What do customers want from live chats?
They may need information, help in solving a problem, or just want to vent. They also want to feel supported and treated as individuals. To satisfy those needs, chat agents require specific reading, writing, empathy, and problem-solving ability.
In this post we share seven exercises to help develop these skills – during new hire training, team meetings, huddles, or coaching sessions.
Exercise One - “Be a Detective”
Purpose: Reading Comprehension
How It Works
Simply display a customer’s initial chat text and ask, “What issue does the customer want resolved? What do they need?”
Then, discuss your agents’ answers. Highlight customer words or phrases that lead to that conclusion.
If agents are unable to define the problem because the customer’s text was unclear, ask what they would ask as a follow up question. Help them hone their detective skills. So, they can identify the correct issue.
Exercise Two - “Spot the Need for Empathy”
Purpose: Reading Comprehension
How It Works
Train agents to look for emotional language. Show them an incoming chat and ask them to identify the customer’s emotional tone based on word choice and formatting.
Is it a straightforward enquiry, like “How late is your Main Street store open?”. Or does it require them to respond with empathy?
After showing the customer’s initial chat on screen, ask agents if they need to address emotional issues, such as customer frustration, disappointment or anger. If so, work together to develop an empathetic reply.
Exercise Three - “Mystery Chat”
Purpose: Reading Comprehension
How It Works
Agents are assigned to handle a conversation with a hidden challenge or twist (e.g. a customer using slang, multiple issues in one query, or a language barrier).
After the chat, agents discuss their strategies and solutions, encouraging adaptability and creative problem-solving in unexpected situations.
Exercise Four - “Write in the Warmth”
Purpose: Writing Skills
How It Works
Show the response on screen, then break agents into trios and give them ten minutes to rewrite that response using warmer word choices and formatting.
Encourage them to add pleasantries such as, “Please” or “Thank you.” They should also use acknowledgment statements such as, “I appreciate your patience” and re-assurance statements such as, “I will find out for you right now.”
Once they are done, have them share examples in front of the whole group, highlighting words, phrases and formatting they used to convey warmth.
As a final question, ask your team “How would this rewritten chat response make the customer feel?”
Exercise Five - “Keep It Simple Serviceperson (K.I.S.S.)”
Purpose: Writing Skills
How It Works
Share writing techniques to simplify chats. For example, break a longer sentence into two shorter ones. Or replace complicated language with commonly used words.
Next, show an example of an overly long and complicated agent response, and ask agents to rewrite it for clarity and conciseness.
Then, have them share and discuss examples of their new straightforward writing. Encourage them to use these writing skills to make future chats easier to read and understand.
Exercise Six - “Chat Relay”
Purpose: Writing Skills
How It Works
Get agents to take turns responding to a single customer query, with each agent only able to see the previous response.
Once they are done, share the final chat examples with the whole group and discuss the exercise.
Exercise Seven - “Minefield”
Purpose: Review Skills
How It Works
Create some sample text that includes a triggering phrase, such as “our policy says…”
Show this example your team and ask, “Can you spot any triggering words in this agent response?”
Discuss their comments, then follow up by asking “What wording would you use in place of that triggering phrase?” Help them develop the ability to write diplomatically and proactively avoid any customer upset.
