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These days, being confident on the phone is a seriously under-developed skill. With all the communication that happens over text and email, it would seem there’s hardly ever a reason to pick up the phone to talk to someone.

However, the majority of customer interactions still happen over the phone. As such, it’s critical to feel and sound confident on the phone when you are speaking with a client or prospect. Confidence doesn’t sound like a necessary quality to have when you’re on the phone, however, it can make the difference between a successful call and a terrible one.

Why Is Confidence So Important?

There are a couple of reasons why sounding confident on the phone is so important.

First, confident customer interactions create trust and reflect professionalism. When a customer calls, you want them to end the phone call feeling like they received a satisfactory solution to their problem. You can’t achieve that outcome if you are speaking meekly, filling your answers with “ums” or respond with “I’m not sure.” Those phrases do not inspire confidence or foster the trust that your company can solve their problem. Second, if you feel more confident in doing your job, you’ll do it better.

phone conversation

Using Confident Language

It’s one thing to talk about confidence, it’s another to actually sound confident. Perhaps you’re wondering where to even start to give your phone skills a confidence boost.

First, know that “fake it till you make it” is real. “Faking” that confidence during your first few phone calls will turn into real confidence over time. Ideally, you’re also getting some training and tips to develop more confidence. Those tips might include learning more about your products or services offered or working through multiple practice scenarios with your manager. As you get both training and hands-on experience, you’ll notice your confidence growing.

Confidence is also about knowing what kind of language to use and when. In most situations, the dialogue requires positive language. That’s because positive language helps resolve conflict situations and create a positive lasting impression on your customers. As you become more confident, you’ll find that you’re less focused on having a prepared answer to a question and more focused on listening to your customer. This is critical as the desired caller experience is that each customer feels that he is understood and that his concern is important to you and the company.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, having confidence while speaking on the phone is a critical skill for everyone that interacts with customers. When you sound confident, customers feel that they’re in good hands and generally rate their experience as good. That good customer experience translates into a good business reputation and repeat business.