Modern BOSSes in the booth. All right, I'm going to give a great, big shout-out to my modern connectivity --
Laya: Yes.
Anne: -- through ipDTL, our sponsor. We love them. Thank you so much, ipDTL, for always connecting me with BOSSes like Laya. You too can be a BOSS connected ipDTL person. Find out more at ipdtl.com. All right, guys, have an amazing week.
Laya: Thanks, everybody.
Anne: We'll see you next week. Bye.
Laya: Bye-bye.
>> Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host Anne Ganguzza. And take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.