According to Salesforce, 92% of all customer interactions happen on the phone. It stands to reason, then, that perfecting your phone voice would be a smart thing to do, no matter what line of business you are in.
One of the smartest things you can do is listen to a recording of your voice. Most people cringe at this idea, but it can be an eye-opening experience. It is also a great teaching tool. This is something we know first-hand because it’s how we strengthen the phone skills of all our client associates. Once you get past the initial embarrassment and the inevitable question, “Do I really sound like that?”, you’ll realize just how much you can learn from listening to yourself and constructively criticizing what you hear.
The following are some tips and tricks for perfecting your phone voice:
1. Smile: Believe it or not, smiling whilst on the phone can be heard in your voice. The most important ingredient of a successful phone voice is sounding friendly and one of the easiest ways to achieve that is to smile. “Smile and dial” is a phrase we use often at VSA.
2. Slow down: Talking too fast signals to the person that you are nervous and unsure of yourself and your product/service. Also, if you talk too fast people have a hard time understanding you and will get irritated at having to ask you to repeat yourself over and over. Sometimes, under stress, we talk too fast. The key is to concentrate on your breath. Taking slow, deep breaths will force you to slow down and speak at a better (and more understandable) pace.
3. Enunciate: Lack of annunciation will make you sound ignorant, lackadaisical, and unprofessional. And, again, you will be hard to understand which is annoying.
4. Watch Your Pitch: If you’re a man, make sure you don’t talk too low. You’ll be harder to understand and you’ll sound depressed. If you’re a woman, don’t let your voice get too high-pitched. It can be irritating and can undermine your authority and influence.
5. Have a Good Attitude: Believe it or not, your voice will often betray you. If, for instance, you allow yourself to get irritated or frustrated with the person on the phone, you will convey those feelings to them even when you try to cover it up with a cheerful voice. Most people can tell the difference between fake cheerful and truly friendly and engaged. Keeping a positive attitude at all times (as best you can) is very helpful both on the phone and in life.