Black and white square photo of James Fowler voiceover.

In Business – Communication is key 

All Businesses – Universal Truths

As a VoiceOver Artist, Freelancer, Independent business owner, or whatever hat I’m wearing today, two big concepts span this and my former careers:

1. The importance of great communication.

2. The importance of ownership in business.

It’s interesting how some truths are just Universal to any role.

Freelancers need good communication to build relationships with clients, speed up production and enhance reputation.

Freelancing requires you to own everything. It means not crying when the market stalls, but being agile enough to manoeuvre.

Here’s an example from a previous career I had:

I Worked As A Leader In The NHS

This crazy guy actually talks to us !

Leaving the Military I took up a Corporate role in a 3 Hospital NHS Trust, where someone said:

‘He really likes briefing people’

Its true I did and I still do. We were coordinating preparations for a Care Quality Commission Inspection.

A hospital is like a city, made up of small village communities, each with their own issues and ways of working.

Departments didn’t identify as part of the ‘Trust’. After several weeks of walking the floor, it was evident people weren’t used to seeing ‘the suits’.

One evening I got a call from a frustrated ED Registrar:

‘We have 14 ambulances queueing, no space in the department and the corridors are full, what’s the Trust’s plan ?’

Now CQC Inspections look at each area, but the final grade is a collective one. 

Depts wrestle with internal challenges and rarely take the wider view, why would they? 

So how on Earth do you get everyone on message and stop the stray voltage when the CQC comes along ?

The plan was more simple than it ought to be. No campaigns, endless performance metrics reviews, no putting up notice boards with all the latest mandatory BS in shiny new plastic sleeves, and certainly not spending thousands on consultancies that tell you how to read your watch.

The ‘Suits’ put on their big boy/girl pants and walked the patch, as we used to say in the Navy. They listened, got a sense of local frustrations and fostered a sense of collective identity.  

‘We are the Trust, they would say.

They shared reports from Trusts that did well, reassuring their faith in this team’s abilities and stopped the focus on lessons from bad reports. Over time, what grew was greater ownership and collective pride. 

How did it work out ?

The inspection eventually came and they received an overall ‘Good’; the first in the County for some years.

On the day of the inspection, departments sent dynamic emails to each other with tips and suggestions once the inspectors moved on; seemingly good communication and ownership were alien behaviours. 

To be meaningful though it had to be maintained, but it was a great way to start.

In Summary

Ownership can only be fostered in an organisation where there is trust (no pun intended), which in turn comes from talking to people. With a background in healthcare, naturally I offer medical narration as part of my portfolio of VoiceOver services. Please feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk about this or discuss a potential Voiceover project.

Walk the patch folks !

Some truths are universal, regardless of your line of work.