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.
business processes
In our 2026 Real-Time Business Conversation Index, one respondent shared this insight: “Colleagues have difficulty with tough conversations. I often see my colleagues take things too personally rather than focus on the facts and possible outcomes. As professionals and senior leaders, we need to lead by example and ensure we take … Read more
In our 2026 Real-Time Business Conversation Index, one respondent shared this insight: “Colleagues have difficulty with tough conversations. I often see my colleagues take things too personally rather than focus on the facts and possible outcomes. As professionals and senior leaders, we need to lead by example and ensure we take … Read more
As part of celebrating 20 years of The Phone Lady, we’re revisiting what truly makes communication meaningful, one quote at a time. Each week in 2026, we’ll share a bit of wisdom that reminds us that small shifts in how we speak, listen and connect make a big difference. This … Read more
This past week, I spent the afternoon with a group of energetic business owners. We worked together to design each company’s approach to customer service. One of the reactions that resulted from our work was, as one participant put it, “I’m realizing I don’t know exactly what our clients are … Read more
Here are some statistics that caught my attention this week: Worldwide, 23 billion texts (Forbes 2021) and 333.2 billion emails (Zippia Oct/22) are sent each day. Of those emails, only 18% actually get opened. And we know that “opened” doesn’t automatically indicate “read” – and certainly doesn’t mean a satisfied … Read more
This post is my 500th blog post! I’m amazed. Blogging sparked my curiosity about 10 years ago. When I began to write the stories and bits of advice, I had no clear vision of where I was going or for how long. In the early days, it was an awkward … Read more
Almost every small business owner I’ve worked with starts out keeping track of prospects using a spreadsheet. They carefully choose and set up the columns. Then they add to it weekly, sometimes daily, listing all the people they’ve spoken to and a bit of information about what was discussed. They’ll … Read more
To reach your financial goal, build your business and create consistent revenue, you must embrace persistence. In last week’s post, I used a couple of different dictionaries to create a simple comparison between persistence and pestering and shared with you the value of continuing to reach out to your prospects and … Read more
In our house, CBC Radio is on most of the time. Sometimes I listen intently, sometimes bits of information enter my consciousness while I’m focused on other things. This is what happened on November 28. The Current was on and a panel was discussing the latest revelations about the off-rink … Read more
Welcome to September! While it does have that “fresh start” feeling, it’s important to recognize that, for most of us (depending on your work week and upcoming vacation days), there are approximately 77 days until year-end. January has that “I have a whole year” feeling; September is “crunch time”. You … Read more
This week’s post is from Rosanne Burke, a dementia care consultant, trainer and speaker. She offers dementia training workshops for business owners who want to learn how to make their business dementia-friendly and helps family caregivers feel more confident and competent by creating a personalized caregiving plan. In Canada, seniors … Read more
My life as “The Phone Lady” is filled with amazing moments and opportunities. One of these arrived as a thank you a few months ago from Lee Babin, CEO of Gingerly.ai. It was a one-year, all-access pass to Masterclass, an online learning platform featuring some of the best minds of … Read more
There’s no doubt that it’s great to make a sale. Tons of work and effort go into the moment when a prospect finally becomes a paying customer, so it’s definitely something to celebrate but … what comes next? Do you know? Does it bring value to both you and your … Read more
In April of this year, after doing a podcast about cold calling on SalesTuners with Jim Brown, he thanked me with a one-year subscription to ReadItForMe, which delivers book summaries specifically designed for entrepreneurs, executives and business coaches. I was very pleased; book summaries are something I’ve always wanted to … Read more
Recently The Casper Agency of Saint John, NB sent me a question via Twitter. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be a subject I haven’t featured in this blog. So, without further delay, here’s my best advice for how to answer your business phone. Here’s the question: Do you … Read more
On August 31, Edmonton’s MacEwan University revealed it had sent payments for long-time vendor Clark Builders to a bogus bank account in Montreal. The payments, later transferred to a Hong Kong bank, totalled $11.8 million. How does this happen and why did no one pick up the phone? Staff of … 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.)
Remember party lines? Switchboards? Yellow Pages? The traditional telephone is almost gone, but its cultural impact deserves a ringing endorsement. Mary Jane weighs in.
A fresh phone hell in the office: Younger workers who don’t say hello when they answer a call need to know it’s a problem. Mary Jane weighs in on generational phone challenges - read here.
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.