In any interaction with a client, there’s your space, her space, and the space between you that’s available to be shared. Many times, we tend to stay in our own spaces—coming from our own perspectives, caring mostly about our own agendas, and it often gets us what we need in the interaction, but it can be a bit shallow.
You can go so much deeper, and have a more rich and connected interaction if you step out of your own space into the center you share with your clients. That’s a vulnerable moment…a moment that says that you’re willing to leave your comfortable space for the opportunity to create the shared space, and shared experience. That action invites her to meet you in that sacred shared space… and if she does, what happens will always be magical.
One way to do that is to “tell” on yourself. To say something a bit vulnerable about yourself or your experience that’s relevant to the discussion. We’re all scared to be vulnerable, and often clients are really scared to do that with their VAs because they fear it will mean the VAs will see that they don’t really have their stuff nailed down tight. Of course, we already know that, right? And to us, it doesn’t make the client less exciting or interesting to work with.
And here’s the truth: it’s only when they let you in that way that you can do your best work for them. Otherwise, you can do surface work, and while I’m sure that’s pretty good, it’s not great. Go for great by making yourself vulnerable first. Then do it again, and again.
If you’ve chosen well, sooner or later (and probably sooner!) the client will meet you in the space between, and you’ll both realize you never want to be anywhere else again.
