According to Keith Harrell; “A positive attitude is still
undeniably the most valuable asset you can ever choose to treasure. It is the
most basic ingredient to every success story in this planet”[i].
In Public Relations, as in any other communication fields,
you’ll be requested to adopt the right attitude according to the situation.
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Photo
credits: Live Life Happy via Flickr
During my internship, I have had to do several phone calls.
What’s the right attitude to adopt in such case?
Let me share with you my experience and what I’ve learned.
Some may say that this is a simple exercise whereas others
might admit that it can be a perilous one too.
You probably must have heard the saying that “Making a
great first impression is imperative to becoming an influential leader”[ii].
“The fact is that when you first meet a person, he makes a
judgment about you in approximately four seconds, and his judgment is finalized
largely within 30 seconds of the initial contact”[iii]. So you do not have much
time to impress this person.
This gets even more challenging through phone calls, since
your interlocutor cannot see you. He will only be able to forge his first
impression through the tone you adopt.
A telephone call can disturb. It can cause an interruption
in an already "overscheduled” or “congested” agenda. Therefore be polite
and excuse yourself for disturbing. Take the time to introduce yourself and aim
at starting to build a trusting relationship with the other person on the phone
though you cannot see him.
Once those courtesy steps are undergone, do not jump
directly to the object of your call. Start by putting your interlocutor at ease
and create a conducive environment for better communication. Remember that the
way you speak over the telephone will convey the largest part of your message.
The way you answer the
phone also sets the stage for the other person’s experience with you. So the
way you talk will either enable you to communicate positive energy resulting in
positive responses or negative energy yielding negative responses.
During my placement I tried implementing those tactics and
the result was excellent.
Before making a call, just remember that overcoming your
fears and leaving your comfort zone is really important to be able to achieve
your goals.
Photo
credits: BK via Flickr
A telephone conversation is conversing with somebody else.
As such try to be as natural as you would be in a visual conversation. Though
it might seem absurd, do not hesitate to smile when the conversation invites to
smiling.
[i] http://onlineaccesscenter.com/bmm/library1/Attitude%20is%20Everything.pdf
[ii] http://www.briantracy.com/blog/leadership-success/the-importance-of-a-first-impression-everything-counts-personal-statement/
[iii] http://www.briantracy.com/blog/leadership-success/the-importance-of-a-first-impression-everything-counts-personal-statement/
4 comments:
Hi Anne,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post on verbal communication techniques specifically referencing phone conversations as a developed skills set, as this is a task that I am having to undertake now that I am midway through my placement.
For me personally, your post highlighted issues of self-confidence, verbal skill development, correct attitude and approach, and timeframe considerations within a PR communications domain. All of these considerations are based on the context of our own level of confidence and competency as a PR practitioner, which I think make the process of self reflection and self improvement that much easier. Being able to consider what when well or not so well allows us to experience, to learn, and to grow.
Having said that, I also think that your tips and tricks for effective verbal communication cuts down the need to learn from one’s mistakes, as you provide a great list of suggestions on how to approach this task. However it would have been really great to read more about your personal experience with phone conversations, and how you came about learning from your experiences. It would have also been really interesting to discuss the kind of phone calls you find yourself having to make as a PR intern.
Reading your post provided a context to be considered from the perspective of the person receiving a call from a PR practitioner. Understandably the process of being interviewed, no matter now informally, could be quite a nerve-wracking experience. We often consider our own level of confidence and competence within tasks such as these, but I think rarely do we reflect on the ability to ease the interviewee into a natural flow of conversation that doesn’t feel forced or disingenuous
Good luck with the rest of your placement, and potential future employment opportunities. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your time at your internship.
Kind Regards,
Molly
Hi Anne Julie
Its nice to see how you have learned from the PR internship. guess phone calls within the PR industry is something we all have to go through. i had my own personal experience and well it was challenging for me as i did not have such an experience, but the good that came out of it is that i did it nevertheless. yes i had to get out of my comfort zone. as Molly noted that you post highlighted issues of self confidence and verbal skills amongst others these were the issues i had to deal with when answering the phone or even daring to make a phone call to ask for information.
Glad you learned from the internship. all the best for the report
Hello Anne-Julie,
I really liked reading your post because phone calls can appear as an ordinary task for people but it is somehow really important, particularly when you are still students who are still learning. How do we need to talk, the gestures we need to adapt, the tone of voice we need to take, the right words to say, its stressing right? I lived this situation as well during my placement. In fact, it was double stress for me because the content manager, the communication specialists and all the communication support were there, listening to me talking. Besides, this weird situation of phone calls helped me a lot. It helped to to gain more confidence in myself and in my communication skills. I can handle and deal with journalists or anyone easily now. It was a positive experience.
Anyway, good luck for the remaining assignments.
Regards,
Anne-Clothilde
Hi Anne,
Great to hear about your experience. Really enjoyed your post, as I think this is something that we as students, all find quite daunting!
Personally, I found phone calls were probably the hardest thing I had to do throughout my whole internship. You don't realise how such a simple, everyday task can become so important.
Good luck with everything in the future!
Tessa x
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