By Nancy Friedman, Customer Service Keynote Speaker; President of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training

When I do webinars, I like to get questions ahead of time if I can.

Requesting questions ahead of time from the attendees is a lot of fun and we’re also answering what’s on their minds. Recently, we received the question below: It was timely and relevant, and I wanted to share it so you all can have the information as well – and share it.

Hi Nancy: My question revolves around how my voice sounds on the telephone. I have recorded messages over and over and I can’t get that happy sound to come across as being natural and genuine. I do want my customers to know that the voice they are hearing belongs to me. So, my question is, what can I do to improve my voice quality? Thank you and I look forward to learning at your webinar.

TONE OF VOICE has come up several times recently. Which says to me there are other folks talking and thinking about this as well. One of the biggest complaints I hear is, “She/he didn’t sound happy, friendly, or eager to help.”

The short and easy answer to improve your tone of voice is: SMILE!

The LONG answer is: When you’re not smiling you can come across as cold, rude, uninterested, unfriendly, unhappy and just plain bad. Would you want to talk with anyone like that?

Sadly, many people don’t smile when they’re on the phone. They think they’re smiling, but they’re not. And there are those who say and think, “Well, you can’t tell if I’m smiling or not.” Ah, yes, but we can.

A phony smile is better than a real frown works wonders on the phone. (Face-to-face too.)

You simply need to put a SMILE on your face, show your teeth, then TALK. EASY! (By the way, those who don’t show their teeth when they smile are simply grinning.)

At your desk or on your cell, putting on a BIG FAT SMILE and talking is very effective. The caller can hear it. YES – YES – YES they can! And it’s so much nicer to talk with someone who’s smiling rather than someone who’s not. We know in person you look better when you smile and on the phone you sound better. Ever wonder why we say “CHEESE” when we’re taking your picture? To get you to SMILE. End of subject.

We have suggested keeping a mirror on your desk to be sure you’re smiling. And there are those that do just that as a reminder to smile.

It boggles my mind when something is so simple and people don’t do it. Smiling is simple, easy, free and EVERYONE can do it. National SMILE day is coming. You want to be prepared, don’t you?