“Are you on deadline?” No, I’m filing my nails. Of course I’m on deadline. What do you want?
September 29, 2008...9:15 am
Tip #39: Always
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Rafe
7 Comments
September 29, 2008 at 10:16 am
Sorry, but I believe the vast majority of us think it’s common courtesy to ask if someone has time for a chat. Maybe the phraseology doesn’t appeal to you, but the intent behind it is a good one.
September 29, 2008 at 10:42 am
I get asked the question so many times a day that I find it trite and annoying. It assumes all pitches are created equal and all deadlines are the same. Neither is true. Want a real tip? Try this opener:
“If you have a moment, can I tell you about a new service that does XYZ?”
September 29, 2008 at 10:43 am
I agree with Rachel. I think its a fair question to ask. You don’t want to just start talking and get cut off in between because the person happens to be busy. It’s safer just to open with that question.
Also, I have been following your tips for awhile and they went from hilarious and helpful to resentful and bitter.
September 29, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Okay, maybe I’m in a good mood but I find this one dead on hilarious. I mean, at this point in history, this question is ridiculous – especially to a blogger.
It’s the same reason my cell phone’s outgoing message says, “You know what to do and you know when to do it.”
September 29, 2008 at 7:53 pm
How about this, “when is your deadline?” sometimes you need something immediately, other times you aren’t planning to write about X for a week or more. it helps to know how urgent so I can tell a client to get me X before their next meeting or they can wait until tomorrow. know what I mean?
BTW, I committed a major NDA faux pas today. Forgot to ask a blogger to embargo, asked the client to do it before they spilled the beans. Of course they didn’t. I had to call after and plead stupid. Thankfully he was very very cool about it.
October 6, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Are you one of those guys who files your nails?
October 16, 2008 at 10:51 am
Does it matter what the PR people think? Have we learned nothing? Rafe is the audience. He’s giving feedback and saying “Don’t do it.”