Home
Blog
Material
Tips
Training Games
icebreakers
Learning Styles
Customer Service
Call Center
Quotes
Activities
Bookstore
Newsletter
Contact Us
Site Map
Site Policy
Related Links

[?] Subscribe To This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines

Customer Service Training Tips Opening

Customer Service Training Tips opening a session well is vital to both the beginning and outcome of a session. Build a sound foundation right from the start.

Whenever a customer service training session doesn't go according to plan, think back and you'll often find something not quite right at the beginning, in the first session of your opening.

You'll need to extend a warm welcome, to break the ice, to settle the nervous down, but mostly you need to establish your credibility and relationship with everyone in the room.

That's the importance in customer service training of the opening.

Customer Service Training Tips Opening #1

Welcome the participants with a big smile.

It goes a long way,you feel better, they can see you are human. This is the time when they are sussing you out, so make your first impressions count.

woman training file

Opening Training Tip #2

If the welcome is the time when the participants are sussing you out, you ought to be doing the same.

Observe people, who are the nervous ones, the quiet ones, the resistant ones, the enthusiastic. Instead of making subconscious subjective decisions about people, tune in to them and their perception of the training. This will help you to focus on how you can be most useful to them during the training.

Opening Training Tip #3

Introduce yourself quickly. The participants are not interested in your career history. They are interested in whether you are going to be good to work with.

Opening Training Tip #4

Model the behaviour you want right from the beginning.

Opening Training Tip #5

Get people talking early. In the first five minutes. Otherwise you are sending a strong signal that low participation is OK, and that you are there to talk, and they are there to listen. People don't learn by being talked at.

We've got lots of ideas for you around ice-breakers and also some guidance on using ice breakers

Opening Training Tip #6

Adult learners need to understand the "why" behind the training. You're on a customer service training course because our CEO wants you to be customer focused isn't very persuasive! What are the real reasons for the training that will benefit participants. If you can't answer this question clearly, then you will have a BIG challenge with the training itself.

Effective Training

If you are an experienced skills trainer, and would like to learn more about how to deliver Effective Training, there is a great paper available

The paper does look in detail at how to begin a training course successfully so that you achieve most from the training, and create the conditions for a depth of learning, which is useful to the individual participants. Find out more here

click here to go to tips on preparing for your training session

Tips for using roleplays in your customer service training sessions

Customer service training material

Customer service training icebreakers

Like what you read here, then why not sign up for our newsletter



Return from customer service training tips opening to home page


Customer Service Training Tips

Learning Styles

Developing Competence

Putting together a Business Case for Customer Service Training

Learning Quotes

Preparing for a Training Session

Opening a training session

Overcoming Resistance

What makes exceptional customer service training?

What are the challenges you face in delivering customer service training