Many paths to consultation

A consultation can take many paths, most would waste time and eventually lead a client to be upset with you for the time, and — often — money, they wasted by being allowed to speak without boundaries.

When interviewing a client, it is vital to know when to listen and when to prod and even subtly interrupt. People are good at conversation, but will focus naturally on what is most emotionally potent to them, when a professional probably wants colder webs of fact and motive.

You need to know what you have to extract from an interview. A written plan you have before you, perhaps a checklist — one you need to fill in, can help.

You may seem slightly colder to the client, but they will be happy with a lack of delays, and when you don't miss anything vital. They will also be more likely to be factual, not emotional. You can always work together as conversation partners, on the vital task of helping them tell the story in a way you can use to help them. A client giving a guided oral summary will be able to place their facts and factors in the right place much better than you can, when you actually have to draft anything based on them, later.

I type out extensive notes in all my consultations and find this is actually a good interview tool. If a client speaks too fast, you feel the need to slow them down, so you can record their words. When your words are being written down, you also feel you are being heard and economise more.

An added benefit of writing down what your client says, and having a game plan beforehand of what you need to know of the what, who, where, why, and how of each aspect of a matter, is that you will find yourself naturally steering a consultation.

It is usually also a good idea to book more time than you need for a consultation, I tend to book double — as it avoids 5 consults where one would do, by not cutting off a client who has finally got into the flow of things. Usually, the allocated time is enough. You also can benefit from holding o..