Market musings

The Phone Call’s Unique Power to Persuade

by Sasha Viasasha
February 24, 2018

A wave of advances in HD Voice, VoLTE and 5G for mobile broadband in New Zealand and Australia seem to herald a new Golden Age of Voice for businesses across the region. That may also explain why a Deloitte survey reported the first increase in the number of voice calls by millennials in four years. Phone calls can move people and solve problems like no other form of communication.

Consider the often repeated stat from Salesforce that 92% of all customer interactions happen over the phone, or the conclusion from LinkedIn that a combination of tech with voice will be a top priority of IT leaders in the year ahead.

Next time you pick up the phone for a business call, try some of the following techniques to be more persuasive and resolve issues faster.  

1 Lower your pitch

No matter where your normal pitch range is, lowering it can subtly indicate confidence to the listener. University of Illinois researcher led by Joey Cheng tested the effect of deeper voices on those listening to arguments. Both men and women were more persuasive to their audiences when they lowered the pitch of their voices.

2 Tell a story

When you are preparing notes on what you want to say, add in some more descriptive metaphors and sensory language, i.e. “she had a velvet voice” instead of just a “she had a pleasing voice.” These words and phrases activate sensory regions of the brain, making the conversation more memorable.

3 Listen more than you talk

Every company is different and so is every customer interaction, but you could be more persuasive but saying less. A recent analysis of data on sales calls revealed that the average sales person spoke 75% of the time and listened only 25% of the time. Sales reps who excelled with better close rates spoke only

4 Close your eyes 

Yale University social psychologist Michael Kraus found that people do a better job of reading emotions of the speaker when they close their eyes and listen closely to the voice. Watching the speaker’s face and body language while listening ends up sending mixed signals to the brain. Kraus concluded, “Listening matters. Actually considering what people are saying and the ways in which they say it can, I believe, lead to improved understanding of others at work or in your personal relationships.”

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Meanwhile, your highly advanced and AI assistant can pick up the phone when you can't and direct callers to individual or group DDIs. 

Add or delete team members in an instant. While they are part of your company, you'll always have an up-to-date contact at your fingers. Spoke Phones smart directory keeps all your business contacts updated and at your fingertips. 


See how it all works by testing out your own free trial or arranging your own interactive demo. Spoke is the smart virtual phone system for a growing business in a mobile world.

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