Diffusing a Hostage Crisis: a 5-Step Process

A title like, “Stop Right There If You Ever Want to See Your Ad Again,” is a pretty good way to get a young designer’s attention, especially in CA’s 2014 Design Edition. In the article, author Ernie Schenck, compares presenting your work to a client as a hostage crisis, where your work is the hostage and you as the designer must work through the FBI’s 5-step system for diffusing the crisis to save the hostage. Comparing the negotiation of a human life to a design might be a stretch, but we’re a passionate group of people, and fundamentally the goal for each case is the same. Step 1: Active Listening. You listen and you listen like the project itself hangs on every word your client utters because later down the road, it might. Step 2: Empathy. Your client just wants to be heard. They need to know you get them, and that their feelings and opinions are as valid as anyone’s, especially yours. Step 3: Rapport. Build your trust before you even think about pushing influence. Schenck writes, “If the situation were reversed, would you trust you?” They need to know you’re there for them, not for you. Step 4: Influence. NOW you get to move forward. Notice how this is the next to last step and we’re just now getting to the heart of things. I’ve skipped right to this step before, and if the client had been anything less than wonderful, the project would have gone up in flames. Designers are naturally impatient people, but it’s imperative to set the table before you get to the main course. Step 5: Behavior Change. For the FBI, this is when the hostage is handed over and everyone goes home. For us, it’s when you get to throw out ideas and come to a compromise with the work relatively unscathed. And better yet, you and the client trust each other. These steps model how we should strive to build relationships with our clients, however, this shouldn’t be something we go to when our design is in a hostage situation. This should be the model we use right off the bat, not when we’re forced to. A model for a hostage crisis implies that this is a one meeting immediate fix, but these steps take time to genuinely complete. Nothing but good comes from a solid relationship with a client; they’re more likely return to do business, more likely to use your ideas, and you’re more likely to produce a great product. Not every client will be like this, and in some situations, the hostage metaphor may be very applicable, but it’s part of your job to make that first step and foster that relationship.

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