Today was one of those days when I feel like I didn't accomplish much at all. I spend most of the day in discussions with what seemed like everyone in my contact list. My face hurt from all of the jawing back and forth. I'm not used to spending so much time talking and feel mentally drained with nothing to show for it. What can be sadder than a person in a tangible vocation without anything tangible?
Actually, a lot was accomplished by way of agreements on how to go forward, or in more cases, agreements on what wasn't going to be pursued any further. There was a lot of posturing and representing that will apparently pay off by positioning me as someone who is a confident decision maker and knowledgeable, which I understand, but I don't enjoy all of the bluster and pretenses that seem to be required to make yourself stand out.
Once when I was a brand new designer I thought that the quality of my work would decide my value. but even the best designer in the company has extensive training for client relations in the age of representative partnership and litigation. I'm learning but some things are not easy. There are a lot of rules for manners and communication that seem to complicate matters rather than ease understanding.
My boss told me that he appreciated how straightforward I am and for the most part this remains true but I have been instructed to learn the very British format of pleasantry. If I were the client I would like you more if you got to the point and went away so that I had the rest of the day for myself but instead it seems that the majority of my clients appreciate being fed polite blather. We say 'oh yes, we will take it into consideration," when we mean, "we would never consider that idea". So then we spend the next hour fleshing out various proposals, including the one we would never consider instead of just outright saying no and moving forward to a workable solution.
This reminds me of the translation table that I saw in BBC America, which was hilarious due to its spot on accuracy.
source: BBC America
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