88-Year-Old Advice for Building Better Contact Center CX

Dale Carnegie was born in 1888 in Missouri, the second son of a poor farming family. As a student, he was drawn to public speaking and debate.

After college, his first sales jobs included selling correspondence courses to ranchers and becoming a top mover of bacon, soap and lard for the Chicago-based Armour and Company. 

When his pursuit of an acting career in New York City didn’t pan out, he found an outlet teaching public speaking classes at the YMCA on 125th Street. The classes gained popularity, leading Carnegie to develop his own courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, and corporate training.

By 1936, Carnegie compiled his insights and experiences into How to Win Friends and Influence People, a book designed to help people improve their social skills, communication, and interpersonal relationships. The book was an instant success, resonating with readers for its practical advice and timeless principles. It became one of the biggest bestsellers of all time (30 million copies worldwide) and solidified Carnegie's reputation as a pioneer in self-help and personal development. If you pick up a copy now, it might be hard to figure how its early 20th century lessons apply to our complex world of digital automation and multimodal AI.

But the advice given in How to Win Friends and Influence People has withstood the test of time, 88 years to be exact, and after revisiting some of the book’s key points, it’s clear that Carnegie may have unwittingly created the ultimate guide for training highly successful contact center agents. Here are five highlights from Carnegie’s classic, with some studies and stats to show that, when it came to promoting a more personal way of working, the author knew what he was talking about.

Show genuine interest in others.

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” The key word here is genuine. Customers can sense when the people they call are just going through the motions or even mildly distracted. But agents can let customers know they understand how they feel by remembering simple empathy techniques like summarizing what the customer says, validating customer concerns or sharing a similar experience to build trust. Empathy enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Research from the Journal of Service Research shows that empathetic interactions lead to higher customer satisfaction and fosters loyalty as customers feel understood and valued. Empathy improves conflict resolution. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, empathy helps in de-escalating conflicts, leading to quicker and more satisfactory resolutions.

Smile.

Smiling, even on a phone call, can positively impact the conversation because it changes the speaker's tone of voice, making it sound warmer and friendlier. Neurologically, smiles activate our brain’s orbitofrontal cortex, responsible for sensory integration and decision-making. This activation often leads to a positive emotional response, making interactions more amiable. Smiling reduces stress. Smiling triggers the release of endorphins, reducing stress and creating a more positive atmosphere. This positivity is conveyed through vocal cues, leading to better rapport and a more pleasant interaction with the person on the other end of the line.

Smiling builds trust. Smiling sends a message of approachability, which builds trust and makes the conversation more engaging. Early humans used smiles to indicate non-hostility and turning your frown upside down did wonders to build stronger bonds within groups. It still does.

Call people by name.

“The average person is more interested in her own name than in all the other names on earth put together.” Calling people by their name has a powerful psychological effect. It validates their identity, making them feel recognized and valued. Adding this seemingly small personal touch in conversation can enhance trust and rapport. Hearing our name triggers positive emotions, which can lead to increased openness and cooperation. In a customer service context, using someone's name can make the interaction feel more personalized and attentive, contributing to a more satisfying and engaging experience for the customer.

Names activate the brain. A study by the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London found that hearing one's own name activates specific areas of the brain, including the medial prefrontal cortex, a region in the brain's frontal lobe that plays a crucial role in various higher cognitive functions, including social cognition, decision making and emotional regulation.  This activation can enhance a person's sense of self and importance.

Names foster stronger social bonds. Research published in the journal Memory demonstrated that using a person's name in conversation can enhance feelings of trust and cooperation. It personalizes the interaction and strengthens social bonds, making people more likely to engage positively, remember the interaction favorably, and recommend it to others.

Listen actively.

“The only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.”The contact center environment can be chaotic. Peak times can pose a challenge to even the most seasoned agent. And even though more reps are engaging remotely, we’re all aware that working from home presents its own kinds of distractions and challenges. 

Active listening isn’t always easy because it requires undivided attention in the moment. It requires asking questions, not interrupting and processing all the verbal and non-verbal cues available. But when leveraged, active listening can be one of the most effective tools in the customer service arsenal. Active listening improves comprehension and retention. Studies published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, show that active listening enhances understanding and memory retention. This is because it involves fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and then remembering what is being said.

Active listening enhances relationship quality. Research in the International Journal of Listening indicates that active listening improves relationship satisfaction by making individuals feel valued and understood, fostering trust and emotional bonds. Active listening reduces conflict. A study from the Journal of Applied Psychology found that active listening helps in reducing misunderstandings and conflicts by ensuring all parties feel heard and validated, leading to more effective conflict resolution.

Make the other person feel important.

“You can make more friends in two months by being interested in them, than in two years by making them interested in you.” Few people call customer service when things are going great. Most calls come because something has gone wrong. The people on the other end of the phone are less than thrilled and likely frustrated or downright angry.