UNIT 1

ORAL COMMUNICATION

1.1 Effective communication Effective communications skills must be mastered by the call center executive. It obviously involves using language to communicate with customers as well as managers and coworkers. The call center agent should be able to express appropriately to transmit the intended message to the receiver, whoever this person might be. He/she cannot afford to lack this skill. Talking to other human beings is as natural as walking or eating for any person. Every day people exchange information, comments, advice and so forth with other people. Talking and communicating with clients is very important for the call center agent in order to reach business as well as personal goals. Customers will judge the company as per the agent's voice quality and tone. Nobody likes a monotone, flat, abrupt and indifferent voice or a computer-like voice voice. People react better to a friendly, polite, upbeat and empathetic voice. 1.1.1 Communication elements The communication elements are as follows: COMMUNICATOR It is the source of information. The sender organizes the message that will be transmitted to the receiver. COMMUNICATEE It refers to the person who receives the information from the communicator; the receiver decodes the message which can be influenced by the values, social and cultural media. MESSAGE Information transmitted by the sender to the receiver. This must be prepared and organized according to the audience. CONTEXT Conditions or environment in which the message is sent or received: social, cultural, historical, psychological situations and so forth. Context helps to understand the meaning of a message. 1.1.2 The right attitude As said before, working in a call center requires a great deal of oral communication. In order to deal with day to day events, it is necessary to have the right attitude to work with people, which sometimes will be a rewarding experience, but it may also be a frustrating experience at other times. Some writers call this approach a negotiation technique, some other people classify it as a management principle, and some others refer to this approach as a philosophy. The way it is called is not really important; however it is an attitude which cannot be faked. There are only two possibilities: to have or not to have this attitude. It will not exist without integrity, maturity and self-trust. Why is it so? Because nobody will trust a person considered to be dishonest.

Even if this person tries to be sympathetic toward other people, it will not appear to be sincere. Emotional maturity is required to think and analyze the situation in an objective way. This means people should stop thinking about them and develop the ability to think about how to benefit their counterpart. Self-trust is very important since, ironically, the person must have faith in himself before someone trusts him/her. This personal confidence will strengthen the person's self-esteem and will enable people to relate in a respectful way, without violence.
Reaching agreements Reaching agreements is part of life: where to have lunch with family or coworkers; what program to watch on TV; the manager who asks an employee to work on a special date for the worker?; each one of the previous examples demands that people involved in the situation negotiate a solution. Conflicts or disagreements must be accepted and people should learn to manage them. A positive attitude is a good beginning; it avoids stress as well as physical and mental illness.

1.2 Communicating with customers To work at the service industry can be fun, challenging, exciting and very rewarding. You get to meet all kinds of people, and this is the tricky part. The call center executive needs to learn how to manage and communicate with different types of personalities, some nicer than others. The professional agent will pay close attention to recognize each type of client in order to communicate assertively with them. 1.2.1 Types of customers As said before, every day a call center agent gets in touch with several types of people; some of them are very pleasant and easy to deal with; some others give the employees a hard time. Usually, one does not get to choose clients, so it is helpful to know and understand how the different types of customers may behave. It will enable you to build a successful business relationship.
Participation Communication works both ways: to participate and let other people do so will promote an effective communication. When a problem is to be solved, getting all member's commitment to the solution is a key factor for success.

1.2 Communicating with customers To work at the service industry can be fun, challenging, exciting and very rewarding. You get to meet all kinds of people, and this is the tricky part. The call center executive needs to learn how to manage and communicate with different types of personalities, some nicer than others. The professional agent will pay close attention to recognize each type of client in order to communicate assertively with them.

1.2.1 Types of customers As said before, every day a call center agent gets in touch with several types of people; some of them are very pleasant and easy to deal with; some others give the employees a hard time. Usually, one does not get to choose clients, so it is helpful to know and understand how the different types of customers may behave. It will enable you to build a successful business relationship.
The rude customer This client is very demanding, fussy, rude and abusive; he also has a bad temper. He will do anything to provoke an employee. The best technique to be used with this kind of person is to take a deep breath and be patient. Employees should avoid getting carried away with his/her anger. They should ignore offensive words and treat him/her in a respectful and courteous manner. The shy person An introverted and quiet person who lacks self-confidence; this client has trouble making decisions and expressing his ideas. He/she might be helped by asking questions about what he/she does and does not like in order to present alternatives for him/her. It is very easy to convince this type of customer however, employees should avoid tricking him/her. He/she will not complain, it is not in his nature, but if he feels disappointed he/she will spend his/her money somewhere else. The suspicious client He/she does not trust anybody and does not accept valid arguments. He/she will easily get offended and likes to lead conversations. The best way to take care of this customer is to be patient, polite and to listen carefully. Avoid arguing with this customer, especially if you do not have the evidence to support your argument. Let him/her know he is right whenever he/she is. The suspicious client He does not trust anybody and does not accept valid arguments. He will easily get offended and likes to lead conversations. The best way to take care of this customer is to be patient, polite and to listen carefully. Avoid arguing with this customer, especially if you do not have the evidence to support your argument. Let him know he is right whenever he is. The know-it-all customer He/she is very proud of his knowledge because he/she thinks he/she knows everything. He thinks he/she is better than everybody else and, he also likes to show it off. He/she is very demanding on people's attention and dislikes not to be right, so he should never be discredited in public. If it is necessary, this should be done in a private and discrete way. Sometimes he might be aggressive. The best way to handle this client is to be patient and courteous. He should not be allowed to control the employee's feelings.

