Are Your Communication Skills Sickening?

All over the country salespeople are suffering from a verbal virus. It strikes at any time and often without warning. Those who are afflicted say it happens most when talking with prospective customers.

How do you know if you’ve been infected with Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome?

Symptoms include premature articulation of saying the worst thing at the worst time, depression of thinking of the perfect thing to say long after your customer has gone, or nausea from the embarrassment of being at an absolute loss for words.

While there is no cure for Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome, there are certainly remedies to make the symptoms less catastrophic. You can have a nearly complete remission from the verbal virus just by practicing your ability to speak your best.

Get on Your Feet

Frequent attacks of Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome while on the phone can sometimes be calmed just by getting out of your seat. Instead of sitting in your plush office chair and staring at your computer while talking on the phone, stand up. The sound of your voice will naturally follow your body language and the way you feel. If you’re too comfortable in your chair, your voice will sound sleepy and nonchalant, and you’ll find yourself boring or offending your customer.

The simple act of standing promotes healthy breathing, and ensures you are speaking with your best sales voice. By standing, you are changing your tone of voice from lackadaisical to energetic and attentive. You’ll be saying the right thing the right way.

Wear a Smile

Studies have shown that your facial expressions are literally heard in your voice by the person on the other end of the phone. No matter how hard you try to sound upbeat, if your face doesn’t look cheerful, your attitude will sound forced and insincere. Try smiling when on the phone with customers. Your smile will brighten your tone, making your customer as excited about your product as you are.

Monitor Your Progress The warning signs of Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome can be hard to spot if you don’t make the effort to watch out for them – literally. The next time you are on the phone with a customer, place a large mirror on your desk and watch yourself in action.

Your telephone demeanor will completely change as you look yourself in the eye while you are talking with your customers. Having a face-to-face connection (even with yourself) will help you imagine that the person is sitting right in front of you. It will also give you ongoing feedback of your facial expressions and body language. This self-regulating phone training tool gives you the control over the foot-in-mouth tendencies which may keep you from making the sale.

Get it on Tape

If you’re not careful, Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome can spread, severally affecting your ability to communicate even in person. In these cases, monitoring yourself by mirror can be replaced with a simple digital voice recorder. Record all of your customer interactions and prepare for a painful experience as you listen to them in privacy.

Regardless of how many sales you’ve made, how long you’ve been in sales, or how good you think you are at it, you will be horrified to hear how you interact with prospective customers. Hearing yourself in a live sales situation will help you examine your symptoms of the verbal virus and find ways to eliminate them. Make notes of everything from the effectiveness of your tone to your ability to ask intriguing and useful questions.

After a few weeks of watching and listening to yourself in action, you will notice your sales conversations improving. The simple act of monitoring what comes out of your mouth will significantly change the effectiveness of what you say, and how you say it.