The Phone Lady's Blog

listening skills

The Beginning of the End of Voice Mail?

By Mary Jane Copps | June 7, 2015

This past week I was delighted to hear from Daniel Huang, a Wall Street Journal reporter covering the banking sector, and honoured to be included in his report on the elimination of voice mail by several major U.S. banks. Coca Cola made the same move … Read more

#1 Reason to Choose a Phone Conversation

By Mary Jane Copps | May 10, 2015

Great conversations require both active listening and thoughtful response. In public settings, such as networking events, awards dinners, even a crowded pub or restaurant, I often fail at this task. Why? Well, it’s about distraction. The word “distraction” first appeared in the 15th century and … Read more

What If You Were Honoured?

By Mary Jane Copps | April 19, 2015

Imagine you are at a large business event and the person closest to you politely begins a conversation. They are familiar with your company and your industry and express genuine interest in the work you are doing. Not only that, they ask intelligent questions and … Read more

The Price of Arrogance

By Mary Jane Copps | April 5, 2015

I’m no stranger to arrogance . . . and neither are you. All of us, from time to time, believe we know better, have “the” answer, are smarter or more important. It ‘s human nature for our ego to occasionally take over in this way. … Read more

Fun … and Productive!

By Mary Jane Copps | March 14, 2015

I want to share with you one of the highlights of my week. Actually, let me revise that – one of the highlights of my career as The Phone Lady. The past few years have revealed that many young people (I’ll say those under 30) … Read more

Expose Your Assumptions

By Mary Jane Copps | March 8, 2015

My husband is my most valuable teacher. While the lessons can sometimes be contentious and uncomfortable, they always provide me with new insight and important knowledge about myself and human nature in general. Such is the case with assumptions. For many years, any time we were in … Read more

Not Only Words, But Nuance

By Mary Jane Copps | November 3, 2013

The most powerful gift of phone communication is – nuance. Coming from the French “nuer”, meaning to shade, nuance is about subtle differences in tone, in colour, in meaning – the differences that, when we hear them, allow us to truly serve our customers and … Read more

The Sound of Insincerity

By Mary Jane Copps | September 16, 2013

All of us rely on each of our senses to provide us with data, information that helps us make decisions and allows us to communicate effectively with others. It is logical that when one of our senses is unavailable to us, we feel disoriented and … Read more

21 Words of Wisdom

By Mary Jane Copps | August 25, 2013

This quote, by Henry David Thoreau, came across my desk this week: The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer. There’s a lot of wisdom in these 21 words. Asking our customers … Read more

Talk Less to Listen More

By Mary Jane Copps | June 16, 2013

If I had to choose my #1 Most Irritating Communication Habit it would be … not listening! I’m sure you’ve experienced it. You’ve enthusiastically shared a story or provided information; you finish and wait expectantly for reaction or input. Instead, when the person speaks, their … Read more

Silence Means You’re Listening

By Mary Jane Copps | September 9, 2012

Part of my Saturday morning was spent with the friendly, energetic woman of lia sophia. I want to thank them for a great Phone Lady power hour – they truly dedicated themselves to learning – while having fun. Special thanks go to Independent Advisor and … Read more