The Power of Storytelling and Vision

For me, the greatest thing in the world are storytellers. If you get it behind a fire, then that's even better. It's even more old school. But someone that can tell a good, good story and paint a really nice picture. So that's why I recommend that when you really need to think or put in your oomph, close your eyes, you'll get a splash of vision with no distraction. And it's very easy for you authentically to describe what you see. And the majority of the time it's within you that's coming out of you and you're relying on your intuition and your vision. I mean, I'm not spacing it out there, but come on, Jacob. I could only imagine you with a full classroom conference hall look. I've seen you in your suits looking super sharp and good smiles all around you. Hugs aplenty, people sharing only the greatest moments and what's to come, exchanging phone numbers, slaps on the back, buying each other rounds of drinks, making plans. Come on I can picture it I can taste it I'm sure you do surf and turf, so everyone gets happy at dinner. I know you. Why can't you tell people what you see? Why can't you get excited for their growth and for their projections? Ed Up Xcelerated Excellence podcast. Educating ESL Call Center agents with teacher Richard Blank A podcast for the advancement of educational effectiveness and equity for traditional and non-traditional educational experiences and contexts, higher education and beyond. The podcast seeks to engage educators, scholars, entrepreneurs, advocates, and policy makers at all levels. Our Guest is ⁠Richard Blank⁠. He is a native of Philadelphia, PA and CEO of ⁠Costa Rica’s Call Center.⁠ Richard shares the ingredients for supporting and preparing call center representatives for high-impact engagement with clients. He addresses the role of AI in call center productivity and the role of empathy as an effective tool in human interaction. He shares how developing community and engagement lead to retention of employees. Richard gives back to the community by offering scholarships for students. Diverse Recruitment Approach with Storytelling and Public Speaking It's all shapes and sizes, my friend. You could have the soft-spoken female to be at the right place at the right time or the assertive Philadelphia kid like me, which might be a different taste. But I tell you what, I mean, there's certain checkpoints prior to someone being sitting in a class. They'll, of course, be making some recordings for me, for us to consider. Looking at their resume, who cares? Turn it over and write me a couple of paragraphs of a coming of age moment. So you can tell Jacob and I when you beat up a bully. That's what I want to hear from you. So at least I can hear a really good story. But then when we're in class, you stand up. So you're practicing public speaking in front of a dozen people. You hold the script in your left. You use your right hand for illustrators. I will assist you in your balance and your pausing and your breathing. Embracing Human Element in Customer Interactions over AI So what has been the approach of your organization to either integrate or counter the recent developments in AI within your field? I'll be completely honest with you. Sometimes these kiosks make your burger more consistent than the kid behind the counter. And so if people are able to and I'm going to say it again, gathering if they're capable of gathering for me information. So human error, fatigue, misstepping gets completely taken out. That reduces that sort of time on a phone call and frustration. But as I'm going to say it again, if somebody has a bad experience with a company, they are definitely going to want to speak with somebody to maybe receive some credit or to make a suggestion or just to get it out. And I've also learned as well that if people are using profanity, as long as it's not at me, you get a warning, second time's call's dead. But if it goes in this direction, I get it. Come on. It's not 1950s Cleavers. I mean, sometimes people curse. It's real life. I've cursed before. Haven't you? You got a flat tire and it's raining? Come on. You're supposed to curse. But my point being is that you almost bond that way because then they apologize. And I say, hey, Jacob, do you want to get any more out? And you're like, no, Richard, let's continue. And then instead of giving rebuttals, there's no rebuttals. You're converting a call at that stage. Hi, AI. They can't tell you they know how you feel if you broke an arm or your puppy ran away or changing that tire in the rain. That's almost like an insult. Socio-Cultural Impacts of Remote Work I think that might have increased things by about five percent in regards to production. Okay, so we're at 85%. Why aren't we in the 90s? You lost a complete 15% in regards to the on-site training, the camaraderie, the IT support, you know, the arcade game room. How about just getting out, shaving, putting on clothes and looking smooth? You know, you got to keep your game going. How about this? I've had a lot of people through the 17 years that have met here, gotten married, and have had children. I've had some call center babies that have been here the whole nine months, and I say hi to them every day, talk to the tummy. What's my point? That's not going to happen anymore. Those two people through Destiny might never meet now. We've hired a bunch of people post-COVID, but those A and Bs are never going to make C anymore. Strategic Language Use in Call Centers That's a wonderful question. First, let me address the fact that I won't bring any languages in here that I can't personally understand. I can't have Tommy on the phone, Carson. So I got to know. So it's going to be English, Spanish, and I'll even do Portuguese. We have enough Portuguese speakers here and I understand enough. Of course, it could go into two languages. It depends on the client. If you need to turn in a recording to them or you need to set up an appointment and no one in the office in corporate speak Spanish, you got to ensure that the person you're speaking with has a translator or can speak English. The Importance of Creativity in Communication It's better to be a rudder than the ship. And it's a nice thing to do. And so I've seen that we've https://youtu.be/RgLRnWNgBVQ https://youtube.com/shorts/-RY2sq1yuk8?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/4ioKxk3kNyY?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/FrXNBYV1aBc?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/yc1Zyi8SpdY?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/9aNRZGHE3hM?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/GnEvLnF1KB4 Jacob Easley II, Ed Up Xcelerated Excellence podcast, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center