“YOU NATURALLY GIVE a lot of dominance cues.”
“Thanks?” I reply, uncertain if this is a good thing. “Oh, it is great!” Jenn Denham, Chief Growth Officer at Aloha, reassures me in the hotel bar at SECO. I had no idea this conversation was going to consume me for over a year. I see her excitement grow as she explains what she learned.
Sharing my intense love of personal development, I knew a book recommendation was coming. I had Cues by Vanessa Van Edwards waiting for me after my flight home. The author is a “recovering awkward person” and lays out genius verbal and non-verbal cues and how you can unknowingly send the wrong ones.
As I read Cues, I recalled multiple examples of confidence-lacking cues being demonstrated daily in opticals. Implementing what I learned, this year I observed ECPs during patient care and tested a multitude of cues we can adopt when dealing with patients. I have been astonished by the results!
Here are three ways to speak that display confidence and allow patients to easily trust your selling expertise:
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Maintain Volume. Opticians and doctors both struggle maintaining volume. For doctors, when discussing multiple eyewear recommendations, they start prescribing progressives at a solid volume level six, discuss a computer pair at a five, and start sunglasses at a four but dwindle to a three. Opticians do the same when talking prices, starting at a six when discussing features and lowering to a four when prices are stated.
Lowering volume is a form of self-preservation developed from past patient freak-outs. It’s as if we begin to cower, fearing they will flip out.
Though patients might not recognize the decreased volume, their instincts identify this cue as lacking confidence, making them leery. To avoid this, maintain the same volume throughout.
Eliminate “Vocal Fry”. Displaying what Vanessa calls “vocal fry” kills the speaker’s competence. This is when someone’s voice sounds raspy or crackly. I have noticed vocal fry when opticians are presented with the dreaded, “I just want what my insurance covers.” The optician’s voice becomes shaky, using odd inflections and sounding raspy, triggering the customer’s doubt. To avoid this, speak louder, as vocal fry is induced from a lack of breath.
Get Big. When tired or nervous, we make our bodies small, pinning our arms close to our bodies—a self-soothing response. This is not a confident way to speak. Unfortunately, many stay in this small position too often, unknowingly signaling nervousness. This often happens in exam rooms, particularly with digital phoropters, as doctors stay small controlling buttons. With traditional phoropters, doctors use dials and naturally adopt a larger posture. Posture with broad shoulders and bigger hand movements displays excitement and confidence.
Follow the QR code for a video showing body language and examples of what these verbal cues and some bonus cues sound like.
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You can say all the right things, but if you’re sending unintended cues while doing it, your words will be received as unsure, nervous, or lacking truth. Be mindful of how you are speaking to your patients to improve trust, display competence, and increase sales.
