Book Review – Verbal Kung Fu For Freelancers By Jeremy Tuber

VERBAL KUNG FU FOR FREELANCERS
Author – JEREMY TUBER
Pages – 166
LBOI RATING –

I recently got an opportunity to review Jeremy Tuber’s Verbal Kung Fu For The Freelancer. Ever since I came across the title on another blog, I have been eager to read the book. The title made me think that the book would unearth mysterious oriental secrets to combatting a client verbally and efficiently in the freelancing arena. Although there is nothing oriental about the techniques, the book does share a few hidden gems, words of advice and gentle suggestions for the two different kind of freelancing personalities out there, the bold confident one and the shy doormat.

What Verbal Kung Fu For The Freelancer does is, it outlines the various problems and dilemmas faced by freelancers when dealing with clients who are overbearing, demanding, inconsiderate and rude. "We all know the problems!" you say? "We’ve all had bad clients!". I hear you people, I thought so too. But I was amazed to see the different situations that can potentially arise and might need you to be calm in your head and quick on your tongue. Jeremy does it very methodically. He first outlines the problems and "What a Client Could Potentially Say To Make Your Life Miserable Or Put You In A Spot". He then proceeds to suggest two sets of corresponding tactics depending on the situation, the gentle technique and the stronger more forceful technique.

He touches on subjects related to Pricing, Contracts, Billing and Collecting Money, Project Turnaround Times, Being Asked To Work For Peanuts, Stalling And Approvals, Copyright And Master File Issues and more. It tells you what you must not say, even though you think it is right and fair. It teaches you to use words smartly, as silent weapons that could make a difference between a long fruitful client relationship and a failed project with a bad taste.

There is a lot here that you might have already experienced if you have been in the freelancing business for a while. You might have devised your own KungFu techniques, but I am sure a different perspective can sometimes make you realize what you are doing wrong or assure you that you are doing the right thing. For freelancing virgins, this book offers a wonderful resource from a talented and experienced professional who conveys his message in a unique, humorous style and offers a wealth of information in the process. The illustrations are fun and break up the worded pages nicely. Kudos to Jeremy for compiling and writing a resource that we all live each and everyday but don’t really share with each other.

I also wanted to add that even though I always knew it, this book has made me realize more than ever how blessed I am to have the clients I do. They are absolutely great, they have never taken advantage of me, trust my judgement and minus the one off slightly frustrated email, they are a joy to work with.

If you enjoyed the review and would like to purchase the book, get Verbal Kung Fu on Amazon. Alternatively, you can head over to Jeremy’s blog and get in touch with him.