The telephone equivalent of a "Handshake"

In my June Newsletter, I raised the issue of why we say, "How are you?" to customers at the beginning of a call!! This is what I said in the newseletter.

I doubt if this is a genuine inquiry with regards to health. Over the years I've tried to determine what this is all about. I've come to the conclusion that it is the telephone equivalent of a handshake.

Have you ever wondered why we shake hands or why we use our right hands to shake hands? Perhaps it’s because in ancient times when two people met you didn’t know if they were a friend or an enemy. You approached the other person with caution – right hand extended. Would they grab their sword and run you through? If we both grab each other by the right hand then neither of us can go for our swords. The need for caution has passed but we have kept up the tradition of shaking hands.

Just as handshakes can be weak or firm, so can our response to be "how are you". A weak response might be the throwaway line, "I'm okay" whereas a firm response might be “I’m really well today”. You can use this moment to lift the emotionality of the call.

I know that some of you are working with this so I though it would be good to make it the subject of this month's blog. Have you listened and responded to the "how are you?"? Has it made a difference to the emotionality of the call?

Any comments??