5 Tips for Better Phone Communication

For many of us, the majority of our professional interactions - whether with clients or colleagues - takes place over the phone. The communication skills used during a phone conversation are very different from those used in person - or at least, they should be. It's critical to remember that, when speaking over the phone, many of our senses are not in play. We can't see the person we're speaking to. We can't monitor their facial expressions to gauge their feelings. And we can't gesticulate wildly to get our point across.

We do, however, have a few tools at our disposal:

1.) Smile

I'm sure you've heard this before. Yes, it's true. You can hear a smile. Try it if you don't believe me. You'll be surprised how people react differently when you put a little smile in your voice. If the person on the other end hears dread or boredom in your voice, they will mimic it. It' s human nature to mirror one another. So make it routine that, the second you put the phone to your ear, you are physically smiling.

2.) Don't Multi-task

When you're speaking on the phone, don't try to do something else at the same time. Concentrate on the conversation. The person on the other end will likely be able to tell if you aren't listening. And we've all heard the tap-tap of the keyboard in the background while on the phone with someone. It's very rude and, no matter how good you think you are at multi-tasking, it's likely that you aren't catching everything the person is telling you if you're busy doing something else.

3.) Make Notes

Keep a pen and pad next to the phone at all times. If a person identifies themselves at the very beginning of the call, write their name down immediately. I hate it when I have to repeat my name for someone - and often I'm asked two or even three times! Write it down the first time. Also, make notes of the entire conversation. Some of us are visual learners and when people explain something over the phone it helps us understand more clearly when we map it out on paper. This also provides a reference for later if we have to follow up on something.

4.) Beware of dead air

When conducting business over the phone, there are many times we experience "dead air". For example, you call your credit card company and ask the rep what your balance is. They have to wait for the computer to pull it up so you're sitting in silence while that happens. That's fine. The important factor here is to tell the person on the other end what you are doing. Let them know you're looking up the information and it'll take just a minute. Too often I have called somewhere and asked a question only to be met with complete silence. I suppose it's inferred that they are looking something up on the computer and I should just hang on a minute, but it's much nicer to be kept informed. Especially with cell phones these days - you don't want someone thinking the call has dropped. If you have to take a minute to look something up or gather a file or whatever, tell the person on the other end what you are doing and how long it will take. If something will take longer than a minute, offer to place them on hold or call them back later. You don't need to keep them around just to listen to you breathe.

5.) Slow Down and Adapt

The phone strips us of everything we use to communicate with except our voices. This means that our tone carries all the weight of portraying our feelings. It also means that, when explaining something, we only have words to do the work. No pictures, no hand motions, no facial expressions. Just words. So if someone doesn't understand something we're saying, we'd better find another way to say it. My boss once explained to me that a good communicator is someone who can change the way they communicate to suit the person they're speaking to. It's not about expressing yourself; it's about expressing yourself in a way that makes sense to the other person. So the best way to handle it over the phone is to slow down and adapt when needed. If you are explaining something complicated to someone and they just don't get it, don't get frustrated and repeat the same explanation. Slow down and take a different approach.