What's Wrong With This Message?

Being able to adopt the right tone of voice is a very useful skill that takes practice and experience. Getting it right is the difference between junior and experienced consultants.

Hi, I’m Rich, welcome to my consultancy newsletter. Please subscribe and check out my best articles.

Let’s imagine you’re working on a project that has run behind schedule due to an additional task being added and a colleague being sick.

You’re worried about how the client is going to react to the delay, so you send a message along the lines of:

I’m really, really, sorry but due to the additional task of [x] we didn’t anticipate and my colleague being off sick this week we’re not able to complete the project by [date]. We therefore need to push the date back to next week.

We highlighted in the contract that unforeseen events might cause delays. This is one of those situations. If you have a problem with it, please contact me directly.

Can you spot what’s wrong with this message?

I’ll give you a couple of beats to consider it….

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The problem with this is the language. It’s overly defensive and unnecessarily combative. It anticipates client anger before it’s happened while also telling them the anger will do them no good. It also exposes the fact that you have no continuity cover for a sick colleague.

Ironically, telling the client how to feel about the delay and encouraging them to adopt an aggressive approach will precisely lead to the situation you fear.

These kinds of messages are common among junior staff on projects. They overreact to their worst fear and send messages which do more harm than good.

A better approach is:

Hi, we want to invest a little more time into [additional task] you mentioned. Do you mind if we send this to you on Tuesday instead of this Friday?

Notice the difference in tone?

For starters, it doesn’t assume the client will be angry and upset. It gives an understandable reason for the delay and lets the recipient say if it is or isn’t acceptable. If it’s unacceptable, you can offer to send what you have by the current date without the additional task.

Nine times out of ten you’re going to get a response along the lines of

“Sure, no problem”

Because we can all recall situations where someone reacted negatively to a delay, it’s easy to imagine what will happen. And when you let that infect your thoughts, you will bring that energy into the room (or email). The client will pick up on it and worry that something is seriously wrong.

90% of the time, the negative thoughts you’re experiencing are entirely in your head.

The lesson here is don’t assume a client will be hostile, angry, or upset. As mentioned, that assumption will likely lead you to assume a defensive or combative posture, which will result in the outcome you’re worried about.

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But Don’t Ignore Potential Issues Either

Signs of unspoken issues to pay attention to

Here’s an example we use in our consultancy training.

On a call, you notice the client doesn’t seem like their usual self. Their tone seems a little harsh and they’re not giving the usual positive feedback. They don’t seem as engaged or enthusiastic about the project. They didn’t engage in any small talk. The vibe feels wrong.

This is a more difficult ground to tread. Assuming the client is angry with you might be a reflection of your own insecurity.

The client might simply be having a bad day.

Yet, can you afford to ignore it? There might be an essential issue you need to address. There is also a cultural element to consider here as well. Some cultures are traditionally far more forthcoming in sharing how they really feel (Israel, The Netherlands, etc…) than other cultures (British, Japan etc…)

One option is to assume they’re having a bad day and see how it goes next week. But a better option is always to address the issue with a kind email after the call and check if things are okay.

If your relationship is good enough, it’s ok to say:

After today’s call, I want to check that everything is ok with you and this project?

I might be reading the situation completely wrong, but I sensed that something might be up. If that’s the case, I’m happy to set up a call to chat more and resolve any issues.

Most of the time when you send this message you’ll get a response of:

“No, everything’s fine, I’m just tired after looking after a sick child all night”

But occasionally you will get a message that leads to a better outcome such as:

“To be honest, I reviewed the project with my boss and she’s really not happy with the work so far. I suspect she’s probably going to cancel the contract in the near future”

This isn’t good news, but it’s also an opportunity to try and address the issue by setting up a call with your contact’s boss and going through everything to understand and address their concerns.

A danger signal in these situations is a short, terse, response along the lines of:

“No, all good”.

Again, the recipient might just be busy or not recognise the context of the question, but these kinds of responses can often portend a serious problem.

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Communicating Personal Problems

You probably get ONE free pass, after that you need a solution

In high school, it was perfectly acceptable to come up with a range of excuses for not getting work done.

Illness, a broken printer, a hungry pet, a utility company failure, and family emergencies were usually good excuses.

But alas, you’re not in high school anymore. Using personal reasons for not providing clients with the service they’re paying for won’t reflect well on you. If your accountant doesn’t get your taxes done on time you’re not going to feel much differently about it if they tell you it’s because they were sick.

This is why I’d personally avoid highlighting a personal issue for not getting a project done on time. It’s hard to think of a situation where this reflects positively on you.

In the initial response at the beginning of this newsletter, you will notice the phrase “my colleague being off sick this week” as a reason for a project delay. I’d remove this from the rationale because it puts the client in an awkward position. On the one hand, they know they should feel sympathy for you. On the other, they’re paying for a service you’re not delivering on time (through no fault of their own).

You might get sympathy and a free pass once. But when it happens again, the client is going to realise you have no continuity or contingency plan in place. They will start to realise they’re paying for an unreliable service.

This is why you should have continuity and contingency plans in place. At some point, you are going to get sick or want to take a vacation.

You can add padding to the timeline to account for this (and simply finish a project earlier if you don’t get sick) or you can have freelancers and partners on standby who can jump in if something happens.

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Soft Skills Matter A Lot

A lot of this you learn through trial and error. Even today, after some fifteen years of running a consultancy practice, I’m still making mistakes and learning from how clients respond.

This post from TMC (now Consulting Intel) reminded me of a lot of the challenges I faced in my earlier years and I’ve seen others face since. The key to learning and improvement is three things.

1. Be reflective. Reflect on each client engagement and make a list of what you could improve. You should learn from every engagement.

2. Observe others. If possible, it really helps to observe others in client engagements. See how they respond to you and communicate issues with you. See if you can pick up tips on the choice of words and language they use.

3. Proactively study. Like most things, there are plenty of courses and materials on improving these skills. Pick up a few books and courses and you will soon get many great tips to use in different situations.

Good luck.

Thanks for reading

Richard Millington