hi everyone this is your contact center coach here to talk about one of the key skills you need to
be great as a contact center agent effective questioning in this video we'll talk about
why that's an important skill we'll look at three types of questions you can use in most calls and
i'll give you some great questioning techniques you can put into play right away this video is
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to keep getting more helpful videos just like this one in our previous soft skills videos we
discussed communication empathy handling angry customers tone of voice and active listening you
can view those videos using the link above and in the description below in this video we're going to
focus on one key skill you need to be successful in handling any phone call effective questioning
you may be thinking why is asking questions an important part of soft skills well that's actually
a great question because good questioning is the key to gathering information and
developing a relationship with callers and that's critical in making calls either fail or succeed
good questioning also helps you gain control of the conversation in a polite way that focuses
in on the reason for the call if you've ever had a caller who wanders all over the place
and getting to the point this is where good questioning and call control can really help
good questions also help to clarify a point or help you understand a difficult situation it's
your opportunity to double check and hone in on the reasons for the call while there's different
types of questions you can use let's look at the three most common ones that can be used in almost
any call open questions are ones that require more than a yes no or a short one-word answer this can
be used effectively at the beginning of a call because it helps you to gather information and
understand why that person's calling an example the open question you probably use all the time
how can i help you this allows the caller to speak freely and to initially direct the conversation
probing questions are like open questions but allow you to dig deeper into the situation
so you have a clear understanding of what's being communicated it's also the point where
you begin to establish control of the call to reach an efficient and effective conclusion
closed questions are ones that usually require short one-word answers this is an effective way
to close the conversation by gaining control of the call and confirming facts that are vital
to the success of that call one example of a closed question you probably use all the time
is there anything else i could help you with this usually results in a
short acknowledgement that the caller is satisfied and that the call can end
but some agents have a hard time breaking the habit of asking only one type of question
so here's some tips about questioning that you can put into use right away if a caller is upset
and not listening closed-ended questions are good for regaining control of the conversation
for example did you send in the payment for most callers the answer is yes or no this allows you to
begin steering the call in the right direction by using probing questions to regain control
if you're trying to unravel a difficult or complicated situation using a combination
of probing and open-ended questions is a good way to understand what's happening for example
where did you make that payment followed by what happened after you made the payment
are examples of probing and open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no
requiring the caller to provide more information that you need in order to help them
a great way to picture how to use these three type of questions
is called the funnel technique typically conversations start with open-ended questions
that allow the caller to speak and for you to understand just why that person is calling
the information you gather through open questions may cause you to ask additional probing questions
that help you to better understand or clarify the situation finally asking closed questions ensures
that you're getting right to the precise answers or conclusions just like a funnel might direct
randomly flowing water to the exact location desired this funnel technique can be used on
phone calls or in any situation that requires you to manage communications with someone else
well that's all for now i do hope you found this video helpful
if so please subscribe like and comment below we'd love for you to share your thoughts in the
comments below and share this video with other professionals like yourself and don't forget
to check out some great training programs we have through the link in the description below
this is your contact center coach saying game over thanks for taking the time to
make yourself a better player for your company and for your customers now go out there and be great