DAY ONE of SXSW was incredible AND only slightly disappointing. I was disappointed by a couple of the Core Conversations — Names have been deleted to protect the innocent. A lot of conferences like South By Southwest schedule people to speak who have seen success but who are not necessarily skilled speakers or facilitators. Why? Why do that? It creates surface-level conversations (at best), conversations that do nothing to dig into the details. It’s not their fault. Who took time to train our speakers to facilitate an 80-person conversation? Nobody. And worse, some are not even able to explain WHY they were successful in the first place. If you are not able to identify the steps of your process or even repeat your success at least once, you should NOT be able to lead a session. I feel like I could learn as much (maybe more) by reading a couple choice blogs. My general disappointment aside, let’s talk about today’s highlights.

#1 Fogo de Chão with @jbrenman (Apollo Ideas)
#2 FREE Taco Truck sponsored by Microsoft
#3 Improv Lessons for Freelancers with TEAM HIRSCH

“As a Freelancer you are writing your own script.” — Jordan Hirsch

Amanda and Jordan did an excellent job of welcoming the participants to the conversation. They set the stage (#punmaster) for the improv discussion. We warmed up. But of course. ALL conversations at SXSW could and SHOULD have ice breaker activities to start. No question. Team Hirsch used humor to engage the crowd AND they had an agenda. Amanda talked about Truth in Comedy and looking for what’s REAL in the work that you do. Jordan talked about improv as an exercise in Trust, Building Relationships (and Make ‘em ups). It was great and, after just an hour, everyone wanted more improv.

With the current State of the Economy even more people are choosing Freelance to “take control” of their own careers. But that means we must learn to direct our own work WHILE managing a constantly changing work environment. Amanda mentioned a statistic that I thought was interesting: 26% of the U.S. workforce comprised of non-Standard workers. I’m curious who defines “Standard” for that statistic.

A couple issues raised by the participants:

1. How to deal with clients who want TOO much? Step-by-step process: Identify with WHAT they want, Empathize with WHY and THEN engage in an open dialogue about HOW project goals may or may not fit the scope of work. Sometimes saying YES! AND! does not fit the reality of budget constraints, but an authentic discussion with clients after identifying with THEIR wants can magically open up budgets that were closed.

* YES! AND! (concept explained at TEDx Talk)

2. What if I’m not being hired for the work I WANT to do? Team Hirsch suggests that if you want to be a writer and you realize you’ve been editing for a year start a blog and create content that people can judge you by and BUILD CREDIBILITY for the job you want. Try out a new programming language on your personal site. Your resume as a Freelancer is NOT just the work that you’ve been paid for.

I also saw an unspoken Freelancing issue surface in THE YES GAME video.

At 1m 25s we experience a drop in the momentum of movement around the circle because one participant (green) was blocking another (orange) so that he could not move. What resulted was a quick round of laughter from the crowd, but it was nervous laughter and not worth the missed opportunity to see how fast we could go. The same principle applies on stage when comedians go for quick jokes at the expense of their scene or improv partner. It also applies when Freelancers stop and start work instead of fully automating a process. That prohibits our ability to effectively scale our business. If we get in our OWN way we can stop the momentum of our work and we’ll never truly realize the potential of our Freelance career.

If we commit 100% to our work (whatever that work may be) we could ALL get the standing ovation we want, on and off stage. Improv can help develop corporate soft skills, personal management, create professional discipline, and add to the bottom line. Thanks again to TEAM HIRSCH for a great session.

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SXSW Day Two starts in 5 hours.

I’m teaching an Improv Workshop 1pm — 4pm at Coldtowne Theater.

Sleep now.