Elevate Your Company Blog

It’s no secret that non-verbal communication, or body language, speaks volumes when making a first impression. Years ago, Professor Albert Mehrabian came up with the now famous 7 percent rule. He said:

No one wants to find themselves in an escalation. In the bestselling book, Crucial Conversations, the authors teach us that many times we step into an emotionally-charged situation full of positive intent. Unfortunately, others involved in the same situation aren’t feeling as positive. The bad news is, this is a typical part of doing business.

Smile! I know that may sound simple but you may not know that a simple smile can make a very big impact.

We’ve all heard the saying that “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.” But how long do you think it takes for someone to form a first impression of you? An hour? A minute? Maybe just a few seconds?

Think about the last time you were invited to a business meeting. How did you feel? If you’re like a lot of people, your immediate thought might be that the meeting is going to be a waste of time, you may complain to your colleagues and expect to be bored.

The third commitment to customer service is execution, or what we do. 

The second commitment to customer service is communication, or what we say. It’s estimated that over half of all IT projects fail at some point. Many think this is because of poor planning, inadequate technology, minimal funding or lack of resources. These factors could be the case in a small segment of failures but in my experience, most IT projects fail due to a lack of soft skills; and more specifically the lack of communication skills among highly technical people. To execute affectively and achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction, IT professionals must master the art of communication.