Happy Is As Happy Does...

A few years ago, Yale professor John Bargh conducted a fascinating study on the power of words.  He organized university students into three groups to unscramble thirty separate five-word sentences.

• One group unscrambled sentences associated with aggression, containing words such as "bluntly" and "disturb"
• Another group unscrambled polite sentences, with words like "courteous"
• The third (neutral) group had words like "exercise" and "prepares"

After the assignment was completed, the students were told to approach the researcher to let him know they were finished; however when they found the researcher, he was already engaged in conversation (with an actor). The researcher ignored the students until he was interrupted or when 10 minutes had passed.

The results?

• The polite-word group waited 9.3 minutes before interrupting
• The neutral group waited 8.7 minutes
• And the rude-word group waited only 5.4 minutes

More than 80% of the polite-word group waited the full 10 minutes, whereas only 35% of the rude-word group chose not to interrupt. Afterwards, the subjects were interviewed to see if they knew why they did or didn’t intrude, and they couldn’t identify why.

Morale of the story?  Being around negativity makes us act negatively.  Choose to say "yes" today instead of "no" and enjoy a more positive interaction.

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!

Pause for Greater Effect

Last week, I shared a couple of tips to improve listening.   Most of you tried swiveling your chair and said that worked best.  Yay!

Here are a couple of other techniques:

When a customer calls in with a request or complaint, give them ‘space’ to explain their situation.  After they explain their situation, count 1-2 (silently), then speak.   This will help you avoid talking over or interrupting them.

If it’s a complaint, take notes to help you respond by paraphrasing their concern.

Taking notes helps you focus on the facts versus emotions and is helpful when it’s time to confirm your understanding of the situation.

Fully Focused Listening

If I called you on your cell phone, what would you do first:

A)            Look to see who it is?

B)            Answer the call?

Most of us would, and do, choose A.

We like to prepare for a conversation, but the trouble is that preparation can cause us to interrupt the caller, pre-judge the situation or impair our listening so much that we miss important details. 

Try one of these today and let me know which one worked best:

1. Cover the display on your phone, so you can’t see who’s calling.  Answering ‘blind’ may be a great tool for you.
2. Swivel your chair and look out of the window, or at a picture, or at a notepad.  If you look at your screen when you answer the call, you may be tempted to start reading, which can be distracting. 

Happy Easter Monday!

If you, like so many of us, over-indulged in family, friends and feasting this weekend, you might be feeling a little sluggish today.

Time to get moving!

Today, aim to walk as much as possible.  Consider:

• offering to pick up someone else's print out or fax.
• offering to go get a coffee refill for a colleague.
• walking that email up to accounting.
• walking that special order over to dispatch and explaining in person what your notes were trying to say.

The goal is simply to move. 

Your tone = your image

How do you want to sound over the phone?  Professional?  Friendly?  Calm? Confident?

Try this.

Write down the words you’d like others to use to describe you over the phone.

Then call your own cell phone and leave yourself a message.

Research how to listen to your own messages (‘cause who does that any more?) and listen to yourself.

How’d you do?  Were you:

• Professional?
• Friendly?
• Calm?
• Confident?

If you didn’t like your tone, try standing up, sitting tall or smiling when you leave a message.

Do THAT when you answer your next incoming call.  Your customers will appreciate it.

Goldilocks Greetings

It’s easy to get wound up during your day and begin to speak more quickly - or to get overwhelmed, stressed or bored and slow way down.  Which sounds more like you?

Today, focus on getting the pace of your greeting just right.

If the pace is too quick, the customer may perceive unintentional frustration or hurriedness. 

If the pace is too slow, the customer may interrupt or feel you are too lethargic or incapable.

Do a pulse check and take a breath if you’re speeding.

Breathe in for the count of 4, hold it for 2, then breathe out for 4.

If your energy is low, try a jumping jack.

Repeat as necessary.