Ever hold a long conversation with a 4-year-old?

So many questions. So many “whys.” So much need for repetition and reminders. So much reinforcing, reframing and re-explaining. It’s frustrating as hell. But we get it. They ask questions to learn and understand and improve.

That’s sometimes how it feels to work with a client.

No, clients are not 4-year-olds. They’re grown-up professionals who do important work. But when they come from a different industry or speciality outside of the creative world, they often have a whole lot of questions for us. Or they forgot what we explained to them, and they need to hear it again. And again. And maybe again.

As experts in our field, our job is to make sure we are as clear as possible with our clients. We have to make sure to thoroughly articulate the process, explain the outcomes and list the deliverables that meet the goals and objectives we’ve all agreed on for the project.

Even if we did a super-fantastic job laying things out up front, chances are excellent we’re going to encounter a “why?” or “what’s the purpose of that?” or “remind me why this piece matters?”

This is absolutely not because our clients aren’t capable of learning or understanding. It’s also not because we didn’t do a good job of explaining things. On the contrary.

Our clients need to be experts in their work. And we need to be the experts in what we do, and part of that means being responsible for helping our clients navigate the creative process.

Think about how many times you’ve had to ask a doctor to explain a procedure or a condition to you. Or how hard you’ve had to work to understand a news story from a part of the world unfamiliar to you. Your brain has to work harder. You forget things. You need the information reframed. You ask “why?”

Remind yourself of all that the next time a client asks the same question for the fifth time. They want confirmation that you have their back, and you know what you’re doing.

It’s not about trust. It’s about clarity. Take it as a compliment.