Barbara Khozam
Increase Your Profits with Customer Service
PMR: What are some tips that you would offer to Meet-
ing Planners that would help improve event attendance
or even audience interaction?
We sat down with Speaker and Trainer, Barbara Khozam to
learn about her journey and how she is helping companies
increase profits through customer service.
PMR: How did you get started as a speaker?
BK: Actually, I stumbled upon a speaking career. The first
time I gave a presentation to a large group of people was at
my high school graduation. I remember the feeling; it was
like WOW! What a feeling that was! Then, I went to col-
lege, majored in chemistry, and never gave another presen-
tation. While I was a chemist, the only part of my job that
I liked was when I had to train someone. It was only 10%
of my job, but I knew that this was what I liked to do. The
turning point came when my company had two mergers
in a 6-month time-frame. The year following the merger, I
followed a co-worker around the country and found myself
having to fix her mistakes. During the company’s award cer-
emony, SHE got the employee of the year award. Well, after
that, I quit one month later. Eight months after that, I signed
on with a seminar company to teach professional develop-
ment seminars. I did this throughout the US as well as in
other English-speaking countries. And that’s where I got my
start as a speaker.
PMR: Tell us about your message, what makes you so
passionate about it?
BK: My message is about creating extraordinary customer
experiences. I am passionate about this topic because it’;s
all about attitude. It’s all about treating people with respect
and kindness. We don’t have to like everybody, whether it be
a co-worker or a difficult person, but we can absolutely be
kind and respectful. If we have a great attitude as leaders and
if we treat our employees well, then our employees will feel
valued. They, in turn, will treat customers well. It’s a beauti-
ful cycle.
BK: I have found that the more I can tailor my presentation
toward a specific audience, the more the audience will feel
that the information applies to them personally. The more
interactive the audience is during the presentation, the more
information they will retain! I do a lot of preparation ahead
of time. I will interview employees, I will send out surveys,
and sometimes I even do mystery customer visits or phone
calls. I try to deliver what the employees are striving for and
what they want to learn. If I can use their lingo, I find that
they will pay closer attention, interact more with me, and
end up remembering more.
PMR: What are some examples you do to make your pre-
sentation interactive?
BK: Well, I use a lot of humor. Humor is a huge tool for me!
Additionally, I like to tell stories that illustrate every main
point that I am making. While using stories to illustrate, I
will at this point get the audience involved in doing an exer-
cise. I will either have them talk to a partner to practice what
was learned or I’ll have them get into groups for brainstorm-
ing. I’ve got to get them interacting with each other and with
me.
PMR: If you could only change one thing about events, what
would it be and why?
BK: One of the things that I would change about events
would be to allow more time after each session for questions.
The allotted presentation time is usually enough but
sometimes there’s no time left after the presentation for at-
tendees to come up and ask specific questions. I know that
when I attend a conference or other event, I'm running
quickly from session to session. As a result, I may have for-
gotten who spoke, what questions I was going to ask, and
how I was going to apply what I learned. Allotting more
time for questions after a presentation will result not only
in greater audience retention of information but will also
increase the chances of audiences taking away key learning
objectives.
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