Hi! I have some issue with a client communication, I would like to hear your opinion about that.
Most of my clients, thankfully, are busuiness-oriented and I am blessed with a relevant business communcation.
But sometimes I have a “featured” clients, for example, like this time, small-sized wellness business related (yoga, healing, reiki etc) client.
While doing some business talks about the project, the client quite often asks me what I am thinking about…It looks like “checking” my mind…I even feel a pressure, that I need to be 100% honest and dedicated to the project and “not hide” anything. So this questions make me think the client is checking what I am hinding…Then, I sincerely reply what I have in mind, related to the project. But then the client strangely stare at me and laugh…This happend few times. I politely asked what is wrong, but the client just laughed. And it is going really annoying for me. I do not want any kind of “invasure” to my personal emotional space, as the client doesn’t have any right to do this.
Then, the client is quite emotional, and like to express excitement. Which included thouthands of messages I need to check. It looks like I need sometimes to provide emotional support as well.
But I am busy with my other clients. I have no capacity for the emotional support, first, and then no capacity to think out what that strange checking of my mind means. I am busy, sometimes tired, and this project is not top first priority for me (it looks like the client think so) in terms of the time I need to spend on and budget of hours I can dedicated to it and the scope of work required (this is not a full time project, just few hours weekly support)
The project is going to last some time, quite long. It is interesting for me in terms of experience and I prefer to have it in my portfolio. But I am worring much about the communcation style of this client and not sure how it is better to approach the client and express my wish to limit the communcation to the business things only, excluding any personal invasures to my mind.
Also, we have built a schedule agreed by the client, but in a few days it suddently appeared that the client wants everything right now, ignoring the smarlty built schedule and I needed to do everyting at once to provide results the client wants. I tried to expain that I am busy and my schedule is important to me and I can’t change it in few days, but eventually, it leaded to that I was rassing.
Since the client is emotional and impulsive, I think any kind of “serious” talk may lead to some reaction like “Oh, she is not treating me well or my project is not important to her” which may also lead to the negative feedbacks, that I want to avoid, of course.
So, I need to be quite patient and careful in expressing my thoughts.
Want to hear your thoughts and your experience how to make this type of communication with a client more limited and comfortable, avoding any negative aspects.