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8 Tips for Successful Phone Conversations

Conversations

Phone conversations aren’t normally on the training agenda of most large organizations and we take them for granted. So much of our time spent connecting with, calming down, and coaching our clients takes place on the phone. We take so much time and care into ensuring our brand and voice are right in mass marketing.

However, we rarely address tone. There are a few great strategies to become incredible over the phone. Speak in a way your clients and friends can hear you by following these tips:

Phone Conversation Tone-Tips

  1. Listen to yourself. Find a way to record yourself in a conversation and become a critic. What would you have said differently or done the same? Do you think the listener got your message? Check with your company on their policy on this, if they’re not okay with it, record yourself talking on your own phone. Do not record without client or company consent.
  2. Have others listen. Get the opinions of those around you. Grab a supervisor or successful coworker to listen and evaluate your conversations. Once you start listening, and know what others hear, you think of your conversations more critically.
  3. Smile when you talk. It’s subtle, but people can hear it when you smile on the phone. This small lift in your tone supports a friendly conversation and builds trust.
  4. Take notes. This will help you to stay focused and maintain a professional and relaxed tone as you’re communicating with the client.
  5. Slow down. It takes time to process new information. We speed up when we’re nervous or excited.  Don’t rush through your call. Give the other person time to catch up.
  6. Keep your speech even, tempered, and low. Remember that you’re partnering with the client to find a solution. Any anger you hear is likely not directed at you, it’s a direct response to how they’re feeling. Lower tones tend to assert dominance and request trust.
  7. Celebrate with them.
  8. Be yourself. Nobody wants to talk to a robot. Be the very best version of you that you know how to be and this will shine through. If your job allows you to share a bit about yourself, do so sparingly. Laugh when you want to laugh and stay calm when it’s appropriate. It’s a great feeling to end a call with someone and you feel like you had a nice connection. Just one more puzzle piece connected in a disjointed world.

This tone conversation applies to text messages and emails as well. A few simple pleasantries will get the point across: “Hope you’re having a nice day…” or “Thanks again for going through all the trouble of planning that meeting the other day…” It’s alright to have a personal opening or closing statement to the person receiving your email, it doesn’t matter how formal.

If you like this article, Check out Indie for more business banter and tips.  If you have an experience you’d like to share, leave it in the comments below or message me here. Thanks for reading!

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