5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Customer Service Skills Through Body Language

For this lesson we’re going to focus on some simple things you can do, or what you can have your associates do, to quickly improve on your customer service skills. People use a bunch of different methods for getting ideas across. It is not just the words you say that people hear, there are other factors to take into account. Your body language is at the foundation of all communication. Before the human race could speak with their words, they spoke with their bodies.

It is through body language that the majority of what we say is translated and it is because of this fact that we must take extra care to deliver proper body language to our clients if we want them to feel satisfied with our service.

Here are five simple things you can do to improve your body language and therefore improve your customer service skills as a whole.

5.    Keep eye contact:

eye-contactThe easiest way to insure the client knows you are paying attention to them and care about what they have to say is to keep eye contact with them as much as possible. Eye contact says: You’re the only person I’m listening to right now. It is the most overlooked aspect of body language and is easy to forget when you are trying to handle multiple things at once while talking to someone.

You want to try and make eye contact with them as you are speaking and while they are speaking. Don’t stare at them or they might feel awkward. Just try and keep a delicate balance between eye contact and no eye contact. Be friendly and not strange.

4.    Cheat out toward the customer:

Theatre and film actors have an important body language tool that the industry can benefit from. It’s called “cheating out” and it basically means to face the front of your body to the camera or audience as much as you can without looking unnatural. This allows the camera to pick up all of the subtle facial expressions and nuances in the actor’s body language and just makes the scene better over all.

Cheat out as you are speaking to guests. Try and make sure you face them with the front of your body as much as you can. You don’t want to turn your back on them or stay turned in profile because that will tell them you aren’t interested in what they have to say. We’re always interested in what they have to say, so make sure they know that.

3.    Direct with an open hand:

One of the more subtle techniques to use is to, whenever giving directions to someone, use an open hand gesture. If you point with an index finger or thumb as we do in our every day lives it can come off as rude at times and we want to avoid appearing rude at all times. Open hands are inviting, . . . → Read More: 5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Customer Service Skills Through Body Language

5 Tips to Improve Your Customer Service Skills with Verbal Communication

To be successful in the customer service industry it is important to understand that customer service is all about perception. They need to feel that the server knows what they are doing, is happy to be doing what they are doing, and most importantly glad that they are there.

One of the biggest problems out there in the market today is verbal communication. Everyone knows how to speak but only a few do it skillfully. Here are a few quick tips to improve your verbal communication that will make you sound better and more professional for your next interaction.

1.    Choose Words Wisely:

Half of customer interaction is about speaking to them. We must choose our words carefully so as not to offend or dismiss them. Remember, we always want to give the impression that we care about them and that they are important to us.

The basic rule is to speak naturally but properly. Avoid using contractions if you can. Don’t say things like “Yeah, whattya want?” and try not to use any idiomatic expressions or regional words. Not everyone will be from the region you’re working in so words like bubbler, grinder, clicker, and others might not make sense. You want to try and avoid having to explain yourself because confusing the client is the last thing we want to do.

2.    Have a Script in Your Head:

It is a good idea to prepare a script or outline for frequently asked questions or information you know you will have to give out on a daily basis. For example: while working at the front desk of a hotel I would constantly have to give directions and suggest restaurants. We also had a shuttle service that needed some pretty lengthy explanation that I had to tell every guest when they checked in.

What I would do is think of about four sentences worth of well packed information and I would say the same thing over and over. With the script in my head I wasn’t stumbling over my words and I had tailored it so that I knew the guests were getting all the information I wanted to give them. Scripts help you to keep consistent and once you get used to them it makes it easier to focus on other aspects of communication.

3.    Avoid the use of Slang:

This one ties in to choosing your words wisely. Slang terms vary across culture and geography and some people might have no idea what you’re talking about. The best thing to do is try and be as formal as possible whenever you can. Don’t greet customers with phrases like: “What’s up?” or “Yo, dog.” And sometimes even a “How’s it going?” or “You’re all set.” can be problematic. Stick to the basics of the English language and you should be fine. “Hello,” “Good Bye,” and “Have a nice day” are your fail safes. You can never go wrong when using words or phrases like that.

4.    Watch Your . . . → Read More: 5 Tips to Improve Your Customer Service Skills with Verbal Communication