The talker He/she honors his name and likes to talk very much, usually he/she leads all conversations and likes to get everybody's attention. He/she also likes to tell stories and jokes. Although, he/she is a nice person, he/she may become rude. If employees pay too much attention to this customer his visit will be longer than expected. Workers should be polite and courteous with these persons, but never too friendly or familiar. Take control of conversation and interrupt them in a good manner if time goes by and they do not leave or hang up the phone. Employees should also ask direct questions to get short straight answers. The in-a-hurry customer Time is money and this customer really appreciates its value. He/she is always in a hurry and does not like to wait for anything; he/she requires to be taken care of immediately. Whenever he/she asks a question he expects a short and direct answer. Employees must let the client know they value his time; they will do everything they can to speed up his purchase or solve any problem he might be having as soon as possible. The VIP client No matter the reason: high social scale, hierarchy, power (president's wife), this is a very important person and expects to be taken care of according to his status: with muchdeference and respect. This client will get offended if he/she thinks he/she is being treated in a familiar way by the employees. The VIP person needs to get all the attention from workers and to be treated with delicate good manners.

1.2.2 Non-verbal communication Some authors say that when verbal communication is confusing, it only represents a low percentage (7%) of total communication. This means that more of 90% of total communications relays on nonverbal communication (body language). The body expresses what words will not do. This is the origin of saying: a look is worth one thousand words. What is expressed to coworkers and customers by body language or voice when the conversation is over the phone? A rude and mean voice will tell a client a different story from the nice words: How may I help you? What the employee really means to say is: your call bothers me, you are interrupting me and I do not wish to take care of you! This behavior should be avoided when talking to customers.

It is very important to pay attention to what people are telling us; this shows appreciation and respect to the person on the phone as well as a good disposition to take care of him/her. The call center executive also needs to listen between the lines to determine if customers are satisfied or not with the provided solution or service. It might seem easier to let it go and avoid the trouble of handling an unhappy client, especially if the customer does not complain right away. This is a tricky behavior because clients will tell their unpleasant experience to 10 other people which will ruin the company reputation.

Acting empathetically, understanding client's point of view as well as asking customers what they really like or dislike will result on a lifetime loyalty to our company. Nothing can beat good manners, a nice smile and fast service: customers will not forget your company. Employees should also thank customers for their business. 1.2.3 Techniques to communicate by phone The phone is the most important tool for a call center agent. He/she does not communicate with people face to face; every task is performed by phone and he/she only gets his voice to impress clients! Isn't it challenging? When business is done by phone, the worker does not get the pretty office, the nice gestures, and nor the nice lady to serve a good cup of coffee which will complement somehow a face to face meeting. Even though, the agent does not have all these elements to help him/her out, he/she can still manage to deliver an outstanding professional service to clients by using some of the following techniques and suggestions that will improve the agent's expertise to handle business by phone.
Tips to improve communication by phone 1. Clear your throat. Keep a candy or a glass of water on hand. 2. Use a natural language. 3. Do not talk too fast or too slowly. In the first case, people will lose track of what you are saying; in the second case, they might fall sleep. 4. Organize your workstation. It helps to keep everything you need on hand and avoids wasting time to look for pen and paper to take notes. Nor will the agent have to apologize to clients for keeping them waiting. Procedure to answer phone calls is as follows: 1. Answer phone immediately. It should not ring more than three times. 2. Do not eat or talk to somebody else while you are on the phone. 3. Greet the customer when phone is close enough to your mouth. It should be done in a professional way and it must include company and employee's name. For example: ZNN company, this is Mary, may I help you? 4. Listen to the customer: what is he/she calling for? Write everything he/she says; it will help you to remember later on. 5. Do your best effort to please the client. Run the extra mile. 6. Before ending the conversation, thank the customer for his/her business. Procedure to answer phone calls is as follows: 1. Answer phone immediately. It should not ring more than three times. 2. Do not eat or talk to somebody else while you are on the phone. 3. Greet the customer when phone is close enough to your mouth. It should be done in a professional way and it must include company and employee's name. For example: ZNN company, this is Mary, may I help you? 4. Listen to the customer: what is he/she calling for? Write everything he/she says; it will help you to remember later on. 5. Do your best effort to please the client. Run the extra mile. 6. Before ending the conversation, thank the customer for his/her business. Procedure to answer phone calls is as follows: 1. Gather all information and tools to be used.

2. Greet the customer and let him/her know the purpose of your call as well as company and employee name. 3. Answer any question the customer might have. 4. Reach an agreement with the client. 5. End the conversation in a polite way.

1.3 Negotiating with clients A proper negotiation might be the difference between getting, retaining or losing business. 1.3.1 Convincing clients To convince clients to buy any product or to accept a proposed solution requires coming to an agreement. This should not be long speeches which will bore our client; on the contrary they should be short phrases. Even if the call center agent is not a salesperson in charge of selling any particular item, such as TVs, airlines tickets, and so forth, he/she still sells customer service. Qualities of good arguments are as follows:<<Click Here >> A good dialogue will provide the call center agent with the following information: Client does not get to make decisions. Somebody else does. He is neither convinced nor interested. Customer has an objection that needs to be taken care of. He needs more information about the product or service before making a decision.