When it comes to providing excellent customer service, one of the key traits is the ability to pay attention to the client and understand what they are saying. The faster and more precisely you can “get” what the client really wants, the better your service will be perceived.
Pay attention: (So basic you probably already know it. Right?)
- Stop doing anything else
- Look at the person speaking to you
- Don’t start formulating your response while they’re still talking
Be body conscious:
- Fiddling , tapping your feet or fingers or otherwise acting impatiently will discourage conversation
- If you appear closed (arms crossed etc) to what the client is saying they’re more likely to become confrontational or aggressive
- Keep an open posture to encourage conversation
- Make “listening” noises & actions such as nodding, hmm, yes and aha at appropriate times
Make sure you understand:
- Ask questions if you need to
- Rephrase & summarise what the client has just said to be certain you’re both on the same page
- Feel free to pause before responding to gather your thoughts
Some hints:
- If you’re finding it hard to stay focussed, mentally repeat every word they say to help keep focus and help retain the information.
- Look directly at the speaker and pay attention to both their words and body language – try not to be creepy about it though! Smile and nod etc so you don’t appear over intense.
- Try to keep your emotions out of it. By all means, query anything that upsets you, but by querying it matter of factly rather than emotionally you can encourage conversation rather than confrontation or defence.
I do realise that it’s not easy to put these tips into practice but even if you just concentrate on learning one or two at a time you’ll find that over time, they just become habit.
If you want to test your current skills, here’s a great self assessed Listening Skills Test.
