Agent support manual

Active listening and empathy

Most people can hear, but not many are good listeners who show their interest in what other people have to say.

Good listening skills are vital in helping you to interpret your customer's responses and identify their needs.

Empathy involves looking at a situation from the other person's point of view and trying to understand how a situation is affecting them.

Your ability to listen to, and empathise with, your customers is very important when it comes to building a relationship with them. Customers will return to do business with an organisation if they feel that you:

• care about the issues that are important to them bullet point.

• listen to what they are saying , bullet point.

• pay attention to their point of view , bullet point.

• will try and resolve any problems.

You can demonstrate active listening by: bullet point.

• Making sure that you understand what the customer is saying.
  "I'm sorry, would you mind repeating that please." , bullet point.

• Summarising or paraphrasing what the customer is saying.
  "So you would like to order four red roses to be delivered to...." , bullet point.

• Using verbal encouragers.
  "mm", "of course", "yes" , bullet point.

• Encouraging the customer to provide more information.
  "You mentioned that you are looking for a flowering tree suitable for local conditions. Will it be growing in full sun?" , bullet point.

• Staying focussed on the conversation., bullet point.

• Remaining calm.

You can show empathy by: bullet point.

• Listening with your heart as well as your head., bullet point.

• Showing an understanding of how the customer feels.
  "I can appreciate how you must be feeling." , bullet point.

• Apologising, without taking the blame.
  "I'm sorry, the delay in delivery must be very frustrating." , bullet point.

• Finding acceptable ways to resolve problems. , bullet point.

• Using a warm and friendly voice. , bullet point.

• Sounding sincere.

It is worth taking the time to practise and use active listening and empathy. Your customers will feel valued and more at ease when talking with you, and will be more likely to return to the company to do more business.

Barriers to active listening and empathy can include: bullet point.

• Rehearsing or going over in your mind what you are going to say next, when you should be listening to the customer., bullet point.

• Interpreting what the customer is saying in light of your own experiences. , bullet point.

• Not listening carefully to information that you don't find interesting. , bullet point.

• Jumping to conclusions, rather than actually listening to what is being said. , bullet point.

• Interrupting the customer, perhaps preventing them from getting their message across to you. , bullet point.

• Daydreaming. , bullet point.

• Listening to other conversations nearby or loud music.

By avoiding these barriers and treating your customers with respect, you will find that problems are more easily resolved and fewer of them will turn into complaints.

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