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.
voicemail
Why do some voicemail messages result in a return call and others don’t? While there are many reasons, one of the biggest contributors to the unreturned call is the detailed message. The role of a detailed message is threefold: To provide information to someone you already know or are already … Read more
If you own a business or are a team member who communicates with clients, colleagues, and/or prospects, you need to consider the voicemail message they hear when they call you. I know many of you are rolling your eyes right now. Perhaps it’s because you aren’t a fan of the … Read more
At the beginning of September, I attended The AC Group of Independent Accounting Firms Limited conference where I delivered a two-hour presentation. My audience was an energetic group of support staff and administrators. The presentation moved along smoothly, with heads nodding and notes being taken as we delved into a … 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
My husband, David, has an old sailing buddy who is very diligent about staying in touch. He usually calls every weekend to hear how we are doing and share a few stories from his own world. He’s in his 80s now, has some complicated health issues and, while he remains … Read more
In 1990, as the founding partner of a then-struggling communications company, getting up in the morning was tough going. In April of that year, with what seemed like no warning, several economic forces came together and sparked a two-year-long recession. Both provincial and federal debts were at an all-time high, … Read more
This spring has been busy. Steady demand for business communication skills has found me clicking from webinar to webinar, delivering 30-minute, one-hour and sometimes half-day sessions on both sales and customer service. In addition, I’ve enjoyed enlightening, inspiring and productive hours as a coach to both loyal teams and individuals. … Read more
Picture this … it’s mid-July or late August. You call a company or individual for some necessary information. They are on vacation, which is to be expected – especially this summer! What’s unexpected, frustrating and annoying is the voicemail message you reach. The message you reach might: be delivered at … Read more
Even though we’ve all been spending more time having video meetings this year, our global pandemic has also created a bit of a renaissance for phone conversations. The challenge has been – and remains – how to reach people on the phone. Have they returned to the office? Are they … Read more
For many, many years receptionists were an exclusive perk of the upper echelon of the business world. As an employee moved up the “corporate ladder”, they reached a point where someone else started answering their phone. You can witness this in television series and movies (Mad Men, for example, or … Read more
My dad was a great lover of comedy. Born in 1920, he grew up in the era of vaudeville and silent movies (where the piano player sat below the screen at the theatre and played the soundtrack!). I loved it when he shared these memories with me. When I was … 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
With temperatures rising, children finishing school, cottages beckoning, and family visits being organized, there’s no doubt that some of our attention is turning toward summer vacation. As entrepreneurs and independent professionals, we need to give some extra attention to our phone communication. How are we going to make calls, receive … Read more
Sometimes, on the most hectic of days, we find the time to do that something extra that needs to get done, right? I had one of those days a few weeks ago and as I was rushing about to make sure I had everything I needed for meetings and workshops, … Read more
This oft-asked question came up in a workshop earlier this week when discussing how to leave effective voicemail messages: What should we say when the person’s instruction is to “leave a detailed message”? What is a detailed message today? What details should you leave to inspire a return call? With … Read more
Connecting with customers and prospects today, and delivering superior service, is an ongoing challenge. There are so many ways to communicate – social, email, text, phone, and so on. It’s important that we use all the tools available to reach our target markets … not just the ones we enjoy … Read more
When you’re going on vacation: All of us hate reaching lousy voicemail messages. All of us are capable of creating great ones. There are a few basic tactics that will serve your clients and prospects well … while you embrace every second of your well-deserved time off. Here’s my best … Read more
Generational nicknames annoy me. Creating one label for a vast range of people sets all of us up to make incorrect assumptions and communicate ineffectively. Recently though, a client specifically requested I include more information in a workshop on how Millennials use the phone. How do Millennials use the phone? How … Read more
This past weekend my flight to Toronto was cancelled. Not delayed. Cancelled. Staff at the Departure gate announced that we could pick up our luggage and make our way to the customer service desk in Arrivals. As I watched the crowd of passengers from the fully booked flight follow these instructions, I … Read more
Do you recognize this situation? You meet with a potential new client and have a great discussion. They are honest and open about their challenges; you present thoughtful and well-received ideas for possible solutions. They request a proposal and follow up. You deliver the proposal on time and begin to … 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.