Left side, right side

Have you been doing your hourly squats?  Yes?  Excellent.

You’ve now graduated to the Elbow Tap:

• Stand with arms at sides.
• Bend and touch your right elbow to left knee as you raise your leg.
• Then stand and touch your left elbow to your right knee.
• Repeat 5 times each side.

Sit back down.  How do you feel?

Turns out, cross-lateral movements (those in which arms and legs cross over from one side of the body to the other) “unstick” the brain and energize learning.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side. Both sides are forced to communicate when arms and legs cross over.

Cool huh?

Thanks for the tip, Dr. Paula Berardinelli!

Have an INCREDIBLE Halloween

Apparently, there is truth to the adage 'dress for success'.  

Research shows your alertness is affected by what you wear.

One study found that people wearing a doctor’s lab coat displayed heightened attention.

When the same people then wore an identical coat but were told it was a painter’s coat, they weren't as attentive as when they wore (what they perceived to be) the doctor's coat.

The research found: “The influence of clothes thus depends on wearing them and their symbolic meaning.”  

Seems like the impact of dressing casually in the office can have some scary effects.  Read more here.

But not tomorrow....

Happy Halloween!  

If you or your team dress up, please share a picture on our FB page. 

Question for you...

How much Dunkin’ Donuts coffee does Ann drink a year?
     -  Do you know?
     -  Would you like try to figure it out or guess?

Your answer should be: “I don’t know” but most people are uncomfortable saying those words.   
We like to be smart, have answers, and be an expert.  This is helpful when we are solving problems, but not when we are listening.  When you are listening, it’s better to be curious and open.

At the beginning of your next call,  aim to be curious not right.

Try this simple chant as you greet your caller: “I wonder who it is? I wonder what they need?”

Give it a whirl and let me know how it works for you.  I’m curious and probably drinking a dunkin'.

It's the people

If you left your job today, what would you miss?

The most common response to this question is: “the people.”
This answer doesn’t change across businesses and industries that I work with.  It’s the people.

Why not take a moment today to appreciate your people:
-    Offer to get someone a coffee
-    Bring in some homemade goodies
-    Share a good binge-watchable show recommendation
-    Give someone your full attention as they share a personal story

For inspiration, check out this 2.48 minute video story.

Aww...

Yes, that's the reaction I was expecting.  

Last week's post about putting on your positive pants received a lot of great feedback so I thought I'd share more tips from Jane McGonigal.

Tip #3: Emotional Resilience

Looking at pictures of baby animals changes your frame of mind in an instant. Didn't you have a reaction when you saw the seal pup?  We added this picture but it'd be a good idea to have a picture at your desk of something or someone that makes you smile.

Tip #4: Social Resilience 

We need human connection. Find someone and shake hands for 6 seconds.  This positive, personal interaction is said to increase oxytocin in the brain and make you feel better.  

Now you have all four resilience tips from Jane: Physical, Mental, Social and Emotional.  And yes, there's an app for that: https://www.superbetter.com/  

Choose the one that you need when you need it and send me (well, Karen, actually) a picture of your favorite baby animal.

Put Your Positive Pants On

via GIPHY

That was the quote posted at the gym this morning, and it's very fitting for the office.  There are so many things that are out of your control (the caller's issue, the weather, the volume of calls) and that can make it hard to bounce back between calls. 

Here are some tips to build resilience so that you can stay positive. 

Try this for physical resilience:

• Stand up and walk three steps from your desk then back again.  

Can’t do that?

• How about extending your arms up in the air or standing up and striking a victory pose?

Repeat as needed.  
Those movements will build your physical resilience which can help you stay in control of you. 

Try this for mental resilience:

• Snap your fingers 50 times.  Yes, exactly 50 times.  Count ‘em.  Go.    

Can’t snap?

• Then count down from 100.

Let me know which one you tried and how it worked for you.  

For more information on these tips watch Super Better by Jane McGonigal on Ted Talks.

The sweetest sound...

It’s our name.  With that in mind, aim to use your customer’s name a couple of times during the call.  The best time is right after you hear it.

Customer: Hi, this is Ann.  I’ve got a question about my invoice.

Bart: “Hi Ann, I’m glad you called.  What’s the question?”

Compare that to starting the conversation by asking for an account number, policy number or any number.  Yuk.

Use Their Name As Soon As You Hear It

Using the person's name acknowledges their identify and massages their Ego, which boosts their self-esteem. Recognizing that they exist is a powerful, simple step towards a better call. 

Ahh, that feels better!