Information Extraction

I love spy stories. Recently finished Absolute Friends, and am waiting patiently for new episodes of I Spy. Getting information out of people has become fraught with all the difficulties, intrigue and guessing games of a spy novel. My mind was starting to wonder if there was an interrogation tactic or mild torture *unfurls leather case of shiny, mysterious instruments* that could help.

What's your budget?

Top of this list is discussions about budget. It's one of the first questions we ask because it determines so much of where to go from there. But almost no one wants to answer it. Either because they want to "find out what it will really take" or are cagey because they're afraid you will spend it all and they'd love to spend less. But everyone – everyone – has a number in their head. So begins the dance. And you never really know what the outcome will be. Sometimes they don't bat an eyelash at cost. Sometimes they can "find some more money." And sometimes you're both far, far apart and have to figure out where to go from there. But the journey can take all parties, including vendors, on a wild goose chase. No one wants to hear this, but generally speaking more money yields a better result.

Can you tell us/give us access to X?

I wrote about this one before. How everyone is excited about a project until they realize they owe you some information. Sometimes content is a designer or agency responsibility, but there are limits to what we can know about someone else's company. We might need deeper information or information we can't access. I feel like sometimes people are genuinely annoyed by this, like why are you putting something else on my to-do list? But it's unavoidable. Occasionally, it's because some folks don't like to admit or reveal issues, but that's why we're here. If you don't tell your doctor your toe hurts, how can they help? And even if we are making recommendations, there is often some choice at hand. We are advisors, not dictators. You must choose. Many people say "both," and we know how to deal with that.

I'll know it when I see it.

Seth Godin tackled this one. People often say this directly or indirectly when they can't articulate what they want. Granted, part of our job is to help figure that out and/or make recommendations. And there are techniques to help uncover needs and manage the process (great suggestions at Seth's article link). But it has to be a two-way conversation. "I'll know it when I see it" is a game of Baccarat, unless you are charging for unlimited hours.

All of these things are about communication. It's not cute to be coy. The more it goes both ways, the better the outcome. I'll say it again forever, the idea that holding back communicating constraints will help the creative process, is a myth. *selects shiny instrument*