Smile – You’re on the phone! 5 tips for improving your telephone voice
Sie sind kompetent und vertrauenswürdig. Aber sind diese Qualitäten in Ihrer Telefonstimme auch hörbar? Mit diesen 5 Tipps von Secretary Today lernen Sie, wie Ihre Kompetenz beim Kunden garantiert auch am Telefon ankommt.
When you are conducting business over the phone, people can’t see you, they can only hear a disembodied voice. When we hear a voice on the telephone, we tend to conjure up an image of the person on the other end of the line. Within the first couple of sentences we have decided if the person is competent, knowledgeable, trustworthy and sincere. If people don’t hear these qualities in your voice, they won’t believe you have them. It’s as simple as that.
Follow these 5 tips to dramatically improve your telephone voice:
1 Breathe to sound pleasant
A voice that is starving for air does not sound sincere or pleasant. Remember to pause and breathe frequently. To make sure your initial impression is positive, pause for two seconds between each line of your greeting. “Hello this is …………… speaking.” – two seconds pause – “I’m calling about an order I placed last month.” – two seconds – “Let me give you the order number.”
Two seconds may seem like an eternity, but the more you pause, the more sincere you will sound and the easier it will be for the customer to understand you.
2 Smile to sound friendlier
Smiling adds warmth to your voice and it automatically makes your voice sound friendlier. Place a mirror by the phone so you can see yourself smiling.
3 Gesticulate to make your voice sound lively
Make arm gestures. When you gesticulate you bring additional air into your lungs and stop your voice from sounding monotonous.
4 Move to make your voice relax
If you find yourself tensing up, stand up and move around the office. Moving around releases the tension in your upper body and your voice will continue to sound sincere. This is especially important if you are dealing with difficult customers.
5 Drink to moisture your voice
If your throat is dry your voice will become raspy. If you have to telephone a lot, drink a full glass of water every hour. Put a bottle of water and a glass on your desk to remind yourself. Caffeinated drinks like cola, tea and coffee are diuretics and will actually take the moisture away from your voice, making it difficult for you to sound your best.
Customers are quick to draw conclusions about the person they hear on the other end of the line. No one likes listening to a bored, tired or unsure voice. So to produce a voice people want to hear, remember to
Breathe – Smile – Gesticulate –
Move – Drink