Interpersonal Communication Quote – Theodore Roosevelt

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. — Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (1858 – 1919), also known as ‘Teddy’, was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer.

He served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909.

As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century.

Theodore Roosevelt Famous Quotes To Enjoy Reading:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt
“When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.”
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.”
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” Theodore Roosevelt
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
“Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” Theodore Roosevelt
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
“I am a part of everything that I have read.”
“I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit.”
“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care” Theodore Roosevelt
“The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.”
“Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.”
“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.”
“A man who has never gone to school may steal a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.”
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” Theodore Roosevelt
“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.”

About Robert C. Lucas

Bob Lucas has been a trainer, presenter, customer service expert, and adult educator for over four decades. He has written hundreds of articles on training, writing, self-publishing, and workplace learning skills and issues. He is also an award-winning author who has written thirty-seven books on topics such as, writing, relationships, customer service, brain-based learning, and creative training strategies, interpersonal communication, diversity, and supervisory skills. Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

The key to successfully making money as an author and/or self-publisher is to brand yourself and your company and to make yourself and your book(s) a household name. Part of this is face-to-face interaction with people at trade shows, library events, book readings, book store signings, blogging or guest blogging on a topic related to their book(s). Another strategy involves writing articles and other materials that show up online and are found when people search for a given topic related to a topic about which the author has written.

If you need help building an author platform, branding yourself and your book(s) or generating recognition for what you do, Make Money Writing Books will help. Bob’s popular book addresses a multitude of ideas and strategies that you can use to help sell more books and create residual and passive income streams. The tips outlined in the book are focused to help authors but apply to virtually any professional trying to increase personal and product recognition and visibility.

Effective Customer Communication Quote – George Ross

by Robert W. Lucas

Effective Customer Communication Quote – George Ross

“To be successful, you have to be able to relate to people; they have to be satisfied with your personality to be able to do business with you and to build a relationship of mutual trust.” George Ross

The ability to build and maintain solid relationships, and ultimately develop a level of trust, is a key skill that customer service representatives must master if they are going to be successful in the business world.

As a professional service provider, you must study human nature and become adept at the interpersonal skills of verbal and non-verbal communication, listening skills, and assessing behavioral styles and personality. You must also be able to understand and interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

For more ideas on how to better interact with and serve the needs of diverse customers, get copies of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures and Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Bob Lucas B.S., M.A., M.A, CPLP is the principal in Robert W. Lucas Enterprises, Inc and an internationally-known author; learning and performance professionals. He has written and contributed to numerous books on the subject of customer service skill training.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Learn more about Bob and his organization at www.robertwlucas.com and follow his blogs at www.robertwlucas.com/wordpress,
www.customerserviceskillsbook.com, and www.thecreativetrainer.com. Like Bob at www.facebook.com/robertwlucasenterprises

Body Language Impacts Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Body Language Impacts Customer Service

In addition to verbal and written messages, you continually provide nonverbal cues that tell a lot about your personality, attitude, and willingness and ability to assist customers. Customers receive and interpret the messages you send, just as you receive and interpret their messages.

By recognizing, understanding, and reacting appropriately to the body language of your customers, as well as using positive body language yourself, you will communicate with them more effectively. The key to “reading” your customer’s body language is to realize that your interpretations should be used only as an indicator of the customer’s true message meaning. This is because background, culture, physical condition, communication ability, and many other factors influence whether and how well people use body cues. Placing too much importance on nonverbal cues could lead to miscommunication and possibly a service breakdown.

One secret to effectively interpreting nonverbal cues sent by your customers is to watch for clusters of messages rather than a single signal or cue. This means to listen closely to what your customer is saying verbally while watching their nonverbal cues closely. If their words seem to be saying something different from the signals you received, watch further or do a quick perception check. To do this, ask a question for clarification. For example, “I just heard you say …but I noticed that nonverbally you were not smiling. I am not sure if I should take your words at face value or if you were making a joke. Which was it?”

By recognizing that your ability to effectively interpret body language is just one more tool in your customer service toolbox, you are on your way to delivering the best customer service possible.

For suggestions on how to successfully communicate nonverbally with your customers, get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Listening to Customers Quote – Ross Perot

by Robert W. Lucas

Listening to Customers Quote – Ross Perot

“Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face.

You’d be amazed how many companies

don’t listen to their customers.” Ross Perot

Active listening is the key element in communications with your customers. Whether face-to-face or over the telephone, you must not only hear what customers are saying; you must get their intended meaning. To do this you must stop everything else you are doing and focus on the customer. You also have to receive, analyze and respond appropriately to their messages. Anything less will likely lead to a service breakdown and damage to the customer-provider relationship.

