Communication via phone is still one of the most important and effective means for a business to connect with its clients, even in our modern, email and text-heavy age. It is also nearly an artform, and one that takes a surprising amount of skill, patience, and finesse to pull off effectively. But not to worry—there are very simple guidelines to follow in order to make the most of your phone calls.

Greet and Actively Listen

Every phone call should commence with a simple, straightforward greeting. Properly done, a greeting will set a positive tone for the call going forward. Once your greeting is complete, it’s time to settle into actively listening. Stop anything else that may be distracting you and listen carefully to what the client needs from you. This is the best way to ensure they get what they need from you, and that you have an easier time throughout the remainder of the call.

Communicate Clearly

In the majority of cases, your role as a customer service representative is to be able to provide information, services, or to help resolve issues. In order to be the best that you can be at this, you should strive to understand as much as possible about these things—know what information is relevant to the client, understand what services may benefit them, and know – or have access to a cheat sheet – the most frequently-needed troubleshooting options to handle problems.

Throughout all of this, keep step one in mind: actively listen. Too often calls drag on or become complicated, or heated, because the client either cannot clearly communicate what they need, or the recipient of the call wasn’t listening at a critical moment in the conversation.

Keep Your Tone

One of the greatest challenges to communicating over the phone is the lack of our usual social cues. Neither party can see the other, and so body language and expressions aren’t there to help us gauge how the call is going. This makes your tone of voice – and your ability to be clearly understood – absolutely vital. Speak with as much clarity as you can muster (without coming across as weird or condescending), and use a neutral and light, friendly tone.

A dead tone and clipped speech is a fast-track to a frustrated client, and your own frustration when you need to repeat yourself multiple times in order to be understood.

Bonus Tip: Know When to Refer

Irate consumers, misplaced calls, unreasonable requests—there are countless reasons why a call may begin to exceed your capabilities – or your comfort zone. It does not make you a bad representative if you need to pass on a caller to someone in upper management, or even to someone with more experience than yourself. In fact, it makes you a better representative when you do so.

Being successful in customer service is all about knowing the best solution to a situation, and sometimes the best solution is to simply accept that a situation or call is beyond your ability to handle it easily. When needed, pass it on so that you can handle other calls and so that someone with more sway in the company can take on the tougher call.

Customer service is a vital part of any business. But it can also be taxing, and at times frustrating. Keep these steps in mind, learn from them, practice them, and you’ll soon find that even the tough stuff feels like a breeze!

3 Steps to a Successful Phone Call