Do you remember the scene from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when the economics teacher (played by Ben Stein) bores his class to tears with his lecture on the finer points of the the Laffler Curve, “Voodoo Economics” and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act?
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After listening to hundreds of phone calls over my career, I’ve noticed that most leasing associates sound a lot like Stein’s teacher. Not the best way to convince someone to visit your community, right?
So how can you sound great on the phone?
Boost the Energy: On the phone what you may think is too much energy is probably just right! While it may sound silly to the person sitting next to you, it’ll help you sound great on the phone.
Exaggerate the Vowel Sounds: Listen to the PA announcer at the next sporting event that you attend. You’ll notice that s/he will accentuate and exaggerate certain vowel sounds to make it sound a lot more interesting. So someone introducing Giants quarterback Eli Manning may sound like this…
“At quarterbaaaack-nuhhhhhhmber tennnnn, Eeeee-lieeeeeee Mahhhh ninnnnng.”
Of course if you did this exactly like this on the phone, you’d sound weird (albeit memorable), but you can still apply the basic principle to your phone calls. Words like absolutely, sure, definitely, so, really, amazing, going, and comfortable lend itself well to this technique.
Incidentally pay attention to your personal conversations, especially to close friends, don’t you notice that you probably lengthen the sounds in words and phrases like “Nooooooo waaaay???” or “Ohhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyy goooooooooooodness!”
See, you already do this! So, just apply it to your phone calls with prospects.
Speak Slower: I know this sounds counter-intuitive, since we equate “energy” with “fast-paced” but sound doesn’t always reproduce well on the phone; and if your calls are recorded, you may experience echo or reverb from time to time. Speaking slower on the phone than you would in person makes it easier for customers to understand you.
(In case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about speaking ridiculously slow…just a touch slower than you would speak to someone who is in front of you.)
Practice Your Phone Voice
Yes, I know. This sounds silly. But try practicing your phone voice when you have a chance, or just take the plunge and do it and have fun with it.
Yes, you may get funny looks, but the results are worth it!
