The rise of the smartphone has changed the way we work, live and socialise. Before smartphones existed, people had to use more ‘traditional’ lines of communication – face to face conversation and phone calls – which may be hard to imagine for millennials and generation X-ers.
The rise of the smartphone means there are now lots of communication options available at our fingertips. Snapchat, WhatsApp, iMessage (and many more) can be accessed instantly, whenever and wherever we like.
This has led to an evolution in the way we use our devices. Rather than picking up the phone for a chat with our nearest and dearest, or meeting at the pub for a catch up, we can communicate quickly and easily through our screens. No need to speak, we can just as easily type!
But this means we’ve lost a lot of the value that comes from speaking with others. Firstly, it takes all the tone and emotion out of what we’re saying. Have you ever sent a text message and the other person has totally misread what you were trying to say? Or have you read something thinking someone was being blunt, but in reality, they were just in a rush? Has a simple typo completely changed how a message was perceived?
This is why tone of voice and emotion are vital when it comes to communication. It can transform how a message is given and received. Speaking gives us the opportunity to make the other person feel valued, better explain our point and tailor what we say to suit how the other person is feeling. It lets us connect on a deeper level.
Hearing is also the quickest sense we have. ‘The human body can hear faster than it can see, taste, smell, or feel… Once a sound wave reaches your ear, your brain can recognise it in just 0.05 seconds. That’s ten times faster than the blink of an eye!’ For this reason, speaking on the phone is much more efficient than via an app, as we can exchange and process information much faster.
Not only is speaking important for our social lives, it’s also important for businesses too. A report states that a call is usually better than a click when it comes to securing customers. ‘Calls have 30-50% conversion rates while clicks top out at 1-2%.’ Most of these calls are results of mobile searches, meaning online marketing has a direct impact on the calls consumers are making. Tracking these phone calls from potential customers is invaluable to determine which marketing strategies are worth investing in. Mediahawk‘s speech analytics feature goes one step further – improving service when the customer is actually on the phone by categorising spoken keywords to streamline the phone call, and determine leads for sales calls.
So, if you’re guilty of being a keyboard warrior, try ditching the screen and make a call, instead. You’re sure to gain much more from your conversation!
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Contributed content
Founder Dinis Guarda
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