Engineering Skills vs. People Skills

[Michael Zick]

What are more important...people skills or engineering skills? I had a professor who said he wasn't the best in town but got a lot of gigs cause he was fun to work with. I can believe this.

Who here can share some tips on being a people person with a ton of clients as opposed to a closet genius with a day job. Should most creative people like myself just realize schmoozing isn't what they do best and get a manager or should these skills be learned?

[joelpatterson]

I don't know how you "learn" people skills, you either have an orientation where you instinctively are willing to grant slack to customers and work *around" their quirks and shortcomings or you don't. Many long years ago I interned at a radio station, and this is where I first heard the term "professional attitude." I had no idea what they were talking about.

Well, what they were talking about was this: you have a natural, human, instinctive reaction to things. Supressing that reaction and responding in a cool, collected manner is the "professional" approach. When somebody asks you something that betrays a woeful ignorance of the way things work, instead of saying, "Do you take your stupid pill every morning?" you'd say, "Hmmm, well, what I usually have seen is...."

Engineering skills you can develop by trial and error, if you have any gift at all.

PM me for more details, I love to talk to people.

[Kenny Gioia]

[peeder]

People skills are easily the most important, unless your engineering skills are so bad people just can't deal with you.

[manning1]

try this test sometime...lol...
build a new studio with stunning looking women with great people skills..
behind the consoles...and watch the band bookings zoom...lol.

[Unclenny]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson;2272003 instead of saying, "Do you take your stupid pill [I

every[/i] morning?" you'd say, "Hmmm, well, what I usually have seen is...."
.

[Mr.HOLMES]

I think to stay friendly and to do some joking is normal.
Only to stay friendly would not fill the needs....

If Bands ask me how they can make their Album and they tell me that they have budget of 800,00 Euros I tell them straight away that this is only gonna happen with virtual drums.... if it is Jazz or Blues music it will never happen with this Budget.

So only charming will not work IMO
You have to show a bit of professional competence.

[James Meeker]

I always say that this job consists of:

25% technical - knowing how to make records

25% business smarts - knowing how to make/spend money

50% people skills - especially dealing with communication, selling and problem solving

Every Grammy winning, multi-platinum selling engineer I've ever met was very personable, laid back, friendly, interesting, and humble. I think their personality had a lot to do with their success. Let's face it--nobody wants to be locked up in a studio 16 hours a day for weeks (months) on end with a jackass no matter how great the record sounds.

[James Meeker]

Originally Posted by manning1

try this test sometime...lol...
build a new studio with stunning looking women with great people skills..
behind the consoles...and watch the band bookings zoom...lol.

Not to sound chauvinist, but most guy musicians aren't going to trust a woman to make their record. Nor do they want to deal with the unease of mixed sexes during a session. They want it to be the "boys club." Heck, with political correctness so rampant the studio is one of the few last bastions of being a male pig.

:)

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Kenny Gioia

That's what I was thinking.

My old man used to hype me on that book. But it was the late 60s... I was a high school hippie... Dale Carnegie was as square as square could be -- plus the orientation of the book seemed to be people skills in business, at least to a great degree. And the last thing I wanted to do at that point was be a businessman and certainly not a salesman... but my old man always said, First, you have to know how to market yourself.


Still, I picked up a copy at a book sale and somehow actually plowed through it...

At first, my eyes were getting a real workout from rolling upward in their sockets... but his message about being genuinely interested in other people was new to me. I was so self-involved as to border on sociopathy or perhaps Asperger Syndrome -- when I was in grade school I couldn't stop talking about cars and hot rods; when I was in junior high and the early part of high school, it was audio and hi fi. (A newly acute fascination with the opposite sex finally saved me from those relatively unproductive monomanias.)

But I rolled it all around in my head. He kept making the point: if you fake it -- they'll know it. You have to have a genuine empathy...

It was a stretch for me... but I put my attention to it. I was hoping it would help me get girls, at any rate... and I didn't have to fake being interested in them.

And the dangdest thing... I was able to go from being a non-stop monomaniacal bore to being someone who was often complimented as a good listener. (This is a real world thing. Do not expect me to start paying attention or showing any empathy to you guys. ) I started not getting jobs on interviews (at least until they found out that all I was was a good listener). I started getting a lot of friends. I started having people tell me their troubles... there's a downside to everything... :D


Seriously though... there are techniques and thought exercises in that book -- and a thoroughly square approach that might almost sound hip in today's post-post-ironic world. (But probably not.)

