Scripting Advice Editing Is Always Easier Than Writing

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

You need to write a telemarketing or customer service script, and you always find it especially challenging, so what is the best way to do it?

If you're like most, you'll pull out a blank piece of paper or put a clean Word document on your computer screen. Then you'll freeze up.

You'll gaze into the vastness of that endless WHITE SPACE, wondering what you're going to fill it with.

That's a very inefficient way to go about crafting a winning presentation. Instead, try this:

(1) Write down the words, "Hello, Mr./Ms.___. Hi, this is ___with ___. How are you this morning/afternoon/evening? That's good.

(2) Or, have one of your colleagues talk out, and then write down what he or she thinks a presentation should sound like.

Either way, you will have BEGUN, which according to some famous source, is HALF DONE!

Starting is the most difficult part of ANY WRITING, whether it's a phone chat, email, or formal business letter. That's the stumper, what makes the whole process so vexing.

Remember this: It's always easier to EDIT something than to craft something from scratch. Even if you don't like my opening, or your pal's text, we have done you a great service.

We got you past that GREAT WHITE SPACE.

It's a lot easier from this point, forward, believe me!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.