When making connections, it’s always great to network in person so that you can put a face to whom you’re talking. But let’s face it (no pun intended!), this scenario isn’t always possible; sometimes, you’re going to find yourself trying to make connections over the phone. And when you do, take note of your phone skills.

Communications consultant Leil Lowndes points out in How to Talk to Anyone that people lose 30% of their energy when talking over the phone. This loss of energy may make you come off as a Debbie Downer, or even worse, unenthusiastic about maintaining a relation. To avoid losing this possible connection, Lowndes suggests to hike up the energy level – you may think you sound ridiculous, but really, you actually sound like how you would if it were a face-to-face conversation. Why? Well, the lack of a physical connection creates an emphasis on the need for an emotional one; so when you think about it, you’re allocating the connection made by seeing one another to an emotional level with your interest in the person.

Another great way to close the physical gap is to name drop. No, I don’t mean for you to talk about how you saw Johnny Depp at the local mall the other day. Lowndes gives the great idea of mentioning your caller’s name a couple times during your conversation. Hearing their name not only keeps their attention, but also reinforces the idea that the conversation is directed to them. That may sound silly, but think about it: there’s no eye contact, no hand gestures, and certainly no physical intimacy.  So aside from having your phone lines connected, you don’t have anything else linking you two.

Taking these two points into consideration, you are bound to increase the number of contacts you make over the phone. For more communication tips, be sure to read up more on How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Blog, Networking, Networking/Prospecting, Sales and People Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.