It might be worth picking up a copy at the library. You never know.

[manning1]

James Meeker.
i WAS joking mate.
but..if you think about it...it would be an interesting marketing experiment.
would it not ?
noones ever done it...
one never knows; might be a huge success.

the vibe of the studio could be all victorian female retro for example.
lace curtains, tea cups, a very "genteel" studio turning out heavy rock lets say.
i love such contrary concepts..lol.
mebe lots of pink everywhere, and chandeliers.
mebe a name like "studio pink".

my thinking was cos some studios can be kinda dull.
i think it was lennon who said that workin in a studio was a bit "prison like".
so the challenge is how to make a studio less so and lots of fun to work in.
and very friendly.
i think if i was wealthy i might just set up such a studio, just for laughs,
with mebe a vegas type casino attached for those times when the musicians
want a break.
the income from the casino could subsidise the studio. lol.

[joelpatterson]

"Prison-like," huh? Like the kinds of chains that you can't see?

Not to speak ill of an icon, but what a pampered, indulgent life he must have lead to blurt out something like that!

[Rob King]

Originally Posted by James Meeker

I always say that this job consists of:

25% technical - knowing how to make records

25% business smarts - knowing how to make/spend money

50% people skills - especially dealing with communication, selling and problem solving

Every Grammy winning, multi-platinum selling engineer I've ever met was very personable, laid back, friendly, interesting, and humble. I think their personality had a lot to do with their success. Let's face it--nobody wants to be locked up in a studio 16 hours a day for weeks (months) on end with a jackass no matter how great the record sounds.

I agree 100%

[Jeff Juliano]

Originally Posted by peeder

People skills are easily the most important, unless your engineering skills are so bad people just can't deal with you.

Perfectly said man. Ya gotta have both. No one wants to hang out with a ******bag 14 hours a day while making a record. Especially a ******bag that gets horrible tones.

[Keire]

Originally Posted by Rob King

I agree 100%

he nailed it.

[allencollins]

Originally Posted by Mitch97

What are more important...people skills or engineering skills? I had a professor who said he wasn't the best in town but got a lot of gigs cause he was fun to work with. I can believe this.

Who here can share some tips on being a people person with a ton of clients as opposed to a closet genius with a day job. Should most creative people like myself just realize schmoozing isn't what they do best and get a manager or should these skills be learned?

well having neither skill. I would say engineering skill is what I would want to have more. I mean if you had to select between two brain surgeons one was great at surgery but was an a$$ and the other one was a super nice guy but had 'the shake'
who would you pick? sure audio is not life or death but you really should be interested in the quality of the result not how cool the engineer was.

[chribble]

to be honest

its not about being good
or telling people youre good.

its about making people believe you are good without them having to ask you first.

[tropicalhotdog]

Originally Posted by chribble

to be honest

its not about being good
or telling people youre good.

its about making people believe you are good without them having to ask you first.

No, it's about being good. Advertising will work for a short period, but delivering the goods is what matters in the long run.

[Full Clip Audio]

I think they are both very important but I think the answer to that question changes as you move up in the biz and your clients change. When you are a small studio dealing with local acts who are just starting out or people who are doing it somewhat as a hobby, people skills is WAY more important. I have heard some TERRIBLE recordings yet the band is loyal because the guy was nice. Many times people don't know any better or just dont care all that much at this level.

Once you start moving up into mid level clients I think it evens out and when you get to the top of your game I imagine you can be as much of a prick as you want and people will put up with it. There are lots of assholes in this industry that are in high demand and get paid very well because they are just that good.


Personally I try to work on both constantly. Owning a small studio that deals with both local clients and some larger, more demanding clients I have to have both. Our clients are getting better and better and as that happens I find myself becoming more and more militant about people being on point and not ****ing around and wasting my time so I guess I am moving away from "nice" a bit.

I do feel lucky in one respect and that is that I have always had an ability to be comfortable in the midst of pretty much anyone. More importantly I can make them comfortable with me. One minute its bloods, the next crips, the next a pastor, a metal band, a pop singer, a 76 year old folk singer etc. I can easily go from one to the other and develop a friendly rappor that usually leads to them being very trusting and appreciative very quickly. I have thugs and gang bangers that are always trying to get me to go out to the clubs with them and church guys that want me to come over for dinner and talk about theology. I am working very hard at becoming a really good engineer and I am making progress but the people skills is the thing that I feel helps me the most as I work towards that.

