Building Trust Through Tone on Sales Calls: Neurobiology Tips
Sales calls are demanding. Good sales calls are a form of art.
If your call succeeded be it in the form of a follow-up call, or a sale, it means you’ve accomplished this bit: creating enough trust.
How do you create trust?
The first shot you get at trust is through your tonality. Tonality is acknowledged as key for success of sales calls, but can be hard to master as most recommendations are based on imitating.
In the article I am sharing a practical approach to creating trust through tonality through the lens of neurobiology.
Once you learn to sound “safe“, regulating your pitch and pace, mirrowing and making pauses will be easy and natural to develop.
Why Tonality Comes Before Words
According to Albert Mehrabian, a researcher of body language, only 7% of the message we get comes from words. The remaining 93% comes from what we hear and see.
And when we don’t see anything, like during cold calls, it’s the tone of voice that becomes the focal point of attention.
Why So Much Focus on Non-Verbal Cues?
According to the Polyvagal Theory of Nervous System Regulation by Dr. Stephen Porges, through non-verbal communication, we aim to answer one question about the person making contact with us:
Are you “safe” for me?
It’s done through a subconscious process called neurocepton.
Neuroception a neural process, distinct from perception, that is capable of distinguishing environmental (and visceral) features that are safe, dangerous, or life-threatening.1
If yes => I can engage, be chatty, and play with the idea of showing you my trust through $
If no => Expect a range of responses from resistance to sabotage
Brain Energy Allocation
Research shows that the brain constantly shifts energy between analyzing the tone and the words.2 In uncertain, socially complex situations, more energy is allocated to interpreting the tonality. Consequently, less is left for the verbal message.
So, how your team members sound during a call can significantly influence how their message is received or if it’s even heard.
“Prove me, you are a friend, and I will consider listening to what you have to say.“
The Intent of Communication
In high-uncertainty situations like cold calls, the listener’s brain is constantly evaluating whether the speaker is “safe” to engage with. Depending on the answer, this subconscious process shapes the general direction of the call.
If the tone is perceived as “safe”, the trust is there. Your chances for an open conversation and a trusting relationship go up. If the tone is off, expect some resistance and reactivity.
Practices for “Safe” Tonality That Creates Trust
To intentionally sound safe, we need to reverse-engineer our neurophysiology. We want to create a physical “safety imprint” and our tonality will follow.
The goal is to become aware and learn to regulate our breath, posture, and physical tension to activate a “safety” switch. Start with these three simple core practices:
1. Awareness of Bodily Signals
Learn to notice your breath, heartbeat, and posture in different situations. How do they change from when you feel neutrally positive to when you feel nervous or anxious?
The awareness of bodily signals is what’s called interoception. Dr. Bud Craig’s work on interoception highlights its importance in emotional regulation. It’s step number one for being able to regulate (change your emotional and physiological state).
2. Rhythmic Breath
Practice rhythmic breathing 5-10 minutes during the day and 2 minutes before the call. One of the most soothing breathing rhythms for humans is in ten-second cycles. 3
Depending on your personal preference it can be:
Both inhale and exhale for 5 seconds each
Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 (emphasizes slowing down)
Breathing at a rate of 5.5 breaths per minute with equal inhalation-to-exhalation ratio increases heart rate variability. The relaxation feeling increased during breathing.
3. Power Posture
Practice a power posture: a stance with a straight back, open chest, and relaxed shoulders.
Research by Dr. Amy Cuddy shows that it has a positive effect on our endocrine system, reducing the level of cortisol (a stress hormone) and increasing testosterone levels.4
The hormonal changes and improved breath control show up in your voice, making it naturally more articulate, calm, and steady.
4. A Five-Minute “Safe” Tonality Demo
I’ve recorded a five-minute demo Use it before calls or practice during the day to prime yourself for “safety”.
Your biology gives you a 100% guarantee: when you sound nervous, it means your breath, heart rate, and body posture have changed.
What’s in your power is catching that moment and reversing the nervousness through conscious changes in your breath, muscular tension, and posture.
One Strategy => Multiple Effects
What some of my clients have noticed is by working on tonality through the “safety” paradigm, they saw improvement in other skills like:
Active listening => being present and curious in a conversation
Being empathetic => picking up the emotions of the person across
More creativity => as overall stress levels go down
And that’s the beauty of aligning with biology: by focusing on one thing, we accomplish multiple goals.
In this case, through physiological changes we prime ourselves and potential customers for cooperation, relationship-building, creativу problem-solving. And that’s what a big part of success in sales is about, right?
Curious what a neurobiology approach could do for the performance of your team? Get in touch to chat to learn about my trainings and see whether we are a match.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108032/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12477703/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167876013003346
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2018/04/03/power-posing-is-back-amy-cuddy-successfully-refutes-criticism/