Contact center managers have to contend with a relatively high turnover of employees and therefore want to be able to deploy their new 'trainees' as quickly as possible. In most cases, training revolves around being able to apply the right conversation techniques and having efficient product knowledge. As a result of the time pressure on the deployment of agents, voice training is often neglected. And yet the performance can only be heard thanks to the agent's voice.

Text: Debby Mureau

Our nervous system uses only 7 percent for cognitive functions and the rest for motor skills and emotion. So it makes sense that content sticks best when emotion is audible. That is where we largely focus our attention – for the sake of preserving the species. The voice and body functions are the first things we notice in the womb due to external stimuli. The voice triggers our 'primal brain'. We can very well reflect aspects such as urgency, empathy and authority in our voice and these influence the output and lead time of the customer conversation.

Gentle on the relationship, clear in the content

We know that various voice characteristics add urgency to the message. Think of large pitch differences, staccato speech (Rutte applied this when explaining the curfew: 'don't go outside after 9 o'clock') and strongly rounding the intonation downwards. We also know that certain vocal usage is experienced by the listener as empathetic: the connected and fluent pronunciation of words and the use of a comma instead of a period in your sentences. For example, it is important if you want to remain gentle in the relationship, but have a clear message.

Who trains on voice use?

Why is it that these aspects in which agents can make a difference to customers receive little or no training? One of the most obvious reasons is the fact that trainers are not sufficiently aware of all the new developments that are taking place in the field of voice use and its impact within communication. There are speaking techniques that few professional speakers learn about, because they involve innovative knowledge. It would be very effective if agents were also offered this knowledge and techniques, because it affects the results of the conversation and sustainability of the agent's employability. This requires managers and trainers within the industry to set aside time and space for innovation in the field of voice and communication.

Where do you get your knowledge about the voice from?

The question is where managers and trainers get their knowledge and updates when it comes to communication training. In this area, much can be learned from research and developments in the field of human communication and the relationship between the two. During the Dutch Design Week at Eindhoven University, for example, it became clear how much research is currently being conducted in the field of Social Design and communication between AI and humans. But it's not just about gaining knowledge; Translating new knowledge into Evidence Based insights and techniques requires exchange from the industry to specialists and vice versa. For example, Erasmus MC is working on programs that innovate communication within the 'from science to society' programme.

Right now it is interesting to have discussions between different parties about this. Only when trainers, coaches and agents receive continued training based on innovation, will the field professionalize and customers will experience significant added value when they have a real human on the phone.

This is the last column for a while Debby Mureau from a series of six. 

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