The one thing that's king and core to your communication skills

I recently replaced a relic of an old phone. And spoke with someone who’s customer care and communication skills were off the charts. But it was one thing that he did which really impressed me.

And it’s a skill that goes a long way in developing rapport and trust with others. And we all love it when someone uses this skill with us.

Here’s what he did.

But first - here are some comments I’d received about my phone.

“It’s a dinosaur.”

“It’s a relic.”

“It’s HOW old?”

I bought my phone 5 years ago. And the model was 2 years old, then. And yes, it still worked.

Pretty damn well.

But there was stuff it couldn’t do.

Like cook spaghetti alle vongole, run a bubble bath and serenade me in Spanish.

And there was one thing that meant I needed a new phone right now. And that was be able to download certain apps that I needed for official reasons to prove who I was.

So, off I went to the shop to buy a new one.

My very first iPhone.

I was in there for some time and the man in his early twenties who was serving me was attentive and thoughtful.

I asked questions.

He answered them.

Forms were filled in.

And there was lots of clicking with lots of screens getting completed.

I did not have to show my birth certificate but I reckon that was the only thing I didn’t need to do.

VERY communication heavy.

The young guy serving me knew his stuff.

I was glad he was serving me.

And although it was a longer experience than I thought it was pleasant.

And my favourite thing? The thing that made it really nice?

That he was kind.

Kind.

What does kindness look like?

Well, to me, it was that he explained things in different ways, if I looked confused. He patiently answered my questions.

He looked me in the eye. Smiled. There was the odd joke.

And although to me this was taking a long time, he made me feel like, to him, it was no sweat.

He was happy to be of service and met me where I was in terms of my knowledge of all things mobile phones. Which turned out to be quite a bit less than him!

Kindness.

It’s the eight letter word that makes all the difference.

The shop sent me an email to ask how I’d rate my trip to their shop and the level of customer service I received.

And he got a stellar review from me. I would have given him 11/10 if I could.

How would you rate your kindness skills when you’re dealing with colleagues and clients?

What would they say if I asked them?

Where would you score on a scale of 1 - 10?

If you’re looking to grow your communication skills and get stellar reviews and comments from those you work with, drop me a line and we can started on getting you seen, heard and valued for all the right reasons.