Category: Soft Skills

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Incoming! Best practice for handling an incoming call

If your job requires the regular use of the telephone to liaise with customers and colleagues, then you need to get the best from every call.

How can you ensure this? The abbreviation PARSAC provides a handy framework to follow when dealing with incoming calls:

Prepare

Are you fully prepared when the phone rings? Make sure you have all the necessary resources: a telephone (obviously very helpful), a pad and a pen to make notes, useful information on computer screens, product information, price lists, manuals and brochures, and anything you might need to supplement the knowledge you already have stored in your brain.

Answer

The phone is ringing – time to answer! You have half a nanosecond to make a good first impression – the right words delivered in the right way. Most companies have a suggested script when it comes to answering the phone, e.g. ‘Good morning/afternoon, company name & department, your name speaking, how can I help?’

This salutation is your verbal handshake and it’s very important! Make sure you smile when you answer; it helps to vary the tone in your voice and makes you sound friendly and willing to help. Speak slowly and clearly – because you have said the opening greeting hundreds of times you tend to speed up, but the caller is hearing it for the first time, so slow down.

Reason

Why are they calling? Let’s establish the reason for the call. Many callers will be quite forthcoming and are happy to explain their needs, but even with them you will need to ask a few questions to confirm your understanding.

If you need lots of information regarding their situation, open questions are the way to go – the information gatherers! If you just need to confirm a few specifics to tie up loose ends, then closed questions will serve you well, prompting short, one or two word answers, e.g. yes or no, Monday or Tuesday etc.

Summarise

Ask your questions, then use active listening to prove to the caller that you have understood. As you are on the phone, nodding as they speak will be of little value, so use verbal indicators as they explain (uh huh, gotcha, I see) and then reflect back the key points by summarising or paraphrasing what they have said:

‘Ok, so let me check my understanding here. What you’re saying is that…’

This reassures them that you have been listening, and reassures you that you have listened correctly.

Action(s)

Now that you have gained confirmation from the caller that you fully understand their needs, you can start discussing possible solutions and the actions you will take on their behalf: ‘So, based on what we’ve discussed, here’s what I’m going to do for you. First, I’ll check with my manager that…’

Close

The call may have started well, now you need to make sure it ends well too. If applicable, you might want to give a recap of the call, confirming what has been discussed and agreed. Ask the caller if there is anything else they need help with or they would like to ask you about their situation (an opportunity to do more business with them!), then end the call with a cheery goodbye and let them hang up first, so you know the call is definitely over.

Conclusion

To handle incoming calls effectively, follow the PARSAC framework: Prepare thoroughly so you’re ready when the phone rings, and answer promptly with a smile and a good verbal handshake. Establish the reasons for the call through effective questioning and summarise the main points back to the caller to gain their confirmation. Now you can agree the actions you’re going to take for them, and then close the call so you can get on with the work. Good call!

 

 

 

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Dealing With Challenging Training Delegates

Have you ever had to deal with challenging training delegates?

When delivering a training session, it would be wonderful to think that everyone wants to be there. However, as we all know, this is not always the case. Occasionally, you may have to not only share the learning, but also handle some challenging personalities.

Here are a few common examples of challenges, and some tactics you will find useful when dealing with them:

The monopoliser

This delegate is a big talker who will swallow up all the airtime if allowed. Every time you ask a question to the group, he or she will dive in and provide an extensive answer. They may just be very enthusiastic (there’s usually no sinister agenda here), but nobody else can get a word in! Tactics include:

  • Instead of asking a question to the group, ask a specific individual, or say “ok, we’re going to go round the room and everyone will have 1 minute to say what they think.”
  • Be polite but firm – “I’d like to hear another opinion. Some of the others haven’t had the chance to contribute yet” or “I know what you mean but we need to move on. We can discuss your idea during the lunch break.”
  • Peer pressure may aid you here. Fellow delegates may suggest to him/her that they reduce their vocal contributions!

The quiet one

This type of delegate is easy to overlook as he/she melts into the background and doesn’t annoy anyone. However, a trainer should seek the contribution of all delegates and will need to find a way to ‘draw out’ the quiet delegate:

  • Instead of asking questions to the group, start picking delegates and include the silent one. Make sure the first question is an easy one, to boost their confidence. A difficult question will make them retreat further into their shell if they cannot answer.
  • Use groups of 2 or 3 in discussion exercises – they will participate happily in the small group.
  • Some trainers make a point of socialising with the quiet participant at the break: “We haven’t really heard much from you yet. After the break, if you have ideas you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them.”

The hostile one

This delegate must be handled carefully:

  • Sometimes, when you ask delegates for their objectives at the start, someone will answer “because my boss told me to come!”. An effective response can be something along the lines of, “fair enough, I’ll make a deal with you – I’m going to run the course and I hope you’ll get something out of it. All I ask is that you keep an open mind. Ok?” This usually has the desired effect – the delegate doesn’t contribute much but they don’t cause trouble either.
  • During a break, try to approach them and say “You don’t seem to be enjoying the course – is everything ok? I wouldn’t want anyone to be here who doesn’t want to attend and if you need to leave then that’s fine; I will of course have to report back to your employer that you chose to leave.” This closing statement usually brings about a remarkable change in their attitude: “Oh no, that’s fine. I’ll stay.”
  • If they are being really negative, use the power of the group: ‘Can anyone see any positives to this idea?’ They usually can! 

The clown

The main characteristic of this delegate is an abundance of irritating humour. If the clown’s behaviour is hindering progress or annoying other delegates, it must stop:

  • Ask a serious question requiring a serious answer – show them they can be heard, but at a more sophisticated and adult level.
  • Compliment them when they make a worthwhile, serious contribution. Conversely, do not reward the attempts at humour.
  • Clowns tend to sit with their friends, who laugh at every comment, so split them up. Mix up the groups and put the clown with people they don’t know.

The chatty one

The chatty one continually speaks to their neighbour while the course is in progress.

  • You could stop talking, so the only voice to be heard is theirs. When they realise, ask if everything is ok? Perhaps you haven’t explained a point adequately and they are seeking clarity? They will usually say everything is ok and you can move on. But now they know you are onto them!
  • If they continue, tell them that you find it distracting and you’d like them to stop. You have a lot to cover and you need everyone to be listening.
  • If they persist, you may have to ask them to leave the course!

The one who goes off on a tangent

This delegate may have interesting things to say, but they usually belong in another training course.

  • Be polite but firm: “This is an interesting point, but could we try and get back on track? I think we’re straying away from the subject here and we need to move on.” As in other examples, you’d be happy to discuss the point further, but during break time!

Conclusion

We encounter challenging delegates from time to time; some may even be trying to wind you up! Use the techniques explained above to come across as calm, professional, concerned and courteous – you just want everyone to have a good training course! And remember: as tempting as it may seem, you cannot fight fire with fire!