Q. Who is this website aimed at?

A. Any freelancer in any field who is keen to earn more, keep more and attract higher-quality or more prestigious clients.

Q. How do users of this site benefit?

A. Traditional training is notoriously inefficient. It is arranged at the convenience or availability of the trainer, or the availability of a meeting room - not at the convenience of the person who actually wants to learn! Today in business everyone suffers from a lack of time, therefore it can be really difficult to 'take time out' to attend training courses. It's a massive problem for a huge number of busy people.

Another widespread problem faced by busy people is the fact that in most cases, the learner already has at least some knowledge of the topic they want to learn more about. Time and again we have found that people who attend courses complain that at least some of the course was 'too basic', not relevant or in some cases only 20% of the course was actually any use to them. This, again is an incredibly inefficient way to learn. Costly in terms of time for the learner (and when it happens a few times, they become even less likely to commit to attending future courses) and costly for their employer - they have to pay the course provider and pay for the time the learner is away from their job.

The material on this site has been designed in such a way that you can choose ONLY what you want to learn, when you want to learn it. If you choose to attend your own bespoke training course at 2am - you can!! And you don't need to hire the trainer, a meeting room or the accommodation! You could even do it in bed if you wanted to!

We have therefore developed a way for you to create your own 'syllabus for one'. This is why we describe it as 'on-demand' learning.

Q. Why don't you use trainers?

A. Some of the contributors are in fact professional trainers, although the vast majority of people featured on this site are chosen simply because they are outstanding in their field. For example, if you want to learn about 'leadership' - who better to learn from but a group of actual leaders? If you want to learn about 'negotiation', wouldn't it make sense to listen to professional negotiators? That's what we are aiming for. To check the credibility of the contributor - you can click to see their CV. In some cases you can even hire them to provide actual training or consultancy.

Q. You don't have conventional syllabuses - why is that?

A. The areas we currently cover are more about coaching, mentoring and 'soft-skills' that are more about provoking insight so the learner chooses what they will do with that knowledge. A structured, more formal framework doesn't work so well with this kind of learning.
However, we are currently developing a number of formal courses with third parties to add to this site.

Q. I am working for a professional qualification - how does this website help me?

A. You have to stick to your course syllabus. In that way, what you learn on this site may not contribute to your training. However, if you are involved in continuous professional development (CPD) you MAY be able to include time on this website as part of your CPD points. You are strongly advised to seek guidance from the training department of your company or firm.

Q. Is this site designed to replace training courses?

A. Not at all. It is aimed at helping users to gain what they want to know about a topic, at a convenient time for them.

Q. Why base the video content of this site as answers to thousands of business questions?

A. This has been done for a number of reasons. Firstly, when you improve the quality of the questions you ask about your job or your business, you have the potential to improve the quality of your answers. When that happens, you can make better-informed decisions. You therefore increase the likelihood that you will be more successful. Secondly, if you are relatively new to a featured topic, simply by reading through the questions that relate to the topic, you will instantly gain an overview of the topic itself. Then, it is far easier to select only what you want or need to learn.

Q. Who are the contributors?

A. We have assembled some of the most outstanding people and topic experts we could find to share their experience and insights in order for you to become better-informed. Our contributors have all been chosen for their depth of knowledge on their chosen topics and their ability to express their expertise clearly and in an engaging way. We have also included contributor CVs on the website. We invite all our users to 'check them out'. And if you know of some experts who would be prepared to contribute to this site - please let us know about them Email us at Info@FreelanceFuture.com

Q. Why is it that contributors sometimes give conflicting advice?

A. We try, where ever possible to include as many perspectives as possible. The aim of this website is to provide you with valuable insights in order to help you make better-informed decisions. You can only do this when you are fully informed.

Q. Why does this website use so much video material?

A. There are millions of pages of 'advice' on the internet. It can be difficult sometimes to know how accurate that advice is. But when you can see someone 'face-to-face' you seem to know instinctively when a person knows what they are talking about. It is also far easier and more relaxing to watch and listen to someone talking knowledgeably on a topic that interests you, than it might be pouring over page after page of a business textbook.

Q. Why have you decided to show the videos using Flash, rather than Real Player, Microsoft Media Player or Quicktime?

A. We agonised over this for a long time before making our decision. During which time Macromedia was bought by Adobe and Flash got a whole lot better - and its 'cross platform' meaning that it will play equally well on Macs or PCs. The beauty of Flash is that over 97% of the world's internet connected computers can play Flash videos. A significant proportion of our users are 'creatives' and LOVE their Macs. And we all know what Mac owners think of PCs!

Q. Why doesn't the video work very well when you attempt to view the videos using an internet dial-up connection?

A. Playing video involves transferring large volumes of computer data from our video servers to your desktop - dial up connections are not always capable of sending enough data without the videos playing intermittently.

Q. I use broadband, but occasionally some of the videos play intermittently - sometimes the picture freezes. What is wrong?

A. You might have a slow connection. And at certain times of the day, the internet is particularly busy. Data transfer rates then slow down.

Q. Are the videos downloaded into my computer?

A. No they aren't. The videos are 'streamed'. In simple terms, to watch any video there is an initial delay while the computer receives the first few seconds of video. Once it has enough data the video can start. Take a close look at a thin line just above the #play' button and you should see the line moving to the right. If you wait a few seconds for the line to go all the way to the right side of the screen, the video will be far more likely to play without freezing at any point. While you are watching it, video data continues to stream into your computer behind the scenes in such a way that there is more data available than is needed during playback. Once the video data has been 'used' it gets removed from your computer. At the end of each video clip, all data is removed.

Q. Actually, I would like to be able to download the videos in order to watch them at a later date. Why isn't this available?

A. Unfortunately, for copyright reasons we are unable to offer our content in this way.

Q. I'd like to view this material via my mobile phone - can I do so?

A. Not yet. But watch this space. Using the latest 3G mobile technology, this will become increasingly possible. We are currently working on this.

Q. What is the best way to use this website?

A. This is a difficult question to answer because it depends on what you want to learn. However, you may want to try the following approach; first choose a topic that interests you. Then quickly scan all of the questions that relate to your chosen topic. Once you've completed this quick scan, you should have a better understanding of the topic. Then go through the list of questions again, this time more slowly. Select each question you are interested in hearing the anser to and add it to your 'viewing cart'. When you have reached the end of the topic questions, simply select the 'submit' button. You will then receive your own personal viewing selection for that topic.
We also urge you to rate each clip. This will help other users during their selection process. It will also help us to re-visit any videos that are not consistently getting high ratings by finding additional contributors who can add more valuable insights.

Q. Who has set up this website?

A. The website was conceived by Roy Sheppard, an author and a professional speaker and communication's consultant since 1984. He works for many of the world's most successful corporations.

Q. A question for you.

What questions are missing from this section? Please submit them. The most appropriate new questions and their answers will be added. Thank you. Email info@FreelanceFuture.com