«Ur-mä-e» – that’s how it sounded on my voicemail, which should have been the name. I listened to the message three times in the hope of guessing the name so that I could address the sender correctly when I called back. Without success. It took me another three attempts to understand the mobile phone number that she wanted me to call her back. But that was not enough.
We finally found each other on the phone and were able to arrange an appointment. I confirmed this in writing after she dictated her e-mail address to me twice – once quickly and once slowly. After a further enquiry on my part regarding the correct spelling, I finally had her full name: Ursula Meyer (name changed).
A double-zero agent would have completed this huge effort with the name in one go: «My name is Meyer, Ursula Meyer with an epsilon.» And only then would she have beaten up or seduced her counterpart and saved the world for a moment – First Things First.
Efficient communication starts small
I am always amazed at how much time I spend asking for information in communication that I expect to receive as a matter of course. Another example is the person with an unusual name: I hope to hear the correct pronunciation when I call. But I must ask more than once. It usually only works if I ask the person to pronounce their first and last name slowly and clearly so that I can memorise the pronunciation and address them correctly in future.
If you’re in a hurry, speak slowly
As a headhunter, I learnt how true the apparent contradiction in the subtitle is: when I really wanted to meet someone, I felt like I was speaking in slow motion on the phone. I would take deliberate pauses so that my contacts had enough time to listen and process, but not enough time to formulate objections. It sounded something like this: «Mrs Müller? – short pause – Hedda Müller?- short pause – do you have a moment – micro pause – my name is Peter Näf – pause – …etc.». Strange? This is how people process what they hear. Because it doesn’t work any faster when listeners are unprepared.
In the early days, I tried to speed things up: I prepared my little presentation and then gave it over the phone: clearly, distinctly, and quickly! An oppressive silence – and then it started: «What exactly is it about? …Where are you calling from?…How did you find me?…And who are you anyway? »
The fast version took more than twice as long as the slow one. Why? Because I had to tell every single piece of information at least twice: once quickly and once slowly. What’s more, my counterparts were annoyed because they had to do all the communicating and ask for the information. Unfortunately, after that they often didn’t want to get to know me personally.
#jobinterview #selfmarketing #personalbranding
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