Talking on the telephone is a skill that is part art and part science; you have to find a way to keep your listener engaged and talking. This is especially important in a business setting. It seems like speaking on the phone would be something that’s fairly simple since most of us speak to several others over the phone every day. On the phone, there are no visible facial expressions, hand gestures, or body language. Since those visual cues make up so much of our verbal communication, phone conversations can be harder to understand fully.

In a business setting, this is incredibly important because you only have one opportunity to make a first impression. If it’s not a first impression, but a long-term relationship, the stakes could be even higher. If one of your clients calls with a complaint, you need to know that someone answering the phone for you has the necessary skills to defuse the situation. What are those skills?

Variation

Variety is very important in keeping someone engaged. This refers to sentence variation, word choice variation, as well as variations in tone. You have probably experienced listening to someone talk in a monotonous voice; as he or she drones on, you stop listening fully. That’s because your brain becomes accustomed to that one tone and begins to perceive it as background noise. If you vary your tone, the listener stays actively engaged.

You also need to vary your sentence structures. When you speak only in sentences of a certain length, your speech becomes difficult to follow. For example, if you speak in a series of short sentences, your speech feels choppy, and it can be difficult to keep track of the point you are making. If you speak only in long, compound-complex sentences, then it can be difficult for someone to follow where the sentence began, and so your logic might be lost.

Etiquette

Perhaps even more important than what you say is how you say it. Customers will typically be able to forgive someone who is boring or hard to understand, but they are much less forgiving of someone they feel disrespects them. The best telephone etiquette practices signal to the caller that he or she is being listened to and taken seriously.

One of the biggest considerations is not interrupting the customer. No matter how long he or she speaks, you need to make that customer feel heard. If the customer is upset, oftentimes just being listened to is enough to defuse the situation.

Also, you should be very aware of your tone of voice. While you might not perceive yourself as being rude or dismissive, if there’s a chance that you can be perceived that way, you probably will be. Keep in mind that in a disagreement, the customer is already angry; he or she will be looking for any slight, real or perceived.

Speaking to your customers and clients can be a fun, rewarding part of your workday; however, you need to know how to do it correctly. With proper telephone practices, you can retain good customers and attract new ones. Poor telephone etiquette could result in your losing valued customers.