Freelance Lessons From a Speaker

For most days the previous week I’ve taken my sweet time off from posting new entries here. I’ve ventured out from my home to refresh my mind and perhaps learn a bit or two from the world. I ended up learning more than what I can jot down.

A Friendly Visit

Last week, I’ve visited a friend who has been up almost whole the night before preparing a presentation for a group of out-of-school students. I listened to his discussion, which lasted for two hours. It was my first time for me to watch my friend give a lecture.

photo credit: mzacha (SXC)

He started off by a little ice breaker to get the attention of his audience. It was creative and unexpected: something that a few speakers adapt to conquer their audience. He had us laughing over the course of the discussion, but this humor helped him explain his points well. His two-hour long discussion really had us entertained all throughout. We ended up learning the lessons that he wants us, the audience, to remember.

I was amazed that these are young people, all of them out-of-school youths. Despite the difference in generation he was still able to conquer them all. To me, he had conquered the attention of the audience. He ended up his discussion with his audience liking and respecting him that much.

Comparing that Experience to Freelance

I suddenly realized that this tactic applies well to freelance. A freelancer’s profile could have been the presentation and the speaker is the freelancer himself. A good cover letter and a catchy title is all that it takes to keep the client interested in getting him to view the freelancer’s profile.

Even with a captivating cover letter and an interesting title is nothing when a client finds out an empty profile staring right at him. A great profile should have all the necessary elements to convince the client into the hard coded skills of the job. The client is much like the audience who responds to what is written in the profile.

Even with a content-filled profile, consider its presentation. I’ve seen a lot of profiles where it has a lot of content but remains to be disorganized. A speaker’s speech is interesting if there is a little humor that will help his audience grasps the meaning of his discussion. Similarly, a profile should be organized in a manner that is pleasing and easier for the client to skim through.

I am not saying that the profile should end up humorous, because this will piss off the client. Use bullets, numbering, indentations, spaces and other means to help organize the profile.

Keep in mind that the client may have dozens of profiles to look at, so a quick skim should be effective enough to make an impression.

What have you learned about freelance and the world?

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