Professor Albert Mehrabian tells us that communication is 7% words, 38% tone/voice and 55% body language. So, on the phone, we’re kinda screwed before we’ve even started simply because we’re missing more than half of Bertie’s equation (yes, he lets me call him ‘Bertie’ and no, I don’t know him at all).

So, from a pure maths perspective, the 7% and 38% now have to add up to 100% of what we’ve got to play with, so we’re a solid 55% short (MATHS). The good news is that in the new body-language-less 100% world we find ourselves, tone is now worth at least 76% with words coming in at a pathetic 14% (yeah, I know that doesn’t entirely add up but I couldn’t be bothered to work it out fully, and neither should you - NOT MATHS)..

What does become clear (and you’ll know this if you’ve ever been in a room with a really good cold caller) is that worrying about scripts and stressing over shoe-horning every bullet point into a call really isn’t the right thing to focus on. How you talk is the winner.

If you can sound human, non-salesy, solid, confident and, well… dare I say almost nonchalant about your call, prospects don’t immediately go into shut down mode.

When you get that sales call that says “this isn’t a sales call”, your brain goes “IT’S A SALES CALL!” and immediately shuts down.

When someone calls on behalf of a company you’ve never heard of and just wants to ask you three questions about your current life insurance, your brain goes “IT’S A SALES CALL!” and immediately shuts down.

If you can call a stranger and sound like a normal person genuinely just wondering if you might do some good work together (and know how to smartly parry a few incoming objections) you’re going to ride that 76% all the way to the bank (or at least to a call that lasts more than 12 seconds)

BTW, if you want to remember this rule to amaze and entertain others, I can heartily recommend singing a way less pleasant version of Tom Robinson Band’s 2-4-6-8 Motorway using “7-38-55”. It totally doesn’t work, but is a lot of fun (depending on how much fun the rest of your life is comparatively-speaking).