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    Effective Communication Part 2

    keyboard support effective communication

    Virtual Professionals understand that Effective communication is the key to great customer service. In Effective Communication Part 1, we discussed how listening with a purpose can create rapport with customers and lead to accurate assessments of their needs. The second step to effective communication is responding.

    Match the Caller

    Communication is much simpler when you match the tone, tempo, and rhythm of the correspondent. If the caller speaks fast, then try to match their pace. Practice matching these components with friends or family until you have mastered them. Those who say this doesn’t work are usually not doing all three.

    Positive Direction and Effective Communication

    Another important thing to keep in mind when responding to others is to use positive sentences. This means expressing your purpose in an affirming way. For example, instead of saying:

    “Do not call us on the weekends.”

    Say:

    “We are available for your needs Monday through Friday.”

    The use of positive direction, like positive language in general, has a soothing affect on the customer. It gives them a course of action and makes them feel like the problem will be resolved.

    Take a Meta-View

    After every communication you should assess if the conversation was successful. Once the conversation is complete ask yourself if the established goal was met. If the goal was to fix the customer problem and have them leave happy, did you succeed? You will know once you compare the caller’s tone at the beginning of the call to their tone at the end of the call. Does the tone reflect happiness or frustration? It is possible to solve a customer issue without making the customer happy. When this occurs, companies still risk losing their business so always strive for a satisfactory ending to a correspondence.

    Effective communication is a necessary skill for all virtual professionals.

    Effective Communication Part 1

    Top 10 Communication Mistakes

    Effective communication is the key to success in the customer service industry and in life. As a virtual professional, you do not have the luxury of face-to-face communications with clients, and will have to rely on polished written and verbal communication methods to enact superior customer service and resolve customer issues. Effective communication is divided into two parts: the first is the ability to listen and observe.

    Active Listening and Effective Communication

    Humans speak between 100 and 175 words per minute, so virtual professionals must listen with a purpose to filter out unnecessary communication and create appropriate and timely responses. Listening with a purpose requires listeners to establish: how to best help the client, show support, obtain directions, and gather information.

    Free Your Mind

    One major obstacle that will block your path to active listening is your own mind. Virtual professionals must practice listening without thought intrusion as these thoughts compete against proper assessment of what the client needs. There are a variety of mind tricks, meditations, and concentration techniques that professionals can use to ward off mental distractions, so experiment until you find the right one for you.

    Build Rapport through Mirroring

    This effective communication technique can also work over the phone. Listen to the language the customer uses and imitate it. For example, if a customer is concise and direct, use short and direct language with them. Professional communicators also suggest noting the NLP style the client is using. For visual speakers you might say,” I see the issue.” For auditory speakers use, “I hear what your issue is.” And for kinesthetic speakers use “I feel I understand the problem.”

    Stay tuned for part 2 of Effective Communication.