Do This One Thing on Your Next Business Call
Stand during your phone calls, and this includes webinars or Zoom calls. It can be tempting to sit while you take/make calls, preferably at a desk where you can easily access your notes or where you think you will feel most comfortable; however, there are 4 big reasons why sitting during this performance - because let’s face it; you are performing on a business call - is not as effective as standing. If it helps to pretend you're in a phone booth where there's limited potential of standing, then do that. Whatever it takes, stand during your phone calls; read on to find out why!
First, standing rather than sitting during your phone calls, video calls, and webinars positions you to breathe properly, which gives your voice greater strength and clarity. When you stand while speaking, your naturally good posture can now let the air do the work of carrying the sound of your voice as you speak. You are better positioned to fill your diaphragm, not your lungs, while you speak, and it's having air in your diaphragm that will position your words to float on air and carry; it's having air in your diaphragm that will cause your voice to project and sound confident.
Second, when you stand during your business calls and webinars, you are more likely to gesture, which can result in you sounding more comfortable and more confident. However, when you sit for the phone calls, you can feel constrained and confined to that limited space, minimizing the amount of gesturing you would do if you were standing; you may even find yourself squirming in your seat, especially if you're making cold calls, anxiously counting down the minutes until the call ends. Consider this: just as one can “hear” a smile on the phone, one can “hear” gestures, and gesturing while on the phone “shows" your personality and “shows" you are passionate.
Next, standing keeps you from crossing your legs; more importantly, it keeps both your feet on the ground, which makes it possible for you to perform better at answering complex questions. According to body language experts, this has to do with being able easily to go back and forth between the limbic reptilian part of your brain to the neocortex. Having both your feet planted on the floor can help you go between creative thought and highly complex rational thought, and walking helps sync the left and right hemispheres of the brain, making your answers sharper. (I guess there's something to that "thinking on your feet" phrase, right?)
Finally, standing provides a sense of authority; to fully conceptualize this, think of your phone call as a presentation. There is a natural sense of authority that comes with a person who is standing at the front of a room. Now, think about what you relinquish when you sit to give a presentation. If you opt to sit for your call - for your presentation - then you are opting to give up your authority. Claim your authority, and stand for that phone call!
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Did you enjoy this post? Get more communication strategies in Show Up and Show Out: 52 Communication Habits to Make You Unforgettable.
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