Seven Tips For Optimal Phone Communication

Posted: Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 11:17:18 AM EST by Stephen Hamilton

Yesterday morning I was preparing to make some phone calls, and in a stream-of-consciousness manner I tweeted about it. I have a little routine I go through before making a lot of calls, and that was what inspired my tweet. I got a response from @XMPieman, who made a great suggestion. I realised this would make a useful blog post.

The phone calls I made this morning were sales calls, but I believe these tips can help with any form of phone communication. And as Paul Hassing often points out, every communication either builds or erodes your business. So with that in mind, here are Seven Tips for Optimal Phone Communication:

1. Have a purpose in mind

Before you do anything else, make sure you clearly understand what the purpose is for making this call. Sometimes, this can be a number of things you need to accomplish, but often there is really just one critical outcome you're trying to achieve. Make sure you identify these goals, and how you're going to get there, before you even pick up the phone.

2. Rehearse

You need to make sure your voice sounds good. This is especially true if it is earlier in the day, but warm up your voice so it isn't croaky or cracking. Some vigorous humming usually works great. Also, consider the pronunciation of any unfamiliar technical terms or names beforehand, and make sure you can nail them.

3. Speak clearly

This goes hand in hand with the previous point, but is absolutely essential. These pointers might sound obvious, but here are a few simple guidelines that are often ignored:

• Don't mumble
• Don't eat while talking on the phone
• Don't shove the mouthpiece of the phone into your neck (or do anything else that will muffle your voice)
• Do get in the habit of maintaining good posture; in particular, keeping your chin up. It works.

4. Speak naturally, using gestures

Speak as though the person(s) on the other end of the phone are in the room. Use gestures as much as you can, and avoid anything that inhibits your natural gesturing (and yes, everybody gestures when speaking). It is for this reason I highly recommend, if possible, using a headset to free up both of your hands. Using gestures when speaking adds something to your voice that is discernible to the listener, and it is a positive thing.

5. Stand up and walk around

Where possible, stand up when speaking on the phone. Your posture is immediately improved, and it is easier to gesture when standing up. And if you can, walk around while conversing (make that a wireless headset, thanks!). You'll sound more relaxed, and this in turn will relax the other person(s). I personally pace about, but this gives me a rhythm which I find comforting.

6. Smile!

This isn't a bunch of tree hugging good vibes. You really will sound warmer, friendlier, and more relaxed, and people will respond to you in a more positive manner when you're smiling. And besides, it'll make you feel better. Try it now.

7. Listen

This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of effective communication, irrespective of the medium or message. It is essential when talking to someone on the phone we remember the ears to mouth ratio. This 2:1 ratio tells us how much time we need to spend listening in relation to speaking.

Bonus tip: Use the available technology

Where appropriate, leverage the technology you have available to you to enhance the communication. A very simple example of this is using the HOLD button while yelling out to a co-worker to ask if a shipment has arrived. An example of something a little more complex is using teleconferencing to bring in a co-worker on a conversation. There are lots of possible examples, but the point is to acquaint yourself with the capabilities of your phone. You'll be glad you did.

These are tips that I find useful, but what do YOU think? Do you have any suggestions for enhancing your telephone communication? I'd love to hear them; please leave a comment.

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