By: David Wooddell, Barbizon USA

Communication. This is one of the most important skills you can possess while working in the entertainment industry. And this is not dissimilar to many corporate cultures in the modern era. We work in a very fast-paced environment.

If you’re new to the business, make sure you are constantly checking your emails and voicemails.  More importantly – answer the phone when your representation is calling! If you simply cannot answer, you should never let an unanswered call go more than 5-minutes without a response. A lot of castings are sent via email. If it’s a same-day audition, your agent will usually call you to confirm that you received the audition details. By this point you should have already responded to your audition notification.

A quick way to lose your representation is to neglect emails and voicemails. If you have an email inbox that has a constant flow of junk mail it can be easy to lose track of your business mail. I’d recommend creating your own account dedicated to just professional communication. Don’t share this email with marketing services, stores, etc. That way, none of your important emails will slip through the cracks.

Now, communication goes further than just checking your messages. To cultivate a healthy relationship with your agent / manager, you should make sure that you’re on the same page when it comes to things such as range, types of roles, goals, etc. If you’re always receiving auditions for roles that you are not comfortable with, there is probably an obstruction in your communication. You need to have a clear understanding of expectations with your agent / manager.

That said though, remember that your agent is busy and will probably not want to chit-chat on the phone with you every morning. This is counterproductive to their jobs and they need to utilize as much of their time as possible pitching you for potential roles.

Check in with your representation every few months. We always recommend scheduling a phone call or even better a time to stop by the office (we never recommend for you to stop by your agency unannounced). For bonus points, you can show your gratitude to your team by bringing donuts / coffee!

For more insider information on starting your modeling or acting career, come out to a Barbizon audition and meet with a Talent Director.