Why is the telephone like a violin?

Imagine an orchestra playing before you. Now think what would happen if one of the violin players suddenly ignored the what the composer had written on the sheet music started playing another tune right during the middle of another piece. Or what if the violin player kept their instrument aloft and accidentally played a note or two?

What would happen? At the very least, the harmony would end. Why? The person was not paying attention or was intent on making themselves heard.

Now imagine being on the telephone having a conversation with a prospect when all of a sudden instead of listening to what is being said to you, you decide you must start talking about all the features and benefits you feel the prospect must know about your technology. Instead of continuing to listen and discuss what is important to the prospect, you interrupt thinking if only they knew how great your technology is they would buy immediately.

Let's go back to our orchestra scenario. What happens when a violinist decides to play another piece or accidentally plays a note during the middle of a piece? Similar to the disharmony they would cause, you would probably end up with something equally bad. This maybe the loss of a sale and possibly damaging any future relationship.

The telephone is similar to a violin. It is an instrument. It takes practice to learn how to derive the most benefits from using it. When you learn how to play the violin, unless you are a prodigy born with innate talent, you need to practice following what the composer has written (or in the case of a conversation, listening to what the prospect is saying without interrupting).

This can and is a real challenge for many of us. Why? We like to hear ourselves speak. We like to share all of what we know.


While on the telephone, one of the ways you can prevent this is to place a finger over your mouth reminding yourself that your job at this point is to listen and not speak. This serves four purposes.

One, it is very difficult to talk when your finger is covering your mouth.

Two, it will remind you to listen (and concentrate) more and while speaking less.

Three, you will begin to become conscious of your need to speak.

Four, you will be able to learn how to control your urge to speak.

This is a simple yet useful technique to force yourself to get in the habit of listening.

Using the telephone to make sales requires discipline. Since you cannot see the other person and therefore cannot rely upon visual signs, you must rely solely upon what you hear. Decide to listen. STOP! Stop talking on purpose.

Encourage the person to answer each question in detail by remaining silent. Remember that silence often gives the person on the other end of the line time to think about an answer to your question. If you interrupt them, you may never know what important piece of information they were going to tell you.

Allow them time to think, you will get more information that way, rather than trying to fill in the gaps of silence. Show you are listening by using statements such as "I see" or "I hear you" "Okay" "I understand what you mean" or "Right." If you overlook this step, misunderstandings can come back to haunt you later.

Have you ever watched an orchestra when a group of instruments are not playing or are not getting ready to play? What do they do? Typically they put their instruments down or away from their mouths. Why do you think they do this? Could it be so they don't accidentally play a note and ruin the piece that is being played?

Control your urge to speak and you will make more sales. Remember, the secret to listening is to be interested, not interesting.

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Make it a great day and a successful week!

Ron S. La Vine, MBA, President

Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.'s -
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