Dear Reason,

My boss just told me I sound “nervous and unfriendly” on the phone.  First of all, I’m not nervous.  Second, I’m not unfriendly, I’m just efficient.  I get everything done that needs to be done – so why is he complaining?  Is this something I’m going to lose my job over, and do I have to be fake-perky on the phone all day just because HE thinks I sound bad?

Annoyed

My darling Annoyed,

I have a feeling you’re not going to like what I’m about to say, but there’s no other way to say it (and perhaps you’ll thank me someday.) You need to get over yourself.

Defying your boss as an assistant is not going to help you advance your career. You can claim you’re “efficient” until the cows come home, but staying that way will send you packing.  HE is your boss and while he’s obviously not firing you this instant because of the way you’ve been on the phone, he probably WILL fire you if he sees that you’re unwilling to make a change in a work habit that is unsatisfactory to him.

You may think the way you do things is just fine, but he runs the show.  So it’s time for you to learn to take some constructive criticism and make some changes in the things that he doesn’t like.  It might annoy you, it might bother you, and you might be absolutely certain that you’re right. Try it anyway. 

Sometimes it’s difficult for us to step outside of ourselves and see how we appear to other people.  Sometimes the way we think that we’re coming across is completely different than we actually appear to the people experiencing us.  Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and try something new.  And often, the time that we’re most resistant to making that change is the time when that change will benefit us the most.

So take a deep breath and try smiling when you answer the phone.  Make it sound like you enjoy coming to work in the morning and you’re happy to be talking to the person on the other end.  Do you have to sound perky? No. You don’t have to be fake or go to extremes.  But it wouldn’t hurt to try being pleasant. You might be surprised and find that you actually like some of the people you’re talking to on the other end which would probably lead to you enjoying your job more. And I would imagine that would please you as well as your boss.

The Voice of Reason

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natalie   |65.126.212.xxx |2009-07-21 13:30:33 Some words to live by when dealing with people: Perception is reality. It does not matter how you intend things to sound or come across, how other people perceive them is how they are. When your boss tells you how you sound you should listen up - chances are others hear the same thing. See this is as an opportunity to improve yourself and your career. Reply | Quote 0   0

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