Do you EVEN KNOW what you're doing?!

Ever get the feeling the person your receiving services from, especially for the first, is giving off a major vibe of hesitancy? Would you say that you prefer someone who is expressing a more confident (without being too overly confident) approach or would you say that a shorter consultation conversation is something that you prefer? Because that is something that I often wonder myself. I LOVE to talk-- so sometimes I have to really think and catch myself before I get too carried away when it comes to certain clients who don't particularly like to talk too much or don't necessarily feel comfortable talking about their hair because they are challenged with being inarticulate when it comes to hair styling and beauty maintenance in general.

Aside from that sometimes hesitancy comes off as straight up lack of confidence from the provider and that lack of confidence may or may not come across as a lack of knowledge! Yikes! No one wants to come across as that person who doesn't know what they are doing!

That reminds me a time I went to get my blood drawn which I am a HUGE baby about, regardless of my (still very low) tolerance for tattoos and piercings, I straight up FREAK OUT at the thought of a something penetrating my veins! Anyway, they needed (what seemed to be a ton of tubes) of my blood for my regular standard physical. I get called in for my turn at the lab and I'm greeted by a very young, very nervous, and VERY new phlebotomist. I immediately have a mini meltdown inside and quickly exhale it out, being aware that with any technical job, hands on experience is the only real way to learn. As soon as I accept my fate and feel good about being someone like the many clients who trusted my inexperienced hands with their hair, the young phlebotomist begins to show signs of a panic attack and excuses herself to get a drink of water. I, then and immediately turned and locked eyes with her supervisor who before I could get any words out said, "don't worry, I'll take care of it." She was able to extract 4 viles of my blood before I could take 3 medium breaths. I think back about that experience and say to myself-- boy, am I glad that when I was first starting out, I was really good at hiding how nervous I can get. What are some tips and tricks on dealing with anxiety when providing a service to a client, guest of customer?

Mine is power through knowledge--AND if I don't know how to do something or I am unsure, I admit it to myself, share that information with the client and ask permission to proceed on an experimental level or explore other options. With that being said I never under any circumstances allow for options that would compromise the integrity of someone's hair-- but THAT is a whole other blog post in itself. ANYWAY, I'm glad she stepped away to get a glass or water instead of sticking me in the arm not feeling 100% confident about it!

Also, when it comes to new trends, would you say that you are more daring with trying new trends or do you wish you changed your hair more often to keep things new and fun? Would you say you are more daring and bold with your color choices, haircuts, the way you style your hair or all of the above? I often wonder what goes through the mind of a client that is coming to see me for the first time.... ENLIGHTEN ME! This would give me a lot of insight on how to better accommodate my clients and to make them feel more comfortable when they are in my chair-- that IS what its all about, right?!