What everyday activities make Gen Z anxious? Mary Jane weighs in on phone anxiety and why conversation skills still matter. Read more.
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Whether we are presenting a proposal to potential clients or troubleshooting on behalf of a customer, it is vital that our language fully supports confidence in our products and services. Recently, I’ve noticed an increase in the use of a two-word phrase with the opposite impact. When used, no matter … Read more
It’s 1994. I’m living in Toronto, and I’ve signed up to volunteer for an after-school literacy program called Reading Partners. Once a week, I’ll spend a couple of hours with eight-year-old Angel. She’s an explosion of energy, incredibly intelligent and more cynical than most adults. Thirty years later, we’re still … Read more
When I officially embraced my alter ego, The Phone Lady, back in 2006, the skills involved in reaching someone on the phone were vastly different than they are today. In fact, if I were still teaching those skills, well, I’d no longer be in business. To stay current, I’ve always … Read more
In the past year, I’ve been a prospect—and ultimately a purchaser—fairly often. I’ve been making some major home repairs, replacing important technology, and interviewing suppliers for things I plan to do in the near future. Throughout each meeting and conversation, my curiosity is fully engaged. My awareness is not only … Read more
One of my full-time obsessions is improving my listening and conversation skills. I enjoy a variety of podcasts and radio broadcasts as a favorite way to do this. In the past year or so, I’ve heard one specific word far too often. Why? Because it’s a word that: diminishes, defames, … Read more
Late on Wednesday afternoon, my business phone rang. Being “The Phone Lady”, I answered it. The person at the other end gave me their name, their company (one of Canada’s large telecoms), and verified my identity. My reply was immediate: “I’ll let you know right away that I’m not currently … Read more
Recently, the number of incoming calls I’m receiving has increased. These are not necessarily scam callers. The majority are coming from local numbers during business hours. Yet no one is leaving a message. This is driving me crazy! Being “The Phone Lady”, I do make it a priority to answer … Read more
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about the word ‘comfortable’. Over 10% of the CEOs and senior executives who responded to the 2024 Report of Phone Communication Trends included this word in their comments. Here are a few examples of how the word was used: “Employees are often … Read more
There’s a quote from a Canadian CEO who participated in my 2024 Report on Phone Communication Trends that I’m continually thinking about: “It can be confusing to understand when to call or text versus email or video calls … . People need help understanding where the phone fits in with … Read more
Over the past 40 days, I’ve been hard at work completing a research project that’s very appropriate for The Phone Lady. It was inspired by a quick conversation last summer with a trusted colleague. We met on our neighbourhood trail in the early morning. Initially, he whizzed by me on … Read more
Following through on an idea, especially one that involves using unfamiliar skills or putting ourselves in the spotlight, is a tremendous challenge. The possibilities of failure, appearing foolish or wasting one’s time all conspire to create doubt and, perhaps, a bit of procrastination. I’m well acquainted with this scenario. These … Read more
I’m currently spending time with an extremely diligent coaching student. Having never received any formal sales training, she reacts to new information and skills by using them immediately. This is a lot of fun. Each week she arrives with great success stories and questions to ask. And she’s also using … Read more
When listening to or reading the news, I’m often overcome by a feeling of helplessness. So many things happening, locally and internationally, are tragic. My brain spins around, grappling for something I can do to make a difference, to make things better. And while I have yet to discover how … Read more
This first week of January found me in a high-energy evening webinar attended by innovators worldwide. Their work includes seeking licensing agreements for their designs and creations. They wanted to learn more about the art and process of following up. Their reactions to my presentation reminded me that following up … Read more
“There is a cognitive cost to shifting your attention from one task to another. When our attention is shifted, there is a “residue” that remains in the brain and impairs our cognitive performance on the new task. Put differently, you may think your attention has fully shifted to the next … Read more
In less than six weeks “The Phone Lady” will be 18 years old. For this, I am both amazed and constantly grateful. In the beginning, the work was all about sales, working with teams and individuals to enhance their phone skills and confidence. Over the years, this expanded to include … Read more
