basic customer services techniques

• Funneling is a useful questioning technique used by police detectives to help witnesses remember specific events or details
• We ask questions all the time to learn more about tasks, roles, and the world around us, as well as to understand people better
• Funneling


  Starting with general questions, homing in on each answer, and then asking for more and more detail
• Asking the wrong questions wastes time and can send us on a wild goose chase
• Knowing when to ask the right question is an essential communication skill
• The right questions give us the information we need, when we need it
• Knowing when to ask open or closed questions is important
• Open and closed questioning, as well as funneling, can help in getting essential information
• When we ask the wrong questions, we don't get the information we need
• A closed question can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" or with a very short statement
• Effective questioning techniques are important for communication
• Learning how to ask good questions is an important communication skill
• Tony Robbins: 'Successful people ask better questions and, as a result, they get better answers'
• Appropriate questions open doors, instead of closing them
• Using the funneling technique


  You can get detailed information and insights from the person you are talking to
• Funneling can be used to gain interest or confidence, or to get more information about a specific topic
• An open question encourages the other person to provide more information
• The way we phrase our questions affects the quality of the response we receive
• Asking appropriate questions helps build rapport with others
• Questions that encourage reflection and thoughtfulness show respect for the other person’s opinion