The importance of pronunciation in Customer Service (and practical exercises to improve)

Practice, practice, and practice! To really be good at something, you have to make training a routine: pronunciation is one of those basic skills that is often overlooked.

Photo by Cesar La Rosa

Bruce Lee said, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times". Good enunciation is a small step for the Agent, but a big step for the Client.

What happens when an Agent does not have clear pronunciation?  

• The Client may become frustrated and feel that the Agent does not know what they are talking about, or that they are being mocked.
• Lack of credibility and communication problems with colleagues, bosses, and stakeholders.  

Poor enunciation can be the reason for your low performance at work, and you may not have noticed it. I suggest a quick exercise to determine if you have a pronunciation problem, or at least need to improve a bit.  

Record yourself reciting the following phrase out loud:

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice".

I recommend using the opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez because, well, I really like it, but also because it isn’t too long, and it contains words that make it easy to spot mistakes when reading.

Of course, you can use another sentence or text of your choice.

Now go ahead and listen to your own voice. For most people, it’s not a pleasant experience, because we won’t sound like we think we should. Summon your courage, and listen to yourself at least twice to determine how accurate your pronunciation is.

What activities can you do to improve your pronunciation?

• Read. It is a rewarding hobby. However, you should not read just anything. Short stories and novels by classic writers will not betray you when you want to speak better. Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, and Ernesto Sábato are my choices of Spanish-speaking writers. G. K. Chesterton, Stephen King, and Roald Dahl, for English. It is almost miraculous how the habit of reading in the mind then transfers to speaking aloud.
• Practice in front of the mirror. You don't have to do it for hours: 10 minutes a day can make a difference in a month. You can use excerpts from books, or even better, phrases or scripts that are commonly used in your work.
• Imagine difficult conversations with Clients. You can do this exercise together with your colleagues, and practice role-playing. One can be a dissatisfied Client, and the other an efficient Agent. You might feel a little silly at first. It doesn't matter. With enough simulations, success will become reality.

What mistakes are common regarding vocalizing? 

• Shouting doesn't give you greater clarity. 
• Whispering or speaking softly doesn't make you seem cuter. 
• Speaking quickly doesn't make you appear more confident. 
• Speaking slowly doesn't make you look wiser.

To conclude, I advise you to become enthusiasts of theater. For a good performance, actors must have good intonation, projection, and gestures. They do not express themselves only with their mouth, but with their entire body. You don’t have to become an acrobat, but appreciate all parts of your body to convey emotions correctly.

As an extracurricular exercise, watch episode 9 of the fourth season of Seinfeld called "The Opera". It’s very funny, and also very useful to understand what I mean by body projection.

This article is also available in Spanish. Read the Spanish version here.

If you want to improve your skills as a Customer Service Agent, I recommend my article: Learning a second language: one of the most valuable skills in Customer Service.