Your Voice is Your Handshake

Each time we answer the telephone we are shaking hands with the caller. You wouldn't think of entering a meeting without washing your hands to freshen up your kinetic communication. Neither would you hand out a business card that was bent and crumpled? Why wouldn't you have the same expectation of your vocal introduction? And how rude of you not to thank someone for their business card.

Would you think it appropriate to mumble when speaking in a crowd? How well are you listening to your communication partner? If you shake hands and receive a like grip you feel confident in the relate ability of the other person. The same holds true for your verbal communications.

This is all true and more so when like the millions of people around the globe that each day use the telephone to connect with someone new. When you consider that more than half of your daily communication is done over the telephone why would you not think of how you sound to the person on the other end. Likewise are you hearing all they have to say? There are hidden signals in every communication event and I have made it my goal to help you hear more and listen better.

In the coming weeks I am going to take you on a journey through the communication cycle. The Art of Visual Listening is your "Verbal Handshake" tune up. When you consider that 85% of what you say is nonverbal and you are spending more than 50% of your day on the telephone you need this tune-up. This means that on the scale of effective communication you aren't even at 10% effective!

In this tough market we all need to take advantage of every opportunity to improve our communication skills offered to us. This is the single most important tool a professional can hone, your voice.

If you can't wait for next week feel free to contact us and we'll schedule a training session one-on-one or for your entire firm. Either way you should consider getting my book to help you follow along with this unique training.

Have a FANTASTIC week!

Rik