Course Outcomes

This chat training course will:

  • Improve your team’s chat etiquette knowledge and ability to communicate with customers via chat.
  • Help your group to project a polished and professional image online.
  • Prepare your group to communicate quickly and effectively in writing.
  • Alert participants to traps and communication gaffes associated with live support and chat.

Course Overview

On the surface, chat looks easy.  It’s fast, it’s short, and it’s usually informal.  So what could possibly go wrong? Plenty if an agent is not trained well.  Like email, chats can live forever.  With a few simple strokes, an entire conversation can be copied and posted to millions.  This chat communication course is designed specifically for those using chat as part of their live support or web sales strategy.  It covers the skills needed to provide good communication to customers via a chat platform.

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Identify the types of requests they most frequently receive while manning the chat line.
  • Explain how to set the tone of a chat.
  • Describe best practices for managing chats.
  • Cite responses they should provide and those they should avoid when trying to resolve customers’ issues.
  • Demonstrate how to proofread chats for accuracy.
  • Discuss when and when not to use preformatted messages.
  • Explain when and how to escalate a chat or move the chat to another communication channel such as the telephone.
  • Demonstrate how to evaluate the effectiveness of a chat session.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s).

Workshop Outline

Finding the Key: Setting Up a Chat for Success

This program begins with a discussion about the differences between live support via chat and live support over the telephone. During this workshop segment, participants will identify actions they can immediately take to set the tone for a conversation, build rapport, and put customers at ease.

The Right Strokes: Best Practice for Chat Support

How many chats should you handle at once? How do you find out the reason for the conversation and confirm your understanding? Should you use canned text? During this portion of the workshop, participants will discuss the answers to those questions.  They will also examine the ins and outs of wait times, language to communicate a positive tone, and clues to look for to determine if a customer is upset or confused.

Hot Buttons: Determining What Not to Say

Chat sessions can live forever. This segment examines the phrases and mistakes that live support providers often make when servicing customers via chat. During this part of the program, participants will review chat logs and rewrite them for clearer communication and better customer service.

They’re, Their, There: Grappling with Grammar Gremlins

Chat happens quickly, and because of the speed of this type of communication, there are plenty of opportunities for mistyping. This seminar segment looks at common mistakes chat agents make and techniques for avoiding typical errors. This portion of the course also discusses best practices for correcting errors on the fly and presenting a put-together image when chatting with customers.

The Magic Touch: Practice Makes Perfect

Without practice, it’s hard to know if support agents are ready to take to the keyboard.  This part of the program features case studies.  In this section, participants will have ample opportunities to practice what they’ve learned throughout the program.  In addition to handling typical requests, we will also discuss best practices for chatting with angry or upset customers.

How Was It?: Measuring Chat Effectiveness

You can’t improve if you don’t pay attention to what’s working and what isn’t.  This final segment looks at how to measure the effectiveness of chat during the interaction with customers and after the fact.

At the program’s conclusion, participants will have an understanding of what it takes to provide great chat interactions.