The Art of Verbal Communication: A Dying Practice

Who still dares to pick up the phone?

Phone anxiety: an underestimated struggle

What if picking up the phone to call a customer was one of the most challenging professional practices for some employees? Not a week goes by without a business or department leader mentioning to me the resistance of their teams to calling customers (or even internal clients). Not just dissatisfied customers, but customers in general! Why this reluctance? Perhaps because written communication is reassuring: you send your message, you protect yourself and above all, you avoid the customer’s immediate reaction and emotions. Writing becomes a refuge, a shield against conflict and emotion.

Why is the phone becoming a challenge?

We are probably facing a major sociological phenomenon whose contours and causes we have yet to fully understand. Is it due to post-COVID relational withdrawal? The effect of remote work and social distancing? Bureaucratization and reporting? Or perhaps open-plan offices? Or even a generational effect?

Verbal communication: a rare skill of tomorrow

I will wager that tomorrow, the ability to make phone calls (particularly to customers) and to prioritize verbal communication will be rare and highly valued. In a world of written messages on smartphones and “social distancing”, favoring verbal communication will become a major soft skill! Those who enjoy calling, exchanging and experiencing relational emotions will have a considerable advantage.

Why?

Because they master emotions and therefore a certain form of relational maturity, precious qualities in the face of the mass of employees who prefer to remain behind the distance of emails and messages.

Customer culture: putting people at the center

Customer culture is not limited to responsiveness or tools: it relies on verbal communication, direct listening, empathy and human connection.

In customer relations centers, verbal communication is recognized as more effective and more satisfying for the customer. So, why not make it standard practice across all companies? So, let us all pick up our phones and call each other!