Last summer we took off for our usual haunt to the west coast of France, in the Vendee. Landing at Le Havre, we had a lengthy 6 hour drive ahead but I was secretly looking forward to it.
French motorways are a dream. They are generally free of traffic and heavy goods vehicles and stretch for miles often mirroring the straight Roman Roads they replaced.
You can slow down, speed up, overtake and then cruise for 40 miles. You can brake and accelerate hard, if you want or just amble along at 80 miles per hour, the speed limit. When I get a little bored, I like to speed up and then slow down, creating variety as I drive.
And when we get tired, we pull over at the beautifully well-kept l’air du temps, far more seductive than British Services
The parallel for selling on the phone is noticeable.
To sound excited you speed up, to make an important point, you slow down your delivery and lower your voice. To make your voice sound interesting you vary the speed and when you want to get some feedback, you pause.
You could even extend the comparable to speaking in public, or presenting and training in the boardroom.
And all the while my family sleep soundly whilst I do all the driving, I don’t mind, the French roads are a special part of the holiday until you get to the toll booths and have to pay hundreds of Euros for the privilege.
