Change the Channel

Faced with misbehaving technical devices, most of us have figured out a simple hack: turn it off, unplug it, start again. A similar principle applies with human communication: change the channel. 

The artists I know complain that nobody answers their inquiries. You craft a careful email message, asking for information, or requesting a meeting, or presenting a proposal. You leave your contact information, and look forward to a quick response.  

And then nothing happens. No one answers, or even acknowledges the message. Many of us begin to fill the silence with our own insecurities, deciding they hated the proposal, or found the question inappropriate. Then we give up. 

My best advice is to change the channel of communication. If you sent an email, follow up with a phone call. If you’ve been texting and suddenly all goes silent, make a phone call. If your contact is a local organization, visit them in person. If you’ve submitted a written proposal through an online process, send it again via snail mail, or send an inquiry via LinkedIn or Instagram. Try alternate means of communication at least three times. Then wait two weeks (unplug yourself), and do it again. This is like a system reset. 

The reason all of this is necessary is that we now communicate on too many channels, and they get overloaded. The circuits are jammed. You can check your route on google maps, to find out if there’s too much traffic, but communication  channels are not easily seen.  

And don’t forget to try an old-school method of communication – ask somebody.  I was recently frustrated because an editor wasn’t answering my emails. A friend who knew her personally explained, “Oh, didn’t you know? She just had a baby.”