Imagine opening a gift you hate and smiling, while acting like the gift is desirable and appreciated.
Underneath you may feel disappointed, disgusted or unsure, nonetheless you grin and pretend enthusiasm.
Faking enthusiasm is something customer service professionals do over and over again every day in the service industry. No matter how a server actually feels, they have to fake being happy and friendly.
Being nice to strangers is also tied to job performance for most service professionals.
Constant faking it can lead to burnout, as you have to hide and deny real emotion and act like you care.
In Adam Grants HBR podcast, Deep Work, he talks about a term coined deep acting which means modifying your own feelings to a situation.
Just like actor like John Lithgow does, bringing more of your own emotion into situations can create less dissonance and more authentic interaction.
Also, when you reflect on how your job helps others, this helps naturally renew enthusiasm.
Productivity is not at its peak when you mask your feelings at work. Support in speaking up and encouraging difficult conversations can build a more authentic environment.
Your mood obviously affects customers, however, that isn’t always easy
to fake positive. The best approach is to take the customers perspective. Engage in active listening and understanding the customers to turn angry people around.
Just like for a motivational speaker, every audience is unique. Even if you do the same speech over and over, the audience changes. Focus on the audience to make the experience meaningful and authentic.
In customer service, every customer is a different audience.