Communicate better by avoiding gender-specific words
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Dec 05, 2011 @ 10:02 AM
This past week, I’ve been working with a number of very talented reps that are taking my inside sales course. Among the behaviors we’re changing are the usage of gender-specific words and phrases. The most common so far? “You guys” and “who’s your right-hand man?”
These reps are selling to a prospect base that includes a large number of women. Their territories are all over the country, and include many university towns. Like everyone else, these reps grew up learning a language at home, and honing it in conversations with friends throughout their school years. Terminology becomes habit, and habits can be hard to break. Now these reps are in a professional environment, where gender-specific slips can damage rapport. So here are some tips:
1) Avoid “you guys” and “who’s your right hand man?” Replace them with “you” and “who have you delegated to work on that project?”, or something similar and appropriate.
2) The absolute worst gender-specific comment is “open the kimono” (I’ve blogged on this term before). Please avoid using this term, even if you have colleagues that do.
3) Bad verbal habits are often not easy to fix at work, so get some assistance at home. Ask someone you live with to tap you on the shoulder every time you say “you guys.” Within a week, I guarantee it will be out of your vocabulary.
A generation ago, it might have been the case that most b2b inside sales reps sold to men the vast majority of the time. Not any more. Some of those old “legacy terms” are still with us. So if you want to ensure that you’re communicating well with all your prospects and customers, add “gender agnostic” words to your Best Practices Playbook.