If you have ever been part of a business or are a business owner yourself, you understand how important customer experience (CX) is. Providing better CX is usually about listening to customer feedback. If you learn the art of listening, you will have more satisfied customers, which is important. Because happy customers are quite literally a return on investment as they will continue to use your services and will recommend your business to others.
To help your CX staff and other workplace professionals, below are 10 actionable ways to improve your team’s communication with clients.
- Focus on Understanding, Not Your Response
It seems obvious but tuning in to what the other person is saying actually helps with the conversation and allows you to come off as less defensive, while also helping the participating converser be heard. We all know what it feels like to get an email or have someone respond not acknowledging the question or issue at hand.
To combat this poor communication style, know that it is okay to not have a response the moment the other person stops speaking. Yes, it might feel awkward, but your main priority should be focusing and listening to them to better digest their detailed issues. After considering their full message form a response addressing the heart-of-the matter. - Let Notes Take a Backseat
When you’re in a business meeting, interview, or one-on-one discussion, you desperately want to take notes. However, since many businesses are virtual due to the ongoing pandemic, it is important not to type verbatim during these Zoom calls. Studies have shown that typing word-for-word sentences, which is called “non-generative” recording, can actually be detrimental to memory recall.
Instead, take a few notes on pen and paper. Just make sure that you’re again, focusing on what the person is saying and understanding the important themes from the conversation rather than concentrating on writing.
For the rest of the tips on improving the art of listening, see the full guide from Chattermill. For a quick summary, take a look at the infographic below:
Please include attribution to https://chattermill.com/ with this graphic.
