Slow Down, Already!

How do we transfer stress in a conversation?

Here is a clue that the person you are talking to is stressed out: they speak so fast you would think they are late to catch a plane. I see this happen in practice sessions where nervous salespeople race through their dialogue, but it happens a great deal in the typical sales office conversation as well. We get a little stressed and we sound like we are the sales version of a hyped-up Jack Russell Terrier.

The problem here is that stress is transferable (or do you not recall the stress around the entire household when your mother was having a bad day?). Your customers will pick up on your stress level and adopt it as their own. Nothing good happens from that. Stress makes it far more difficult for the customer to make a decision.

If you’re not sure about your own tempo, I highly recommend tape-recording your practice sessions. Self-evaluating your tempo on the fly is actually quite difficult, but the recording is undeniable.

If you suspect you’re speaking at a jackrabbit pace, try this very simple technique: practice speaking at what you think is 50% of normal. You’ll be surprised – I’ve seen salespeople in training sessions that I instruct to speak at 50% of what feels normal, only to find that their pace is perfect.

If your natural tempo is very fast it is almost impossible to overcorrect. Exaggerating your correction efforts might be your best exercise.

One other thing – consider asking those close to you for their opinion. This is the type of issue that is most difficult to self-diagnose.

Get people to calm down…and you’ll change their world!