You can't say that! How to mind your Manners...

It's Take the Lead Edition 19 - Minding your manners in Business Conversations

Picking up the phone can conjure up awkward and rude responses from those you are calling. We can read headlines from regulatory bodies around misconduct from certain industries. Bu this is only around 1% out of the rest who do follow best practice in relation to outreach going on.

Thank you to the 4996 people joining us, who all know being curious about conversations that count in business makes them unique to me; together we will 'Find & Speak'.

Please share this with all the lovely people in your network you feel will be inspired to take action for themselves. Sharing really is caring.

Minding your manners is a two way street.

That first awkward experience of bad manners is usually relating to a conversation we've had where we felt the injured party and are on the receiving end.

You notice it instantly when you're bombarded with a torrent of words. They don't take a breath and you're not even the right person to speak to. Before they ask you 'would you like to go ahead?'. Crazy, right?!

We all know how we want to be spoken to, don't we? How we speak to others.

Why are people being taught the opposite? Where has this idea that spewing a rehearsed few sentences is going to wow people over?

Our responsibility is to be respectful of others.

For many reasons. Their time. Their experience. Their knowledge.

Cold outreach, as I've mentioned before, is to qualify and disqualify a potential match.

This means we can not assume anything and we must respect them through genuine probing questioning that holds them at the heart of the conversation.

A point to be mindful of is when you do reach someone who is having a bad day they do not mean to be rude, ordinarily. Your timing is likely to be bad not their manners.

Show your respect and it will be returned.

As sentient beings we all have the ability to know when to push and when to stop.

Our ears are a sensitive tool that link closely with the brain and it's past experiences. They are also very cleverly hooked up to our ethereal instinct. The knack is to learn which one is responding.

Using these senses on the telephone can be tricky but don't worry I am here to help. After nearly 2 million calls, I can tell you it takes practice and it does become natural behaviour.

Our business conversation with this week is with...yes, you guessed it a Manners coach, Kristi Spencer. We share similar values in how we communicate in business as I teach in my telemarketing training.

Being Polite has become her business, literally! The Polite Company works with businesses and people to apply etiquette in their daily lives.

This could not be any further from her career as a journalist which you can only imagine the manners deployed there.

Sometimes it's the simple things that can have the biggest impact when you make a small change. I do hope you'll take away some valuable insight into your own world to make your life a well mannered experience.

Here's the bullet points of what you'll learn:

• Who is Kristi and what does she do? The three principles of professional etiquette (1m12s)
• How has online working changed professional etiquette? (7m26s)
• How Kristi helps people in business (10m45s)
• The one thing entrepreneurs can do, today! (23m31s)
• Kristi’s conversation that counts (30m09s)

"You never know who you're going to offend. It's just never okay. And it's really a good practice for people to get in to just not just don't say those words...."

You can tune in following this link to choose the player of your choice. Be sure to Follow the show and you'll be notified when Neal, the producer, and I do a little bonus content every Sunday when we carry on the Conversation.

THANKS A BUNCH FOR READING, SHARING, LISTENING AND SUPPORTING!

Remember, you never know where a conversation will lead...it's up to you to take the lead.

Stay Curious, Find & Speak Soon,

WendyWoo

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Who are you WendyWoo?

Listen to Wendy's story, recorded to mark 6 months of podcasting in April 2021. Wendy opens up about how she started in business and how she loves helping others start conversations.

"Don't let worry get in the way of your business building new relationships with customers."?

With 34 years doing for others, 17 of those years running her own business, she's started approx. 2 million conversations, helped 1000's of people through her training sessions and lined up ￡￡￡'s.?

Now, if you fancy a?ChinWAG?to explore how she can help you, please use the diary link.

Take a look at her?Book, a best seller on Amazon, how to sell over the phone that shows you how to make a start.

Have a dig around and find out more on her?website?along with free tips, downloads and ways to work with Wendy.

NEXT TIME ON TAKE THE LEAD...WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT!