Telephone skills – Provide the human touch (with AI assistance)

April 7, 2026|Kim's Blog, Lawyers, Marketing, Relationship Management, Selling|

At the recent MBL workshop on “Pick up the phone – client service and sale opportunities for professionals” we looked at the role of telephone calls in sales and service, managing inbound calls and making outbound calls. There was debate about the role and value of automated and AI-generated telephone answering services. And also about how best to equip lawyers and other professionals to provide enhanced telephone communication services. Telephone skills – Provide the human touch (with AI assistance)

In 2026 research, professional services firms placed the highest priority on both a) making improvements to client service and experience and b) investing in automation and artificial intelligence (see Annual Strategy and Marketing Benchmark Meridian West). But how do we combine these two things in practice? Particularly when it comes to answering and making telephone calls to clients.

Does the telephone response align with the firm’s values?

We considered research showing that increasingly firms were looking at automation, artificial intelligence chatbots and voice AI agents for call answering. Particularly to manage high call volumes for time-pressed lawyers and other professionals.

Where firms promote brands and values such as: human, authentic, friendly, client-centric, empathic, trusted and personal it can feel incongruous and uncomfortable to use automatic and artificial intelligence-based telephone call answering.

Despite the advances in technology, when telephoning both consumer and business clients might expect to:

Speak to a real person without delay
Connect with another human being who is empathic
Receive the full attention of the person they are speaking to
Have time to explain their reason for calling
Feel heard and listened to
Ask questions and receive appropriate responses
Obtain the information they seek quickly and clearly

We also wondered whether if all firms deployed the same technology for call answering, is it a further step towards commoditising legal and professional advice?

Professional services are based on relationships

Professional services are based on relationships. Clients seek the attention, empathy, counsel, support and advice of a trained professional as well as their technical knowledge.

First contact might be through a web site, an app or an email but the start of the relationship is likely to be through a face-to-face meeting or a telephone call. Clients may be assessing or testing the suitability of an advisor based on how they answer the call. The implication being that this enables them to assess whether they feel comfortable and/or confident in the adviser they have selected.

Some clients may prefer to pick up the phone because they:

Prefer to speak to a human
Rely on interactive voice communication
Have failed to find the relevant information online
Believe it will be quicker than searching online
Have an unusual request
Wish to test out whether it is the right advisor or firm for them
Need an urgent answer

While most people wish to avoid “dead air” (periods of silence), there may be occasions where a caller might need time to think before responding. Abrupt interruption or responding too early might feel impatient or inappropriate – particularly if the caller is distressed or concerned. It is possible that automated responses might not be attuned to the caller’s needs or sensitive to non-verbal cues such as hesitation or changes in tone of voice.

Callers may feel frustrated, irritated, angry or upset if the answering service has delays, does not meet their needs or if it takes too long to obtain the required information or reassurance.

Research on telephone calls for lawyers and other professionals

During the workshop we reviewed research on telephone skills for lawyers and other professionals. Here are a few examples (other research in covered in related posts):

Law firms better at answering phone than calling back | News | Law Gazette September 2023

This article reports on mystery shopping research by First4Lawyers. Key findings included:

One in five people phoning law firms never receive a call back
Of 50 wills practices called, four waited more than two working days to return calls and 10 did not call back at all
With personal injury firms, four of the 50 firms took more than two days to call back and two didn’t call back at all
For web enquiries, 28% of callers received a non-automated response by phone or email within 15 minutes and a further 36% within two hours – 8% took longer than two days and 16% did not hear a thing
Web enquiries for wills were worse – 24% were responded to in the first two hours but 20% receiving nothing in response
Few call handlers or fee-earners gave their name when answering calls but researchers were impressed by people’s phone manner – reporting that showed empathy (See An introduction to emotional intelligence (EQ) and empathy (Video)), were polite, spoke at an appropriate pace and asked the right questions
Most explained how the firm could help. Clearly outlined the cost structure and suggested a way forward
Only a third of fee-earners sold the benefits of using their firm and just 19% offered to send further information or promised to make a follow up call

Did Covid change how people interact with lawyers? – Reshaping Legal Services August 2025

This article reported on the Individual Legal Needs Survey (ILNS) which surveyed 18,000 people across England and Wales.

In 2019 – 41% of people said they had spoken to their lawyers face-to-face. By 2023, that number had dropped to 27%
The main way people communicated with their main adviser changed from 2019 to 2023
- Face-to-face – Declined 41% to 27%
- Telephone – Increased 23% to 28%
- Email – Increased 19% to 24%
- Web site – Increased 5% to 7%
During the same time period, callers’ preferences changed:
- F2F dropped from 43% to 32%
- Phone and email both rose by 5%
- Preferences for web sites and apps both rose by 2%
- Video calls rose by 3%

Don’t forget human support in the rush to digital, lawyers told – Legal Futures December 2025

This article reported on the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) which stressed the importance of human support in the digital age to ensure legal services remain “responsive, ethical and empathic”.

“Participants expected legal professionals to explain things clearly, avoid jargon, offer regular updates, and provide reassurance, particularly in moments of stress or uncertainty.”
They also compared legal services to other sectors, such as retail or banking, where they had become accustomed to features like real-time updates, named points of contact and accessible help channels
“This reflects a wider shift in public expectation: legal services are increasingly expected to combine legal expertise with client-centred, responsive, and transparent service delivery.”
A separate report, Driving features for future delivery, said five features of good service were identified.

“a consumer-centric approach designed around the client journey” Mapping the client journey in professional services – Kim Tasso
“understanding each client’s full context and needs, including vulnerabilities and communication preferences”. Technology “cannot (and should not) replace professional judgement and human insight”, but could support it
There should be “clarity and transparency from the outset, with additional safeguards where AI [artificial intelligence] or automation is used”
Choice and personalisation, meaning systems that allowed users to choose how they engaged, whether face-to-face, by phone or online
“Human support close at hand to ensure accessibility to empathetic assistance at all times”.

The best of both worlds: AI-assisted human call operators

There are many ways that automation and AI can assist humans in conducting good telephone interactions and achieving better outcomes.

We considered various ways to increase the effectiveness of the ways calls are answered including:

Collect and share best practice in call answering techniques
Provide training (and practice) in telephone skills
Increase internal communication so that those answering calls are fully aware of the services provided
Offer suggestions on how to answer different (and niche) requests from callers
Provide relevant case studies or stories to support call responders
Record time spent preparing for, managing and following up telephone enquiries
Use automation to scrape information from web site analytics and/or CRM systems to enable preparation for taking calls
Use system prompts to suggest questions to ask
Prompt requests for information from callers
Provide suggested responses to common questions or objections
Generate automatic data on call answering performance
Generate templates and automatic prompts to ensure timely follow up
Provide AI-generated (sales) coaching tools to suggest improvements to enhance performance

Delegate key takeaways

Knowing how to prepare better to answer calls – and how this will increase confidence Boosting Your Confidence at Work – A Toolbox for Success
It was really useful to find out the difference between a feature and benefit
I love the idea of having a process or something in place to support a call handler when they receive an objection – getting straight on that after this! Pitching and tendering – Manage objections – Kim Tasso
Include online tracking information to those who answer calls
Ensure people review data and client files before or as they answer calls
Providing guidance and system prompts to ensure follow up – seeing that it is a positive thing to do
How to better integrate marketing and sales systems so that enquiries, calls and opportunities are tracked better

Delegate poll results

Your background:

60% Client or customer services
20% Fee-earner – delivering professional advice to clients
20% Something else (HR)

Which sector do you represent:

100% Legal

Have you had sales training:

25% No and I’ve no experience
25% No but I’m very experienced
25% Yes – informally
25% Yes – formally

How confident are you taking and making telephone calls

20% Very low confidence
20% Average
60% High

Which topic is of most interest to you

80% Responding better to telephone enquiries (and improving conversion)
20% Using the telephone to reach people proactively (initiate or enhance relationships)

How would you assess your emotional intelligence? An introduction to emotional intelligence (EQ) and empathy (Video)

80% High
20% I have no idea

Do you think your personality is mostly: dog, cat and bear personalities – Better business relationships

80% Dog
20% Cat
0% Bear

Are you clear on your message (value proposition) when taking and making calls?

20% Yes, really clear
60% Yes, agreed before each campaign/call
20% Sort of, I have an idea what I want to convey

How good is your technical “product/service” knowledge

80% Good – I have training/experience
20% Average – Sometimes I struggle to understand what clients want and our relevant services

How well do you know stories that reflect different client challenges and how your firm has solved them? Video – The art of storytelling – Kim Tasso explains

80% I know a few stories (we have case studies)
20% I don’t know any stories at all

Are your marketing systems integrated with your sales plan and activities?

100% Yes, sort of

When making outbound calls, what information do you have (tick all that apply)

80% From marketing, contact details only
100% From marketing, indication of interest
20% From marketing, details of online activity/enquiry

When making cold calls, what is your primary goal?

40% Initiate a conversation
60% Find out more information

How much time do you spend preparing and researching before making a call?

80% About 10 – 15 minutes
20% Something else

How confident do you feel now about taking and making telephone calls?

40% Average
40% High
20% Very high

Does the telephone response align with the firm’s values?

Professional services are based on relationships

Research on telephone calls for lawyers and other professionals

The best of both worlds: AI-assisted human call operators

Delegate key takeaways

Delegate poll results

Related posts on telephone skills

Related posts on confidence

Related posts on conversations

Related Posts

Don’t try to boil the ocean – Be more focused with Cross-Selling and Referrer Management Strategies

Unlock client insights – turn feedback into strategic advantage (Research)

Law firm trainees engage in marketing and business development

Zip your lip – Resist the temptation to provide instant answers (Coaching and Consulting Skills)

14th Annual Strategy and Marketing Benchmark – Routes to Growth in 2026 strategies (Meridian West research)

Private Client – Strategic and Operational Plans

Confidence – Radiators and Drains and the 90 second rule for emotional control

Promoting strategy conversations with questions – Be more strategic

Telephone skills – Provide the human touch (with AI assistance)

Does the telephone response align with the firm’s values?

Professional services are based on relationships

Research on telephone calls for lawyers and other professionals

The best of both worlds: AI-assisted human call operators

Delegate key takeaways

Delegate poll results

Related posts on telephone skills

Related posts on confidence

Related posts on conversations

Share this: