Overview

Effective use of the telephone is a highly appropriate topic for the drama-based training approach. This programme makes full use of an expert trainer working alongside two actor/facilitators to deliver a very interactive, fun, high energy day. It is carefully structured to ensure an optimum balance between theory and practice – between listening, watching and doing.

Learning objectives

Dramatic telephone skills training programme will help your people:

• Develop an increased awareness of the way in which the medium affects the message – how quality of voice and the dynamics of telephone calls affect communication and understanding
• Reveal and sharpen their sensory skills, enabling them to accurately ‘read’ customers over the phone and adapt their behaviour accordingly
• Understand and apply a model appropriate to all telephone calls
• Improve their listening and questioning skills to help them achieve the objectives of their calls (whether inward- or outward-bound)
• Learn through practice, practice, practice!

Audience

All staff who have to deal with people on the telephone – whether those people are customers or colleagues, whether those calls are inward- or outward-bound, whether their responsibilities are in sales, customer service or other functions.

Format

The workshop combines a series of drama-based telephone communication exercises, with powerful forum theatre technique and one-to-one skills practice sessions with every participant. To ensure an appropriate level of interaction, the programme is limited to 12 participants. With your organization’s own language and examples injected into the day, participants will be challenged to perform and find a gold standard level of telephone performance.

Special features

This programme can be tailored to your specific requirements. The dramatic scenarios will all be specially adapted to you anyway, but the programme can also be given a slant toward, eg, sales or customer service, inward- or outward-bound calls as appropriate. The programme can also be run in a half-day format, twice on the same day. In that way, you put up to 24 people through a uniquely effective and enjoyable learning experience that is guaranteed to improve their performance.

The expert trainer and actors

To be announced.

Workshop outline

1 Curtain up!

• Welcome to the programme
• Aims and objectives
• Learning diary / action plan

2 The warm-up

• Exploring how you sound on the phone:– Voice– Breath– Pitch– Tone– Pace– Power

3 Previews

• Understanding the dynamics of telephone calls
• The medium and the message – how the way you sound affects how people understand you
• Introducing the call control model– Opening– Message (yours or theirs)– Response– Close

4 Communicating with your audience – the call control model techniques

• Opening– Greetings– Names– Establishing rapport
• Message– Differences between inward- and outward-bound calls– Questioning– Listening– Testing understanding
• Response– Discussing options– Agreeing solution / action– Providing information– Managing expectations
• Close– Summarise– Confirm details / next actions– Thank / names

5 The second night blues – handling challenging calls

• We love problems!
• Making it G..Great FUN!
• Entertaining Forum Theatre sketch presenting a typical example of a challenging call. Participants watch and then dissect the action, challenging the characters to remould the scene into a successful customer-focused outcome.

6 The dress rehearsal – review of morning(5 mins)

• Review of key points
• Learning diary / action plan

7 An award-winning show, Act 1

• Participants put learning in to practice with one-to-one role-plays
• Each scenario followed by feedback, relating to:– Listening skills– Use of open questions– Use of silence– Body language (yes – even on the phone!)– Vocal tone– Solutions based content

8 An award-winning show, Act 29 The curtain call

• Group discussion