Speaker 1
He just said something impressive and you can't see your look of admiration. Try. That was wise of you, or you're no dummy. Of course, you need a big verbal smile in your repertoire. Try. Oh, wow, that's funny. Obviously, you're going to choose phrases that match your personality and the situation. Just make sure your phone listeners hear your emotions. Technique number 60. Talking gestures. Think of yourself as the star of a personal radio drama every time you pick up the phone. If you want to come across as engaging as you are, you must turn your smiles into sound, your nods into noise, and all your gestures into something your listener can hear. You must replace your gestures with talk. Then punch up the whole act, 30%. 61. How to sound close, even if you're hundreds of miles away. When you're not sitting across from each other, resting your elbows on the same desk, your forks on the same table, or your heads on the same pillow, you need a substitute for intimacy. How can you create closeness when the two of you are hundreds of miles apart? How can you make the person you're talking to on the phone feel special when you can't pat their back or give them a little hug? The answer is simple. Just use your caller's name far more often than you would in person. In fact, shower your conversations with his or her name. When your listener hears it, it's like receiving a verbal caress. Thanks, Sam. Let's do it, Betty. Hey, Dimitri, why not? It's really been good talking to you, Kathy. Saying a person's name too often in face-to-face conversation sounds manipulative. However, on the phone, the effect is dramatically different. If you heard someone say your name, even if you were being jostled around in a big noisy crowd, you'd perk up and listen. Likewise, when your phone partner hears his or her own name coming through the receiver, it commands attention and recreates the familiarity the phone robs from you. If your listener is drifting, it brings him right back. If she's opening mail, she stops. If he's picking his teeth, he pulls the pick out. When you say someone's name on the phone, it's like yanking the person into the room with you. Technique number 61. Name shower. People perk up when they hear their own name. Use it more often on the phone than you would in person to keep their attention. Your caller's name recreates the eye contact, the caress you might give in person. Saying someone's name repeatedly when face-to-face sounds pandering, but because there is physical distance between you on the phone, sometimes you're a continent apart. You can spray your conversation with it.