What are soft skills in customer service?

Soft skills in customer service are clear communication, listening skills, and a positive attitude. Soft skills are the personal qualities you possess and the inherent social cues needed to perform customer service work.

Here are some examples of the top soft skills for customer service:

Clear Communication

When working in a job that heavily relies on customer service, communication is key. You need to make sure you know what the customer wants, and you also have to have the ability to communicate what you can for a customer.

This includes proper enunciation, speaking loud enough, and with clarity. You should also have an upbeat inflection to your voice.

Communication skills essential to customer service include:

• Verbal communication

• Written communication

• Emotional intelligence

• Positive nature

Listening skills

Strong listening skills are just as important as clear communication skills in customer service. To find out what customers need and want and how you can properly help them, you must be able to listen properly.

Expert customer service always wants to make customers feel heard and acknowledged.

Here are some important listening skills:

• Active listening

• Non-verbal communication

• Open-mindedness

• Politeness

• Insightful questions posed to customers

Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is key in customer service. You should also seek to inform your customers about products with politeness and a smile. Even when there is a problem, or a customer is upset, you should always project a positive attitude to help resolve the situation.

It is important to mention you should not appear to be overly happy, this can come off as inauthentic, but you should always project optimism and a readiness to help.

• Emotional intelligence

• Vocal tone

• Encouraging customers

• Adaptability

• Proactive nature

Conflict Resolution

When you work in customer service-related roles, it is inevitable that you are going to be faced with some volume of conflicts. The important thing is to be able to resolve conflicts in a calm and encouraging manner.

You need to be creative because every customer's personality is different, so one approach might work great for a certain customer, while another approach may work better for a different customer.

And if you can't seem to resolve the issue, you should still remain calm and direct them to a source that can better deal with a problem, such as a manager or help desk.

Here are some important skills for conflict resolution:

• Accountability

• Negotiation

• Diplomacy

• Emotional intelligence

• Mediation

• Compassion