telephone skills 3

7/30/2019 Telephone Skills 3

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TELEPHONE SKILLS


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COMPONENTSOF COMMUNICATION

Verbal Communication Face-To-Face Phone

1. Body Language 0% 55%

(Gestures and facial expression)

2 . Tone of Voice 38% 85%

3. Word Content 15% 7%


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BASIC LISTENING SKILLS

1. Tone of Voice2. Word Content

3. Rate of Speech


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1. TONEOF VOICE

Remember 85% of verbal communicationhappens through our tone (or our attitude).

A good listener will listen for verbal clues fromthe caller (i.e. a sigh might mean the customer isfrustrated or tired.

Hint: When you smile while on the phone, the

tone of your voice reflects your facial expression.


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2. WORD CONTENT

The third component of verbal communication is

the words the speaker chooses.

Improper use of technical words might indicate

the customer has a lower level of expertise.


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3. RATEOF SPEECH

A good listener will make note of the rate of

speech the customer uses.

A slower rate of speech might indicate confusion

or fatigue.

A faster rate of speech might indicate anger or

impatience.


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SEVEN LISTENINGDOS

1. Pay attention

2. Listen for ideas

3. Take notes

4. Assess the customers emotional state

5. Assess the customers level of expertise

6. Read between the lines

7. Listen for unspoken service requests


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1. PAY ATTENTION

Factors That Prevent Us From Listening

Environmental Distractions

Listening To More Than One Conversation

Jumping Ahead

Emotional Filters (i.e. a known difficultcustomer)

Mental Side Trips (Whats for lunch?)


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2. LISTEN FOR IDEAS

Listen for Ideas and Central Themes.Any numberof speech idiosyncrasies can become a

distraction. Resist the temptation to let thefollowing from becoming a distraction:

Having an extremely high or low pitch

Using excessive vocabulary, or speakingwith a heavy accent.

Speaking excessively fast or slow


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3. TAKE NOTES

Taking notes will help you stay focused.

Not down the major points of the problem.

Draw pictures (particularly flow charts) of the

problem.

Combining your written notes and pictures can

improve your problem solving capabilities.


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4. ASSESS EMOTIONAL STATE

A Customer might have worked a long time to

solve a problem and might be quite frustrated by

the time he or she calls you.

A good listener can determine whether a

customer is frustrated, bored, angry, or afraid.


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5. ASSESS LEVELOF

EXPERTISE

A good way to tell a customers level of expertise

is by listening to their vocabulary, their

understanding of the problem, and the type ofinformation they offer.

When solving customers problems, its very

valuable to know if they are novices or power

users.

Knowing your customers level of expertise can

save a lot of time.


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6. READ BETWEEN THE

LINES

If the customer says they are attempting to do

something that can be tricky or even dangerous

(such as reformatting their disk) you need to askthem, What do you want to accomplish? Why

are you doing this?

You must read between the lines in the case

where the customer might inadvertently destroytheir data, and blame the person who told them

to do it.


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7. LISTEN FOR SERVICE

REQUESTS

Listen for unspoken service requests suchas:

I hear the newest version of Netscape is great.

I really should clean up my hard drive, but Idont know how

These request for service can be addressed

at the end of your call like so: I can refer you to Software Support for an

appointment to assist you with cleaning up yourhard drive.


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THREE LISTENINGDONTS

1. Dont interrupt

2. Dont finish a customers sentence

3. Dont assume


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1. DONT INTERRUPT

This is particularly important with an irate caller.

Let the customer vent by telling their story as

painful as it might be.

If you interrupt you might solve their problem,

but they might still feel discouraged.


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2. DONT FINISH SENTENCES

Resist the temptation to tell customers the

moment you know the solution to their problem

they may find this belittling.

If youre incorrect you may embarrass yourself

and detract from your credibility.


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3. DONT ASSUME

You need to avoid providing a solution to a

problem until you know all the facts.

Sometimes a customer will give you the general

parameters of a problem that will lead you to the

wrong solution.


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THREE COMMUNICATION

STYLES

1. Passive

2. Aggressive

3. Assertive


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1. PASSIVE

Passive people are characterized by over-

agreeing.

Passive people are characterized by sacrificing

behavior.

Passive people under-use their personal power.

They dont stand up for their rights.


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2. AGGRESSIVE

This behavior style is characterized bydominating language.

Aggressive people blame others. They usephrases like you should, you are wrong, its yourfault.

Aggressive communication tends to be

adversarial, excluding the other person from theproblem-solving process.


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3. ASSERTIVE

Assertive behavior is characterized by I

statements and we statements.

Assertive people use direct, positive,

participatory language.

Instead of blame-oriented, assertive people are

results-orientated.

Assertive people stand up for their own rights,

but understand and respect the rights of others.


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SIX SPEAKINGDOS

1. Smile

2. Use the callers name

3. Echo important points

4. Incorporate courteous remarks

5. Acknowledge the customer and the problem

6. Mirror your customer


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1. SMILE

Smiling conveys a pleasant attitude by the tone

of your voice.

Your posture, body language, and facial

expression will be communicated through the

tone of your voice.

If you make it a practice to smile, you will begin

feeling more enthusiastic.


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2. USE THE CALLERS NAME

Using the callers name helps to establish

rapport.

It shows that you care and engages the customer

in the conversation.

Address the customer the way they introduced

themselves to you (first or last name, or title, e.g.

Professor).


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3. ECHO IMPORTANT POINTS

Repeat the main points of what the customer

says, especially if youre not sure what they said.

You might find that you understood the problem

incorrectly, or that the customer didnt phrase

the situation exactly right.


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4. INCORPORATE

COURTEOUS REMARKS

Use words like:

Thank You

Please

Im glad to help you

Your Customer will be left with a greaterperception of our organization because it isstaffed with courteous, helpful people.


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5. ACKNOWLEDGE CUSTOMER

AND PROBLEM

Try to use empathetic, assertive statements such

as:

That happed to me once

I know how you feel

They dont care what you know, until they know

you care.


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6. MIRROR YOUR CUSTOMER

Listen to your customer and mirror theirvocabulary, rate of speech, and point ofview.

If your customer is a novice, mirror that.

If your customer speaks slowly, slow downyour speech.

Dont verbalize disagreements.

It isnt your job to win arguments, its tosolve problems.


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FOUR SPEAKINGDONTS

1. Dont use jargon or acronyms (abbreviations).

2. Dont mumble.

3. Dont use negative language.

4. Dont argue.


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1. DONT USE ACRONYMS

Customers will sometimes pretend they know

what youre talking about so they dont feel

stupid.

Speak as clearly as possible, even if you have to

say the whole phrase.


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2. DONT MUMBLE

Be careful not to mumble

Dont chew when youre speaking.

Mumbling makes your customer feel less

important.

Unclear communication detracts from your

professional image and the image of yourorganization.


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3. DONT USE NEGATIVE

LANGUAGE

Language NOT to use:

I wont/cant do that.

Thats our policy.

Ill try.

Ill have to ask my supervisor.


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4. DONT ARGUE

Never, ever argue with a customer.

Whatever ego boost you might gain by winning

an argument with a customer is far outweighed

by the harm it can do to business.


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CONCLUSION

Good telephone skills make for more satisfiedcustomers.

Effective telephone skills will help you solveproblems more quickly and efficiently.

By using good speaking and listening skills youwill make a substantial impact on the Help Deskand OIT.

telephone skills 3

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