Sherry was sitting in the lobby, waiting to be called back for her appointment. Just off the lobby was an office that Sherry was sitting near. The person in the office was on a phone call, but Sherry couldn’t see the employee. She could tell it was a call because Sherry could hear only one voice.
The words of the employee were not clear because of the distance, and Sherry wasn’t the nosy type, so she didn’t listen too closely. Yet, the call was interesting. The employee was interesting. Sherry’s perceptions were interesting.
All Sherry could discern was the tone of the employee’s voice. But the tone was positive. There were occasional laughs. It wasn’t non-stop talking or non-stop silence. Sherry could tell there was a good flow to the conversation. The employee’s tone seemed to fluctuate, but it never got too loud.
Sherry began to draw conclusions from what she heard: The employee seems pleasant, seems like a good listener. They’re polite and have a good sense of humor. The employee’s definitely interested in hearing what the other person has to say. They’re not reading a script; instead, the employee is very conversational.
Who knows if Sherry’s conclusions are correct. But it’s what Sherry perceived about the employee, felt about the employee. And those conclusions, perceptions, and feelings were based solely on the employee’s tone-of-voice.
We often cite the statistic that studies have shown that – on phone calls…
86% of what one person perceives about the other’s personality is based on that person’s tone-of-voice.
Only 14% is based on the actual words.
Believe the stats. When talking with others, keep in mind that the customer can hear your attitude through your voice.
Let your tone convey the perception of you that you hope to create.
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