Communication Skills for Call Centres

Introduction

Communication skills are very important for a successful career in customer service and sales. This is especially true in a call centre environment. Call centres can be high pressure, fast-paced environments where you may have to deal with hundreds of people in one day. That is why it is so important to fine tune your communication skills. This course will examine handling different personalities, questioning skills, and telephone skills. These skills are essential to help you to communicate effectively and professionally with your call centre customers.

Objectives

The workshop develops the participants’ influential communication behaviours as follows:

• Learn the skills, attitudes and behaviours required for effective call centre communication
• Promotes personal awareness
• Improves the customer experience
• Develops soft skills
   

Target Audience

This workshop is targeted for front line agents at a call centre.
 

Curriculum

Introduction and Creating the Context for the Programme

• Programme Outline
• Learning Needs
• Course Objectives
• Life-long Learning

Role of Projecting a Professional Image on the Telephone

• Role play on how it relates to telephone image and the person on the telephone
• Debrief pointers:
  - Contribution of verbal, visual and vocal elements
  - Use of positive, neutral, formal and definite language

Serviced Focus Language

• This will be an interactive exercise where participants will practice using service - focused language which can then be used in role-plays
• We will discuss:
  - Formal vs. Informal Language
  - Definite vs. Tentative Language
  - Positive vs. Negative framing
  - Speaking with influence

Improve Voice Quality

• Participants will learn to improve the various aspects of vocal communication by practicing of the following: 
  - Speed, volume and clarity of voice
  - Voice modulation
  - Tone of voice

Telephone Role-Play

• Participants will role-play their current level of performance.  The scenarios will be the actual situations faced on a daily basis. They will provide their own feedback based on the established expectations and also explain how they can improve their own performance.
• Debrief pointers:
  - Voice quality – confidently yet friendly
  - Use of language
  - Courtesy
  - Answering and ending calls
  - Controlling the call

Service Excellence

• We will cover what the basic customer’s expectations are. Role plays will be conducted to help the personnel feel comfortable and confident in these areas of social and business etiquette.
• The following protocols will be discussed and practiced:
  - Meeting & Greeting  
  - Listening Skills
  - Questioning Skills
  - Cultural Sensitivities
  - Creating Customer Experience

Handling Difficult and Angry Callers

• Participants will also learn some valuable techniques to adopt when faced with difficult people and difficult situations.  We will also brainstorm on possible solutions to the problems so as to try and avoid customers becoming angry.