Former U.S. presidential candidate and businessman, Ross Perot, summed this concept up in a statement he once made:

For strategies and techniques to improve your listening skills when dealing with customers, get copies of How to Be A Great Call Center Representative and Customer Service Skills for Success.

Learn All About Robert C. ‘Bob’ Lucas Now & Understand Why He is an Authority in the Customer Service Skills Industry

Robert C. ‘Bob’ Lucas has been a trainer, presenter, customer service expert, and adult educator for over four decades. He has written hundreds of articles on training, writing, self-publishing, and workplace learning skills and issues. He is also an award-winning author who has written thirty-seven books on topics such as, writing, relationships, customer service, brain-based learning, and creative training strategies, interpersonal communication, diversity, and supervisory skills. Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

In my book Customer Service Skills for Success, I define customer service as “the ability of knowledgeable, capable, and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business.”

Listening Quote – Ralph Nichols

by Robert W. Lucas

Listening Quote – Ralph Nichols

Actively listening to your customers is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you not only get the correct message that they send, but also that you show respect and you care about them. As you listen to your customers, you also start to better understand them and recognize some of their values, beliefs, needs, wants and expectations.

Dr. Ralph Nichols, sometimes called the “Father of Listening,” summarized the importance of listening in the following quote:

For ideas and suggestions on how to effectively listen to your customers, get copies of Customer Service Skills for Success and How to Be A Great Call Center Representative.

About Robert C. Lucas

Additionally, he has contributed articles, chapters, and activities to eighteen compilation books. Bob retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 after twenty-two years of active and reserve service.

He regularly conducts workshops on creative training, train-the-trainer, customer service, interpersonal communication, and management,
and supervisory skills.

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Peter F. Drucker

by Robert W. Lucas

Nonverbal Communication Quote – Peter F. Drucker

Various studies indicate that the majority of message meaning during an interaction between two people is often received through nonverbal means (e.g. facial expressions, gestures, and vocal qualities). Even as you speak to your customers, they are likely to be extracting additional messages from your physical presence, how you look and what you are doing. And when you throw cultural and other diversity factors (e.g. gender, abilities, or age) into the situational equation, there is a good opportunity for misinterpretation. This is because people often assign meaning to nonverbal cues based on their values, beliefs, and life experiences.

For all the reasons listed above, it is crucial that you and other employees become students of human behavior. You should also educate yourselves about values and beliefs from different groups so that you are aware of potential interpretations that might be made of gestures that you or your customer(s) might use.

A quote by management guru, Peter F. Drucker sums up the importance of recognizing and properly interpreting nonverbal cues.

For ideas and strategies on effectively communicating nonverbally with your customers, check out: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures; Customer Service Skills for Success; and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.

Here are a few more amazing Peter Drucker quotes to enjoy reading.

“Management by objective works – if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don’t.” – Peter Drucker
“Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.”
“Accept the fact that we have to treat almost anybody as a volunteer.” – Peter Drucker
“Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.”
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”
“What gets measured gets improved.” – Peter Drucker
“Results are gained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems.” – Peter Drucker
“Long-range planning does not deal with the future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.”
“Meetings are a symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the better.” – Peter Drucker
“Leadership is not magnetic personality–that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people –that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
“The better a man is the more mistakes he will make for the more things he will try.”
“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.”
“Time is the scarcest resource of the manager; If it is not managed, nothing else can be managed.”
“What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that’s another matter.” – Peter Drucker
“The three most charismatic leaders in this century inflicted more suffering on the human race than almost any trio in history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. What matters is not the leader’s charisma. What matters is the leader’s mission.”
“No one learns as much about a subject as one who is forced to teach it.”
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”
“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.” – Peter Drucker
“Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation.”

About Robert C. Lucas – Blogger, Author, and a fan of Peter Drucker

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Nonverbal Customer Communication Strategies

by Robert W. Lucas

Nonverbal Customer Communication Strategies

As a customer service professional, it is impossible for you to “not” send nonverbal messages to your customers. They are evaluating you based on your posture, facial expressions, height, body type and condition, skin color, complexion, clothing, jewelry, and many other nonverbal cues. Your goal should be to eliminate communication barriers and to pay attention to all these factors. You should also strive to communicate a message of professionalism and that you are alert, happy, capable and ready to serve your customer.

On the telephone, your tone and attitude should project a positive, upbeat and professional presence that helps encourage people to continue to do business with you and your organization.

