From the author: The first words of greeting that a client hears when calling a psychologist... How are these words perceived by a client? What should a psychologist pay attention to in order to subsequently establish strong contact and an atmosphere of trust? About this in this article. You will not have a second chance to make a first impression. Coco Chanel Any communication, interaction and contact in general has its beginning and end. No matter how banal it may be, everything in our world begins with something and ends with something. We will talk about a rather narrow, but nevertheless interesting topic - about greeting a client when talking to him on the phone. Moreover, in the situation of an incoming call, when the client calls the psychologist for the first time. In fact, these are the first “live” words that the client will hear. Perhaps he had watched a video earlier, heard the voice of a psychologist, but there was no live contact. And now it must take place. This moment is very important, because it is like the foundation on which all subsequent communication will be built. What kind of words could these be? 1. “Hello”... “Hello!”, “Hello! I’m listening to you!”, “Hello! Hello!” This is the most ordinary type of greeting, which, on the one hand, may seem somewhat dry and formal. If you just leave “Hello”, then such first words may turn out to be completely dry, and the client will think that there, on the other side, they are not very interested in him. 2. “Good” option ... “Good afternoon or evening” or “ “Good morning” This sounds somewhat softer than in the previous paragraph. Especially the “good morning” option. After all, these are the words we often hear from family and friends. Therefore, “good morning” sounds somehow homely and inviting. 3. “A psychologist greets you...” “Psychologist so-and-so greets you” or “You called psychologist so-and-so.” A completely normal and working option. However, he immediately draws a line between client and specialist. On the one hand, the psychologist informs the caller about where he ended up. But on the other hand, having heard that a psychologist answered the phone, someone will automatically take the “bottom” position, while the psychologist will authoritatively start the conversation from the “above” position. 4. A combined version with the question “Hello! Hello! Psychologist so-and-so greets you. How can I help you?” This option differs from the previous ones by the presence of a question. The latter transfers the initiative to the interlocutor. But the client already calls first, which means he has already taken the initiative. Therefore, an additional question may be perceived as a kind of formality. 5. Introduce yourself by name “Hello! Dmitry is listening" or "Good afternoon! This is Dmitry” A simple and concise option, conducive to further conversation. A name without prefixes, positions and statuses speaks of an extension “on equal terms.” Of course, you can go on and on with the list of greeting options, but I don’t see much point in doing this here. The fact is that in any case these will be just words or sets of phrases. Duty preparations. Which, of course, every psychologist has. However, it is not so important what words the greeting will consist of. Much more important is how these words will be spoken. 1. “Voice with a smile” This advice is often given to those who are involved in sales and communicate with customers on the phone. This technique is also called a “verbal handshake.” The point is to non-verbally convey a calm, friendly tone and attitude. At the same time, it is not necessary to really smile while being “on this end of the line.” But the client should receive the so-called meta-message that his call is truly welcome and interested in him. 2. Naturalness There is such a thing as congruence, which means that the verbal and non-verbal characteristics of our speech correspond to each other. By conveying the positive and friendly attitude mentioned above, you can win the game. After all, the client is, in principle, not in the best condition when he calls the psychologist. And if he is met with a perky, emotional and glib tone, then the reaction may be far from positive. 3. Depth Recent studies have shown that a deeper voice is more likely to.