ENSURING THAT YOUR CLIENTS HAVE AIR TIME DURING VIDEO AND PHONE CALLS

By: Copie Harris & Carla ávila

Presenting your authentic self while physical distancing: how can you make sure that your client gets air time? This article focuses on how to open a true dialogue with your clients and prospective clients.

For many years, our clients have been complaining that they feel that they’re talking too much in meetings (and in fact, research indicates that you may be right about that). In today’s COVID19 world, this tendency to dominate rather than participate in a meeting is exacerbated. 

With Zoom and other video calls, as well as conference calls, we’re robbed of some of the non-verbal feedback that helps us know when our client wants to speak–not to mention the distraction of seeing our own face on the video screen. How can you ensure that your client will speak–and better yet, will speak first, before you do what one of our clients very colorfully calls “vomiting all over the page?!”

As always, we’ll remind you that reading an article about verbal and non-verbal skills, while helpful, is akin to reading an article about improving your tennis or golf game and expecting to play better right away. Call us at +1-508-259-7496 or email us at [email protected] to set up a conference call or video practice session.  And a note: the webcast that accompanies this article was recorded before the coronavirus pandemic. The tips we outline in the webcast are very relevant to what some people think of as today’s new “normal.”

Tip #1: Use a dialogue opener at the very beginning of your meeting–DON’T ask questions, even good ones

The dialogue opener is an open-ended invitation, not a question. A dialogue opener has three parts, in this order: Readiness, Invitation, Benefit. We believe that your meeting preparation should always include crafting and rehearsing your opener. Here’s an ideal opener: we’ve identified which part of the three-part opener we’re illustrating– Readiness “Since our conversation yesterday, when you asked me to present to you today, I’ve been working on pulling together material for you and I’m ready to share it with you.” Invitation “Before I begin, I’d like to check in with you and hear what’s uppermost in your mind today, (Benefit) so that we can make sure that we start with what’s most important to you.”  

Open-ended questions, by the way, are super, and they have a well-deserved place in your meeting. We’re simply recommending that you save them for a bit later in your meeting.

When Carla and Copie prepare for a meeting, they always fill in a page that they’ve prepared in advance and that looks like this:

Readiness

Invitation

Benefit

This prevents us from forgetting a step. We also don’t leave much room for each step, because we don’t want the opener to morph into something else. See Tip#2!

Tip #2: Make it brief  

The opener should take all of 20 to 40 seconds. Rehearse your opener and time yourself. If it’s taking you longer than a minute to speak your opener, you might be starting to pitch or to bring in background information that’s best left for later. A note about brevity: during conference and video calls, we suggest that you try something new: try setting your phone into stopwatch mode. Start it when you speak, stop it when you stop, and start it when your client speaks. Make note of how long each person speaks. We recommend that your client speaks for at least 70% of each meeting.  

Tip #3: Listen actively and take notes whenever your client speaks

Listen actively after your opener: most importantly, make sure that you reflect what your client says–don’t just say, “GOOD,” and then move on rapidly to your own agenda. One way to ensure that your client knows that you’re listening is to use verbal signposts such as, “what I hear you saying is…” or “If I understand you correctly, you’re saying….” The dots are for you to fill in with your client’s exact words, without spin.

We will be publishing an article specifically about this.

Tip #4: Use openers throughout the meeting 

Dialogue openers are not just for opening the meeting! They’re an extremely effective way to ensure that your client can give you his or her feedback throughout the meeting. We guarantee that if you start to use these openers frequently, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much your clients are willing to share with you.

Tip #5: Remember that your goal is to truly connect with your client–not to overwhelm

In this context, silence is NOT golden! When your client is silent, you’re actually in the dark. You’re in the dark about their reaction, their perspective, their priorities. When you’re speaking and you feel that you’re “on a roll,” the chances are that you’ve actually gotten carried away, and you might have even lost your client’s attention.  

Summary: Dialogue openers ensure that your client gets “air time,” both at the beginning and throughout your meetings. Especially on conference or video calls, giving your client time and space to participate is crucial. A dialogue opener is a structured opener that you can tailor for each meeting, so that you can truly connect with your clients. 

What better way to create that Magicticity? To reach out to us and give us your feedback, to learn more or to work with us, please email us at [email protected]. We look forward to engaging with you on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. If you find our articles and media useful, we encourage you to write a comment and share with others who might also find them useful.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Magicticity/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Magicticity1

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsDNl87252qngIFI7zxB2Hw/

LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/35527964/

Website: https://magicticity.com

And don’t forget to listen to our podcasts on

Libsyn: https://magicticity.libsyn.com/

iTunes: https://podcast.apple.com/us/podcast/magicticity/id1468278518

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/tyksb91qnrbq7ghbvy2zahjjb