When speaking with a customer face-to-face, you should avoid negative body cues and facial gestures like frowning, crossing arms across the chest, using eye contact inappropriately as your customer speaks, pointing fingers at someone, rubbing the back of your neck or the bridge of your nose, or any other movement that might indicate boredom, stress, frustration or displeasure since some cultures view these things negatively. Also, you should be conscious of nervous habits that you might have which could say to the customer that you are impatient, uncertain, or otherwise not confident about a given situation (e.g. a sale). For example, fidgeting, jingling change or playing with items in your pocket, twirling the ends of your hair, clicking a ballpoint pen, biting nails, looking at your watch, or rubbing your hands together.

When interacting with your customers, it is important that you monitor your own nonverbal cues and those that they use. In doing so, remember that just because someone from a culture uses a nonverbal cue similar to one that your culture uses does not mean that it has the same meaning with which you are familiar. Learning to appropriately interpret and appreciate different nonverbal cues used by customers from around the world will give you a big advantage over your competition when dealing with people from various cultural and diverse backgrounds.

An important thing to remember is that you should not assign meaning to a nonverbal cue that you see a customer use out of context (e.g. their verbal and nonverbal messages do not seem to match). This is because the same gesture (e.g. a smile) might have different meanings when used by someone based on the situation, their level of emotion, the environment, a person that they are with, time, the customer’s cultural background and your personal frame of reference related to the signal.

To better discover ways to communicate positively in a global business environment, get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering stellar customer service across cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Impact of the Eyes in Customer Service

by Robert W. Lucas

Impact of the Eyes in Customer Service

It has been said that the eyes are “the windows to the soul.” That is why some people and Westernized cultures place so much interest in making eye contact with others. This gives people a chance to potentially gauge meaning nonverbally from another person.

Consider the following related to eye contact with your customers and communicating nonverbally across cultures:

In most Western cultures, the typical period of time that is comfortable for holding eye contact is 5 to 10 seconds for many people; then an occasional glance away is normal and expected.

Looking away in some cultures can often send a message of disinterest, or dishonesty, or lack of confidence (e.g. the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

If either the length or the frequency of eye contact differs from the “norm,” many people might think that you are being rude or offensive. They might also interpret your behavior as an attempt to exert power or as flirting.

Looking down before answering questions, glancing away continually as your customer talks, blinking excessively and other furtive eye movements can potentially create a negative impression. In any case, your customer might become uncomfortable and may react in an undesirable manner. For example, they might become upset or end the conversation if you use eye contact in what they perceive as an inappropriate manner.

As with all other aspects of workplace interaction in a multicultural environment, do not forget that cultural values and practices often influence the way in which people communicate and interpret message signals.

For more information about how to effectively interact with and deliver service across cultures, and to people who are not like you, get a copy of Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

Two Elements of Effective Customer Communication

by Robert W. Lucas

Two Elements of Effective Customer Communication

Two key elements in making your interactions with customers successful are to recognize how you tend to communicate and understanding how the communication process works. It is up to each customer service representative, and other employees in any organization, to take responsibility for developing his or her communication skills and knowledge.

Start by assessing your current interpersonal communication skills level and then seek information and assistance to improve in deficit areas. The easiest way to find out how you communicate is to ask those who know you best. Unfortunately, many people are leery about requesting feedback because of what they might hear. Conversely, most people have difficulty giving useful feedback because they either never learned how to do it or are uncomfortable doing it. In any event, try it. Ask a variety of people for their feedback because each person will likely have a different perspective.

For strategies and techniques for improving interpersonal communication skills with customers get a copy of Customer Service Skills for Success. For ideas on communicating more effectively with customers from diverse backgrounds, try Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.

Effectively Taking Telephone Messages

by Robert W. Lucas

Effectively Taking Telephone Messages

Have you ever called a business only to have the person on the other end of the phone stumble through information gathering when trying to take a message for someone else? If so, you are not alone. It often seems that companies are not investing in basic customer service skills training anymore. After all, how hard is it to ask someone for their name and other pertinent information, write that down and give the message to the appropriate person. Apparently very hard for many customer service representatives and employees in many organizations.

If you ever find yourself in the situation where you are on the receiving end of a customer’s call and need to capture information professionally, the following is a “cheat sheet” of essential things you should get and record. At a minimum, when you take a message you should get this information from a caller when you answer a phone for someone else. This will aid you in providing the best customer service possible

Name (correctly spelled—ask the caller for spelling and do not assume you know how they spell it. For example, my last name is spelled LUCAS. There is a nursery in town spelled LUKAS).
The caller’s company name.
Phone number (with area code and country code, if appropriate).
Brief message (why they are calling and what they expect to happen next).
When the call should be returned.
Time and date of the call and your name (in case a question about the message arises).

Many office supply stores sell pre-printed phone message pads to help guide message takers.

About Robert C. Lucas

Make Money Writing Books: Proven Profit Making Strategies for Authors by Robert W. Lucas at Amazon.com.