Thread by @ThisisKaia

Hollywood communication etiquette 101.

This is a legacy industry with best practices of communication that have been established over decades. Ignore them at your peril.

1- Phonecalls build trust and teamwork. How long should they be? 5 mins is golden.

2- Yup I know that freaked out the digital natives. Guess what? You have to learn the art of phonecalls or you’ll stumble. I train my whole team to pick up the phone- even those in their 20s. People in power - producers & execs, place calls, not just texts or emails. Why?

3- A big reason is when things go sideways as they often do in all high stakes relationships, is you don’t want to put yourself on the record. Hash out and fix the issues together on the phone. There’s better odds for clarity and resolution. What about email?

4- Email and texting is cold. That means your tone is inserted by the READER. You just lost control over the #1 most important aspect of the communication. This is how assumptions go awry and deals die. Someone reads your tone wrong and ends or ghosts their relationship with you

5- Keep all emails very short. Execs and producers with deal flow read 300+ emails/day. A 1-3 sentence email is all you should ever send. Nothing flags you as a newbie faster than a long email with no whitespace. Get to the point! Friendly professional and fast is key.

6- One of my favorite ways to use text is to reach out with support. This is a high risk business. It’s like big love: your heart will be in your throat a LOT with everything on the line. So reach out with a quick text to say

Thinking of your pitch today- you got this! 😃

7- Shmoozing. Lots of creatives hate the small talk. But this business was built on it. So you gotta. Why? People feel awkward and need an entry point into big sales convos. Control the small talk by focusing on connection. Ask:

What are you most passionate about right now?

8- The Hollywood shutdown. Yup, we’re in it people! No one is ghosting you. The town dies between now and New Years. It’s a good time to read scripts & swap. Ask to read others! Give notes! Better yet- go to parties and make some friends to hit the slopes and hottubs with!

9- Give before you ask to get. This is HUGE. Every relationship needs 4-5 touchpoints in person or on the phone before you ask for the thing you want. Build the friendship. Courtship is a dance and make no mistake- sales is a courtship. Wooing is an art. Always send the flowers!

10- If you found this thread valuable pls give it a RT, and go grab my free ebook How to Pitch Anything in 1min. I love coaching creatives and execs, and opening the kimono on Hollywood! Stay tuned for my holiday sale 😊 #screenwriting #WritingCommunity

entertainmentbusinessleague.com