How and when to contact a busy person.
How and when to contact a busy person.
18 ideas to getting through to that person you need an answer from...
Film Professionals are often very busy people. I can’t count how many times I felt like I was just overloaded with work and I couldn’t keep up when working as a Producer or Assistant Director. The demands of production can sometimes make it challenging to either get a hold of someone or make time to talk to that person that wants your attention. I’ve been on both sides of the fence and over the years I’ve come up with some principles and strategies to contacting “busy” people.
Check your time zone. If you are on the east coast and you need to text/call/email someone on the west…It’s a good idea to be in sync with their schedule so you don’t seem like the crazy person calling at 6am their time.
Determine the best method of contact. Be strategic about what you email vs text vs instagram vs call vs zoom etc. Look at your question, idea or prompt and see what communication vehicle is best for that given moment.
Avoid contacting people on certain times of day and certain days. In general if you can avoid contacting people on the weekends or after 5pm you will be much appreciated. Yes there are exceptions, especially when deadlines are adamant, but if it can wait till Tuesday at 1pm then set a reminder and call at Tuesday at 1pm. I also find it useful to avoid making contact with anyone on Monday mornings as everyone is playing catch up.
Avoid lengthy discourse via the written form. Anything more than a paragraph on text or email might be better suited for a phone call or zoom discussion.
Batch questions accordingly. Discussing 5-10 areas of the business or project at once is way more productive then trying to get these questions answered over the corse of a week via email. Find a time that works for both parties to talk through these areas that need to be discussed.
Read the room. If the person you are trying to get a hold of seems distracted or you know they might have other obligations, hold off on your questions.
Be strategic about following up. If you send a message and don’t hear back, don’t necessarily assume that they got the message or don’t want to respond. For all you know they could be driving, flying, negotiating a deal etc. In general its ok to follow up in 2-3 days if you don’t hear back.
Be careful of your tone. Emails can sometimes come across very cold when in reality the conversation may be perfectly fine. Try not to get offended and aim for an audio call whenever you sense a tone situation.
Give a deadline in your emails. It’s a good idea to let the person you are contacting know the urgency of the matter. If you need to pay the city for a film permit by Thursday at noon, make sure that the person knows the deadline so it will expedite the reply and approval.
Sprinkle in bits of fun and cheer. Don’t be afraid to use a fun gif or emoji when it’s been a long week. I try and start most emails with Hi _______.
Respect Holidays, Birthdays and Vacations. If you know this person is experiencing one of the following then rely on emails and only text/call if urgent.
Include an email signature. Make sure that in your email to whomever you include your name, title, cell etc. Its very frustrating when someone tries to contact me and I really don’t have time to email them back but I would gladly call them if they had left their number in the email.
Have a clear subject. Because I’m often dealing with thousands of emails during any one film production I like to approach important emails with a similar format for each email. NAME OF FILM - CATEGORY - QUESTION ie… (TOP GUN - LOCATIONS - PERMIT APPROVAL)
Be strategic about who to include. While I rarely use the BCC field in emails except for mass emails, I do frequently CC other team members when sending out emails. This is a good way to ensure accountability and to keep others in on the known.
Bold and highlight when you can. Many times I will send out emails and I just know that they weren’t read in their entirety. Bolding or highlighting important sentences can be one way to make sure that your email was read.
Call if all else fails. In today’s world it sometimes feel like you have to setup an appointment to talk with someone on the phone. Occasionally I will be sending emails/text with no response. Don’t assume the reason for the lack of response. Calling can be ok in this situation….the worse case is they don’t answer and call you later.
Be strategic with in person meetings. If you are able to discuss with this “busy” person ie. Director of said movie your question/issue/idea it’s a good idea to be strategic about when you approach them. You might be able to approach between setups while filming but it’s a good idea to ask the 1st AD if they think there is time for that as they may need to prepare for the next shot.
Make small talk on occasion. While you may not want to waist anyone’s time a simple small talk question at the beginning of the conversation can be great to break the ice and calm the air before a barrage of questions are brought on.