Stress Relief with Communication Skills

Communication is a great stress reliever

stressed out customer service

It can save your business, and lead to more profits as well.

There are many important points about HOW to communicate. Here are just two important points that can make all the difference in your relationships.

If something is bothering you, it’s important to take personal responsibility and not blame others.

“You made me…,” is both inaccurate and a perfect way to get a defensive response from the person with whom you are communicating! No one makes you do anything, without your permission!

Listen to how much more responsible, and powerful it sounds when you say:

“When you do _______, I don’t like it”.

Communicating effectively is the most powerful skill (yes, I did say skill) you can learn for your personal life as well as your business. It’s such a basic need, and yet it’s not taught in schools. The lack of communication skills leads to terrible problems. When you assume you understand what a person is saying without verifying it with them, it can lead to hurt, anger and expectations that were never meant! It’s not a good way to interact with others! But how often do you listen to someone and rephrase what you think the underlying meaning is in what they said to see if you “get it”?

Here’s an example someone in customer service said to me:

“Nobody else complained”…. It is a recipe to lose a client. I never went back to the store.

“We’re doing the best we can…” Right- and it’s NOT good enough! I’m out’a here

Pay attention to your client’s feelings.

“I can see that this is taking your valuable time. We’ll get someone to take your information right away, and call you right back”. It’s not about YOU, it’s about your client or customer! Let them know you respect THEM and THEIR needs!

A sincere and caring customer service representative could also have said: “I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for you. It must have been very frustrating. What can I do to fix the situation?”

This is a way to retain your client or customer, and let them know that you “hear them”. That’s literal and figurate. The best thing you can learn in communication is how to listen.

And you know, when you’ve spoken to another person, putting them and their needs first, it makes YOU feel better too! It diffuses the negative energy, and lowers the stress level for everyone involved. It’s a real stress buster!