Phone Scripts for Work--How to deliver STELLAR Customer Phone Service
Phone Scripts?--HEY, I DON'T WANT TO SOUND SCRIPTED!! COMMUNICATION SKILLS TIPS FOR THE TELEPHONE CUSTOMER SERVICE PROFESSIONAL
No, you don't want to SOUND scripted. And the way you accomplish being professional, polished AND sounding casual and unscripted is WITH A SCRIPT--in this case, a phone script that you practice over and over again until it becomes second-nature for you to answer the phone with those same words--every time (with the script modified to suit your personality, as you'll see in the example below). In communication skills trainer Dan O'Connor's online communication training video, Dan talks about several things--the phone script, the Diplomatic Decline, danger and power phrases, his principle of the week and more--but just to give you a hint, I'm going over the phone script.
Here's the thing about scripts. If you handle them correctly, they are a great help, and you'll want them in your effective communication skills arsenal. However, if you don't handle them correctly, you sound stilted, as though you are reading from a teleprompter--and you're reading the words of other people and you don't really believe those words. And no amount of communication skills training can help if your speech is stilted. No one wants to sound like a robot. Nor do we want to sound like the person who stands in front of the camera without a script or a clue, and just babbles and embarrasses himself (or herself).
The trick to professional phone answering is preparation, and in this instance the script that prepares us is called, interestingly enough--the P H O N E script.
P--Use your Power Tone--Find your good, strong power tone--the vibration at the bottom of your throat when you say "UUUmmmhmmmm."
H--Say Hello, or Good morning--or use the greeting with which you're most comfortable--some upbeat phrase that suits your personality.
O--State the name of the organization.
N--State your name.
E--End with a question. Promote your products and services if you can--OR a simple "How can I help you today?"
Putting it together--
Using his power tone "Good morning and thanks for calling Dan's Donuts. This is Dan. How may I help you today?" Straightforward and professional. Just what you want!
And after the PHONE--Dan discusses the "Diplomatic Decline." There are always times when you MUST say NO to a client. Do you know how to do that without offending him or her? And after he discusses the Diplomatic Decline, Dan isn't even half through his lesson. Much more to come! Just turn on the video and get started.
Remember that this professional communication training is brought to you FREE by communication skills coach Dan O'Connor. If you want to take a deeper dive into Dan's training, go to his website and check out his VIP program and his Step Out of the Shadows and Speak course. You've seen the trailers; now go to the movies!
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To bring Dan into your organization for a keynote, or to see what training program Dan offers both online and onsite, go to danoconnortraining.com
