Do you communicate with clients via Skype in video mode?

Question

Upwork

Clients often write to me who, after a long discussion of the project in correspondence, offer to discuss all the details by calling on Skype. At the same time, many people wonder why I don’t turn on the camera (I always say that it’s broken).
Do you usually agree to such proposals or politely refuse?
Personally, this is terribly inconvenient for me, I have to make time for a call between other orders, and spoken English is lame. In addition, the details documented in the correspondence are somehow more reliable.
So it’s interesting: how are other freelancers on upwork doing with this? Do you find it necessary to communicate with clients via Skype, or do you refuse more often?

Answer 1

At first, I also excused myself and skipped under the same pretexts)) Then I sit in a cafe, and loudly, let's chat, then the camera broke, then something else ...))
Over time, it became clear that this was not so scary. And clients are usually not stupid people, excuses can scare them away, but they perfectly understand that speaking English from idial music, in the end, they are not looking for a speaker, but a professional in a slightly different field ?!
Often, by the way, the signal level is not ice, for example, from Canada or Australia. From my own experience, I would say that this is more for acquaintance, they want to see you, to understand that they are adequate, you exist in reality. It is also likely that everything will be limited to only the first video conference, then you will be letters, or just a voice.
Behave naturally, it is better if everything is uniform in the background, without protruding skis, scattered socks and someone's noise. You can call from some public place, if it's quiet there, well, or co-working.
For my 8+ years, I can count on the fingers of one hand when we included the image, why I think that your fears are exaggerated.

Answer 2

If it comes to calling, then of course it is better to turn on the camera. Firstly, you can see the emotions of the interlocutor, this simplifies communication. Secondly, you can immediately see what kind of person is in front of you, you can also draw conclusions by appearance, it’s elementary to make sure that the person is who he claims to be.
Another thing is that in the total number of customers there are not so many lovers of live communication.
About English. If you are not speaking with a native, then there should be no problems. If with a native, then on the shore you clearly say that your English is so-so, you don’t understand complex accents and fast speech too. This is fine. Some immediately offer to continue in the chat instead of calling, some say they will speak clearly.
After a couple of unsuccessful calls, I installed a sound recording program for myself. So that later you can listen to incomprehensible moments.

Answer 3

Do you usually agree to such proposals or politely refuse?

I agree. But I say that my English is not so good.

Answer 4

Very rarely, often due to the fact that I don’t write the sound and then remember what the customer said and what you forgive is impossible.

Answer 5

If a client asks to turn on the camera, I never refuse. In most cases, clients treat bad English normally, and even without practice, the language cannot be improved. For me, at the beginning of freelancing, when spoken English was terrible, only once a client said that we could not work together because of my level of spoken English.
Regarding this:
You can simply ask at the end of the conversation to provide you with a written description of what needs to be done (for small tasks), or a full TOR (for large tasks). So you can explain that the details recorded in writing will help to avoid misunderstandings between you in the future.