In my previous update on adventures in sales, I shared that I was having lots of positive first conversations with prospects, but was struggling to book follow-up calls for my team. Today I’m excited to share that I’ve now successfully booked my first follow-up calls! These secondary conversations have come about … Read more
Since 2020 the requests I’ve received for customer service training have grown by over 50%. Why? The main reason is the same challenge that’s impacting most industries – too few people with the necessary skills to satisfy customer demand. When creating training experiences for these teams, I approach the work … Read more
This past week the word ‘collaboration’ has been on my mind. It applies to many of the challenges our world is facing today. Where I live, the provincial and municipal governments, which should be vibrant examples of partnership, are tragically miscommunicating about one of our most urgent problems – homelessness. … Read more
This week I’m just over four months into my new sales role and it’s been quite an exciting journey. Of course, not without some bumps along the way! A quick refresher for anyone new to my adventures in sales – I started making my first calls in July with zero … Read more
“So well said! That just blew my mind…” This appeared in Chat recently while delivering the final webinar in my seven-part proactive calling series. It definitely caught me off guard. I get a lot of positive reactions to the skills I share but I think this was the first time … Read more
In the summer before my last year of high school, I landed my first job that involved answering a telephone. It was in the administrative offices of an iron ore mine in Northern Ontario. This was 48 years ago, in 1975. It was a time when there were hard and … Read more
As the long summer days of August come to an end, my new role as a sales development representative with a learning and development company is in full swing. In my previous update, I was excited to have just completed my very first sales call and had a positive conversation … Read more
Long-standing clients are the best gift I receive from being The Phone Lady. Earlier this month I had the privilege of delivering a workshop with an organization that’s trusted me for more than a decade. So fun! As I was wrapping up the customer-service-focused afternoon, the supervising staff member said … Read more
“You’re trying to sell to Fortune 500 companies?? And you’re doing this all by yourself, with NO experience? WOW, I couldn’t imagine being thrown more into the deep end than that!” I was on a call with a sales professional I had connected with after reading his book, and he … Read more
Whether it’s part of your work in sales or customer service, or phone conversations are part of your job search strategy, you want to continually practice the skills for creating a great impression. You also want to know ways to deal with a wide variety of communication hazards, such as … Read more
Summer officially started this past Wednesday. There are very few places in the world as delightful as Atlantic Canada in the summer and I’m aiming to take full advantage. As I was thinking about the time I will spend with family and friends over the next two months, I was … Read more
I’m pleased to introduce you to Tegan Samija. With a series of posts, she’s going to share with us, in real-time, how she navigates learning to sell … everything from picking up the phone, speaking with potential clients and booking meetings. I’m joining her on this journey as her occasional … Read more
Since March 30 I’ve been constantly thinking about an email I received from my dear friend and colleague, Natasha Marchewka. Natasha is definitely one of life’s constant learners and she’ll often send me things she’s discovered. In this case, it was a quote from James Clear, author of the best-selling … Read more
In case you’d like to listen to this blog post, you can enjoy my audio version (I start at the 14 second mark.). – listen here. This past week I answered a call from an unfamiliar number in Ontario. There was a cheerful woman at the other end and the … Read more
To celebrate 20 years of The Phone Lady, we're revisiting what truly makes communication meaningful. Every second week, we'll share a bit of wisdom to remind us that small shifts in how we speak, listen, and connect make a big difference. (You'll also receive access to our Exclusive Resources, including 4 ebooks.)
I've spent 20 years teaching people to communicate. Phone anxiety has never been worse. I see it most often among younger employees entering the workforce, and the issue is more complicated than it seems. Find out more.
Remember party lines? Switchboards? Yellow Pages? The traditional telephone is almost gone, but its cultural impact deserves a ringing endorsement. Mary Jane weighs in.
Bosses and employees are wrestling over whether voice calls have a place in the hybrid era. The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to Mary Jane. Find out more here.
22 Minutes correspondent Brandon Hackett figures out which end is up on this thing called a telephone, with help from The Phone Lady. Watch Telephone Lessons for Millennials.