Instant Interviews_ 101 Ways to Get the Best Job of Your Life - Jeffrey G. Allen [61]
That is a sense of humor. A sense of balance. A sense of self. Self-confidence. That is what Andy—and every Andy—wants. Someone who cares but doesn’t care so much that she apologizes for being.
A sense of humor is rare in the workplace. Yet nothing disarms a confronter and nothing defuses a confrontation like a swift quip in the rear. What’s the big whoop? It sure gets (and keeps) close friends. Gets (and keeps) people hired too.
Let’s say you accept the job. (He’ll offer it now for sure.) Your daughter decides to be a teenager again, and you’re late the following week. Andy is trying to run a business, and it helps if he has people there during working hours.
So he says, “You won’t make being ten minutes late a habit. Right, Joan?”
You smile, look at him and say, “It’s not a habit, it’s a happening. And it won’t happen again!”
Make sure it doesn’t, too.
I’ve used humor in open court during some of the most serious business cases imaginable. It’s how you budge a judge and send a flurry through a jury. An eyedropper of humor can summarize a scoop of seriousness, too.
Your proper persona is a secret to getting interviews. The more you develop it, the more interviews you’ll develop!
Do 40: Calling and Enthralling the Offeror
Your phone voice is going to be instantly perfect.
In your cold calls and follow-up calls, 100 percent of your image is conveyed by your voice.
Since I.I.’s talk quite a bit, they tend to become deaf to their own voices. For this reason, we use a four-step program of simple, proven voice-improvement techniques. Your voiceprint is unique but you probably don’t really know how it sounds. This is because you hear your voice as it echoes through your head. Others hear it through their ears. How do you hear it through your ears? Record your phone conversations.
For a few dollars, you can buy a phone pickup from any electronics store to plug into your digital recorder. This is undoubtedly the most important training device you will ever have at any price. As long as the recorder is used solely by you, it’s perfectly legal. You’ll probably be surprised at how bad you initially sound. That’s good. It only takes a few days of brutalizing to develop a more effective voice.
It’s best to start with recording three segments of three minutes each in the morning, midday, and afternoon. Undoubtedly you will notice wide variation in the speed, volume, pitch, and articulation.
Here are the four steps.
Vary the Rate
The average jobseeker speaks at the rate of 145 words per minute. You can check your wpm by replaying the midday segment of the tape for 20 seconds, counting the number of words, and multiplying by three. Is your rate consistent? Do you pause for emphasis? Do your words run together? Do you gasp for air? Do you speak in a monotone? If you’re trying to instantly obtain an interview, your rate of speed tends to increase.
If you’re getting directions from an offeror, it tends to decrease. Since the phone doesn’t permit the use of gestures and body language, a runaway rate of speech at closing time can cost you the interview. If you’re up over 200 wpm at a critical stage, you’re conveying more than enthusiasm—you’re conveying anxiety.
Control the Volume
Do offerors ask you to speak louder? Do they ask you to repeat what you said? Do they hang up while you’re still talking? If so, you’re probably the only one listening. It’s hard to interview that way.
And you know the other extreme. The offerors who think a telephone is a megaphone. This hangup is most common among those who work in a bullpen, where shouting may be a matter of survival. Check your midday segments. Is your volume level varied? Do you use a lower volume for unimportant words? (A, an, and, but, in, into, the, or with are examples.)
I learned the value of this on the talk shows. Changes in vocal power allow you to stress key words, especially action words.