Tweet

Phone Skills Still Important for Business Success - Part I

Written by: Lillian D. Bjorseth

Article Overview: In this email age, it's still vital to know how to communicate effectively on the telephone. Learn how to portray a professional image even when the other person can't see you.

Phone Skills Still Important for Business Success - Part I

It’s easy to tell confident business people when you meet them: Good posture, firm handshakes, direct eye contact and a powerful aura. While confidence is just as important to portray over the phone for business success, it’s done differently and can be more difficult to attain for many people.
Furthermore, the widespread use of e-mail has caused many individuals to forget the importance of good telephone skills and many companies to abandon skills training. They are more apt to think it’s not essential for the few times they may have to “sell” on the phone. How wrong they are! One missed or botched sale is far too many!
Others fall into the same syndrome I find when teaching business writing: I know how to use a pencil; therefore, I can write, i.e. I know how to talk; hence, I know how to communicate verbally on the phone.
Read on … if you want to enhance your telephone effectiveness.
· Since your vocal components convey more than 80 percent of your message over the phone, you need to be particularly aware of your tone, rate, volume, pitch and inflection. Your words account for less than 20 percent.
· Since women typically have a naturally higher-pitched voice than men, you benefit from saying “low, low” before you pick up and say “hello.” It helps eliminate that high-pitched “Hi.”
· Stand up when you want to project more authority. Height is power, and the difference is noticeable even on the phone.
· Keep your lips ½ to 1 inch from the mouthpiece and speak directly into it. You lose 70 percent of your volume when you allow the phone to slip below your chin.
· Don’t balance the phone between your ear and shoulder for a protracted period. You strain your vocal cords and speak out of the side of your mouth. This becomes apparent to the other person in a longer conversation. A headset is preferable if you need to take lengthy notes.
· Vary your tone. Guard against the boredom that creeps in because you can’t see the person or because they are droning on (or so it appears to you). Pretend you can see each other to keep you on your toes.
· Keep your rate in check. Don’t speak so quickly that the person on the other end thinks you have to rush off to something more important … or s/he simply can’t keep up with your thoughts. Conversely, don’t move so slowly that the other person resorts to playing computer solitaire to stay entertained.
· Put a smile in your voice before you pick up the phone and keep a mirror near by to keep the smile there. Your attitude “shows” in your voice.
· Sit or stand up straight like the John Hancock Building. Your voice was meant to project in this manner, not like it is emanating from a pretzel.
· Also project your voice by breathing from your diaphragm, not through your lungs. When you breathe through your lungs only, you run out of breath and sound as if you are out of energy and, certainly, enthusiasm.
· Avoid negative emotional carryover from a previous call. If you are making another call, clear your head by taking a walk or getting a drink of water. If the call is coming in to you, either let voice mail pick up the message or take a deep breath and use the power of positive thinking to clear your mind quickly.
· When you initiate the call
o Ask if this is a good time to talk.
o Be prepared. Clearly state your purpose and have all backup materials handy. Take notes as needed.
o Make sure your equipment is operational and professional. Don’t call on a cell phone if you are in danger of losing the signal. This indicates lack of preparedness on your part.
· Close the conversation with a summary, follow up plans (if appropriate), and a “thank you” for time spent.

© 2008. Duoforce Enterprises, Inc. Lisle IL

Related Articles
  What Are The Skills Required For Clerical Work From Home?
  Call Handling Skills
  Overcoming Phone Phobia When Working From Home
  The Phone Tools & Tips Used by the Top Income Earners
  What True Leaders Do To Effortlessly Remove the Fear of Phone Prospecting Their Home Business Leads

Article Tags: business success, communication skills, etiquette, phone skills, professional image, telphone



Related Forum Posts
How do i answer the phone? - I learned this technique from a successful businessman who earns over a million dollars a year. He just uses his name like this... Phone rings... " This is Dwayne..." It kind of throws people off who have a preplanned script and gets right into it. Phone rings... " This is Dwayne..." No Hello, no good morning/afternoon/evening Phone rings... "This is Dwayne..."
Business Coaching Internship Review - I joined in during the first phase of the internship and at this point we are committed to doing research and development of RSC Business Group operating in Toronto. RSC Business Group already has products and services in Coaching Small businesses in Los Angeles but we didn't want to assume that the same products were wanted and needed in the Toronto market. Our goal at this point is to commit to interviewing 1000 business owners to capture this data. Through the teleconference internship I've been involved in we've been focusing on Communication Skills and on active listening which are practiced when we conduct our interviews and Coach our clients when they come on board. This is a lot harder than it sounds! Part of the internship is also creating the Toronto RSC Business Group's departments, job descriptions, Marketing and Communication plans etc that a business owner would create for their own company. This trains us in the way we would coach a company as well. The internship is phased in two parts and there is compensation plan involved as well for the clients you personally bring in. These clients are coached directly by Robert Chun as you begin but you are given a chance to learn his techniques. I haven't gone through this experience yet though. It's hard to explain Robert Chun's method of Coaching as it happens at a psychological level in his ability to listen and question the person being coached into the next steps they need to take. The Teleconferences are 2 hours long but it's very interactive. If you have a desire to explore this area of Business I'd recommend contacting Vwodek listed above and get invited to a Coaching Conference call. You can decided then if it's for you. Note: it is a commitment but the skills you walk away with whether you plan on working with RSC Business Group or not is invaluable.
Re: What works for you? - Hi Yinka, I work better under pressure of deadlines when I am doing something for other people. However, I like to have the leisure to develop my own projects. The first case is what Stephen Covey calls a "Quadrant 1" activity ("Important and urgent") whereas the second case is a "Quadrant 2" activity ("Important, not urgent"). We should aim to make as much time as possible for Q2 activities so that we can develop our own projects. Easier said than done!
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Books for the Entrepreneur - Here's one of my most recent books The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success By Brian Tracy


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Are You Fulfilled

You Have A Website What Now

Web Design in 30 Minutes - Can this be Right?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.