The Top 3 Soft Skills You Need as a Motion Designer
Soft skills — aka, people, social, and communication skills, as well as emotional intelligence, are the key to a successful career — no matter if you’re a freelancer or on staff.
You can learn to push pixels all-day — but without soft skills, you may limit your opportunities.
Unfortunately, soft skills aren’t as frequent in the curriculum as they should be. Often, you learn them the hard way. Throughout my career, I’ve had my fair share of crash courses in soft skills.
No matter how you beef up your skills, they are necessities to achieve your professional goals and work better with any team you join — no matter the industry.
Communication
I can’t say it enough. Over-communicate! It can be easy to forget this as a creative.
You may be working with people who aren’t familiar with the creative process — or even if they are, your client may not be familiar with how you work.
It’s a good rule of thumb to check-in daily with your team/client to avoid misunderstandings. Send a quick email that states what you worked on that day, what’s next, and if anyone else on the team needs to take action for you to continue. Or, for longer-term projects, tell folks when they can expect your next update (and set a reminder to keep yourself accountable.)
This may seem like a lot of extra work, but it keeps you and your client accountable. The project is also less likely to fall behind schedule, and any issues are out in the open. If you still find yourself going back and forth over email, or are feeling misunderstood, don’t forget that phone and video calls exist. I’m always amazed at how much is lost over email.
Boundaries and Expectations
While you’re over-communicating, make sure you talk about your professional boundaries and get clear on your clients’ expectations — and set them straight if you’re misaligned.
Make sure it’s clear when you’re available, what your price includes, timelines, and so on.
Assumptions are too risky in a professional environment. Being naturally shy, I tend to feel like a nuisance for asking a clarifying question. But I’ve learned far too many times that It’s more uncomfortable having to backtrack and ask those questions later.
Save yourself time by approaching your boundaries and everyone’s expectations upfront.
For example, charging extra for project files is pretty standard in the motion design world. Still, I’ve worked with video editors who had a different standard practice and assumed I would be providing my project files as part of my cost.
We made reasonable assumptions based on past experiences, but these assumptions put us both in an awkward position. It’s hard to negotiate when the work is done, and there are two different expectations of what the client gets.
Networking (Before You Need To)
You never know where your next opportunity will come from. Whether you’re in school, full-time, or freelance — always be connecting.
Especially when you’re freelance — prepare for the slow times before they come. I know — when you’re busy, the last thing you want to do is add more work to your plate. But to prevent dry spells and uncertainty, it’s a must.
If you like, you can go all out and create or use a CRM (Client Relationship Manager). Tracking and getting reminders to check-in with all your current and potential clients. But networking doesn’t have to be intense.
A DM on Instagram or a quick hi email a day is better than nothing. Check-in with that friend from college, or comment on your favorite studio’s recent post.
All that matters is that you stay top of mind.
Go Practice
I still remember my high school English teacher who took time out of his lesson plan to teach us, awkward teenagers, how to handshake correctly. No one is born with these skills.
Just like everything else in life, practice makes perfect. You won’t become an emotional/social genius overnight.
Start simple by asking a clarifying question at the end of a meeting or commenting on a few more posts on Instagram.
Go practice those soft skills!
