Look at this face.
Would you ever want to say something negative to her?
My friend Leah, whose daughter Sofia is shown in this picture, and I were discussing how we often talk so negatively to ourselves. What she said to me really stuck out,
“The next time you tell yourself something negative…..pretend your saying it to Sofia. I guarantee you wont say it.”
And from that, The Sofia Rule was born.
I want to extend this over to the world of customer service as well.
In some cases, when dealing with a very angry customer, in order to keep my cool, I picture them as a small child, happy and running on a playground. We were all kids at one point! I know this sounds quite silly but I recommend trying it when you are faced with your next mad customer.
This also brings me back to my recent post titled “Talk To Yourself Like a Customer” about how internal communication influences external communication in and out of the office.
So, see if The Sofia Rule helps you combat negative communication to yourself and others. Even when the customer service heat is on, keep your cool and put out fires with effective communication!
