[Music] when it comes to communicating over the phone are you putting your best foot forward or are you just phoning it in my name is Christy Civic I'm the managing editor of officer.com and today I'm going to show you how to radiate personality over the phone now phone communication isn't all that different from in-person communication the main difference is that a lot of your senses are taken away you can't see the person you're talking to so you can't monitor facial expressions and you can't gesticulate wildly to get your point across even though I still do
but you have to use the tools that you have did you know that you can actually hear a smile if you don't believe me try it people react differently when they hear a smile in your voice if the person on the other end hears dread or boredom in your voice they'll mimic it it's human nature to mirror one another so make it routine that the second you pick up the phone you're physically smiling concentrate on the conversation at hand the person on the other end of the line will know if you're not really listening if
you have to multitask to take notes for example let the person know when conducting business over the phone there's nothing that bothers me more than dead air I understand that sometimes you have to type something into the computer or read some notes but tell me what you're doing and let me know how long it will take don't just make me sit in complete silence wondering if you're still there if it's going to take more than just a few minutes ask to put me on hold or see if you can call me back later the phone
strips us of everything but our voices that means that our tone is the only thing we have to portray our feelings there's no pictures no hand motions no facial expressions just words remember that it's not about expressing yourself it's about expressing yourself in a way that makes sense to the other person if someone doesn't understand what you're saying find a better way to say it if you're explaining something complicated slow down a lot of people have a difficult time understanding Big Concepts without visual assistance so remember to be patient keep all of these things in
mind the next time you reach for the phone put a smile on your face give the other person your complete attention avoid the torturous dead air and slow down now go and show off your fabulous phone skills and for more advice on communicating in the workplace visit officer.com my name is Chrissy Civic thanks for watching and I'll see you next time [Music]