[Michael Zick]

Originally Posted by Full Clip Audio

I think they are both very important but I think the answer to that question changes as you move up in the biz and your clients change. When you are a small studio dealing with local acts who are just starting out or people who are doing it somewhat as a hobby, people skills is WAY more important. I have heard some TERRIBLE recordings yet the band is loyal because the guy was nice. Many times people don't know any better or just dont care all that much at this level.

Once you start moving up into mid level clients I think it evens out and when you get to the top of your game I imagine you can be as much of a prick as you want and people will put up with it. There are lots of assholes in this industry that are in high demand and get paid very well because they are just that good.


Personally I try to work on both constantly. Owning a small studio that deals with both local clients and some larger, more demanding clients I have to have both. Our clients are getting better and better and as that happens I find myself becoming more and more militant about people being on point and not ****ing around and wasting my time so I guess I am moving away from "nice" a bit.

I do feel lucky in one respect and that is that I have always had an ability to be comfortable in the midst of pretty much anyone. More importantly I can make them comfortable with me. One minute its bloods, the next crips, the next a pastor, a metal band, a pop singer, a 76 year old folk singer etc. I can easily go from one to the other and develop a friendly rappor that usually leads to them being very trusting and appreciative very quickly. I have thugs and gang bangers that are always trying to get me to go out to the clubs with them and church guys that want me to come over for dinner and talk about theology. I am working very hard at becoming a really good engineer and I am making progress but the people skills is the thing that I feel helps me the most as I work towards that.

D00d you sound like your studio's between Compton and Orange County!

Good post.

[Mr.HOLMES]

The governing mayor of Berlin once said in an interview:

Do your job do it good and the rest will happen itself....

If you do a good job customers will come back by their self and also will tell others that you have been good....is no need to worry about marketing to much.

[James Meeker]

Originally Posted by allencollins

I would say engineering skill is what I would want to have more. I mean if you had to select between two brain surgeons one was great at surgery but was an a$$ and the other one was super nice guy but had 'the shake' who would you pick? sure audio is not life or death but you really should be interested in the quality of the result not how cool the engineer was.

Realistically you have to have EVERYTHING with a cherry on top.

The typical client cannot tell a good engineer from a bad engineer, even with audio samples! I've known engineer's who's "demo reel" is absolutely terrible but that doesn't stop people from working with them (although they complain when their music sounds bad like everyone else's... I guess they figured they were a better band?) But in every case those types were fairly cool, personable guys that just didn't know how to make a record.

Anyway, you'd be surprised how far personality gets you in life, especially this field.

If you do more work, you get more experience, make more contacts, get more recurring clients, get more referrals. Plus with the money you can get more specialized gear so you can work the way you want. And trust me, the more projects you work on the better you get. Eventually even the most daft people seem to manage to become mediocre if they try long enough.

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by peeder

People skills are easily the most important, unless your engineering skills are so bad people just can't deal with you.

I definitely get a lotta gigs because I'm a cool, easy-to-get-along-with kinda guy. The funny thing I've learned these past few years: if the band has a really great, comfortable time making a record, it'll sound better to them. Even if you (the engineer) hear all kinds of problems, the artist remembers the vibe and just feels really good about everything. So it sounds better to them.

Psychology is a crazy thing.

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by allencollins

well having neither skill. I would say engineering skill is what I would want to have more. I mean if you had to select between two brain surgeons one was great at surgery but was an a$$ and the other one was a super nice guy but had 'the shake'
who would you pick? sure audio is not life or death but you really should be interested in the quality of the result not how cool the engineer was.

Yeah, but you're unconscious when the surgeon's actually doing his work.

Seriously, though, wouldn't it be important to you that the surgeon was nice, positive, reassuring, and answered all your questions cooly and honestly before and after the surgery?

[CorkyTart]

People are most likely going to either like or dislike someone pretty quick. I'm currently working with someone who just the other day commented that they liked the last studio they were in but the engineer wasnt a people person.

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Mitch97

D00d you sound like your studio's between Compton and Orange County!

Good post.

There's only one thing between OC and Compton -- and that's Long Beach...

We have to know how to get along in the LBC... we're the Paris of the 21st century... at least with regard to a crazy multi-culti mix.

Sounds like Full Clip Audio would fit right in, though...


__________


One thing about bands that stick with engineers with lesser gear and/or tech chops -- it may be that the engineer, studio, and/or ambience helps them get their best performances out of them... and I'd say