The conversation cycle | COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING

The conversation cycle (Figure 1 describes in a simple yet effective way the basic structure of many conversations. In particular, its main value is to allow the customer service representative (CSR) to effectively guide the interaction so that the customer feels valued, and the call achieves a satisfactory outcome in a short period of time. The whole conversation should have a balance between speaking and listening so that the customer feels he or she is being listened to and action is being taken.

 
Figure 1: The conversation cycle

It is especially important that the CSR takes responsibility for the conversation because it is less likely that the caller has the same degree of communication skills. If the CSR feels the other person is talking too much, or they are not making themselves clear, or that they don’t understand properly, then it may be the result of the CSR not using his or her communication skills effectively and he or she should recover the situation as quickly as possible:

• Inform: Provide information/explanation so that the other person knows what you are doing or planning to do.
• Invite: Invite the other person into the conversation or encourage them to make a response.
• Listen: Stop talking and actively listen to the other person.
• Acknowledge: Verbally acknowledge what they are saying by using: I appreciate; I understand; ok; I see, etc.

Once the cycle is completed you continue with ‘Inform’ and so the cycle begins once again, eg:

• Inform: ‘Good morning/afternoon/evening, Home Banking, Jane speaking.’
• Invite: ‘How may I help you today?’
• Listen: ‘May I check my account balance, I need to see if I can pay a large bill?’
• Acknowledge: ‘Yes, of course Mrs Jones. Just let me get you the details.’
• Inform: ‘You have £867 in your account.’
• Invite: ‘Would you like me to make a payment for you?’ etc.