How To Speak Professionally On The Phone
For years I was a stay-at-home Mom. You know the type… sweat pants, ponytails, no make-up, and teaching young kids two syllable words. Do not laugh, because good portions of you have also been there. You know what I mean, as soon as our toddlers start to talk, they learn Ma-Ma, Da-Da, ba-ba, boo-boo, Nana, and “bye-bye”. It’s the favorite phrases in all of their baby talk. Then the years go by and your toddler is now a grown man or woman. He becomes a lawyer, policeman, doctor or professional businessman or she becomes a nurse, paralegal, or schoolteacher. And you, well you become a professional too.
Now you are a part of the professional world. You are up at the crack of dawn with the rest of the business world, listening to traffic reports, fighting traffic on the way to work and a quick cup of specialty coffee before the workday begins. Yes, you are part of the professional world. You arrive at work in your professional two-piece suit with your leather briefcase. The guard checks your “professional” ID as you enter your professional building. And you continue through the day with meetings, professional of course, and telephone calls. Then, out of our mouths comes that unprofessional word, “bye-bye”.
I suddenly realized that here I was in this totally professional world saying “bye-bye” at the end of my telephone conversations. How unprofessional! I suddenly became more aware of it as I ended my conversations with this toddler phrase. Then I tried to break this life long habit. I placed sticky notes by the telephone to remind me to close my conversation with “Good Day” or “Good-bye”, to little avail. I was now aware of my closing words, and cringed as the words tumbled so effortlessly out of my mouth at the end of conversations. Slowly, with practice, I learned to close conversations in a more professional manner. Good Day became a normal part of my conversation. I had graduated into the professional adult world. But then…I cringed again as I made those calls and listened. Do you realize that the rest of you all use “bye-bye” too?
