What Are Core Verbal Skills and How Can You Improve Them?

Jun 3, 2025

Some salespeople are "naturals" at cold calling. They don't need a script because they're quick-witted and confident enough to navigate any conversation. These naturals can generate brilliant messaging ideas spontaneously—ideas that become 💡 aha 💡 moments for the rest of the team.

"Naturals" have high core verbal skills. Before focusing on scripts, ensure your team has proficient core verbal skills before making any calls.

Let's break down these skills into four sections, known as the four dials.

Dial 1: Composure

The counteracting forces involved with Composure are Nervousness vs. Confidence.

Nervousness

Talks to fast
Doesn’t listen
Doesn’t think talking points through
Takes too long to hit the call button

Confidence

Breaks sales stigma
Unfazed whether they book the meeting or not
Controls the pace of the conversation
Asks questions that overturn objections

If you find yourself feeling more nervous than confident during cold calls, try identifying the source of your nervousness.

Is it from a fear of getting hung up on? A fear of not knowing what to say? A fear of the unknown?

If your nervousness stems from lack of knowledge, spend about 30 minutes in Suade's roleplaying AI to prepare for the types of responses your prospects may have.

Here’s how to set up your first simulation in Suade’s AI roleplaying feature:

If your nervousness stems from motivation issues, try creating an inspirational Tile with quotes that resonate with you.

Here’s how to set up a Suade Tile to help motivate you in real-time:

Dial 2: Intentionality

The counteracting forces involved with Intentionality are two internal mindsets: "To Make A Sale" vs. "To Advise".

To Make A Sale

Unauthentic
Untrustworthy
Create caution or pause

To Advise

Is shocking
Creates trust
Creates a relaxed environment
Involves brainstorming
Is never too quick to close

Your intentions are reflected in your tone—it's that simple. These two mindsets perfectly demonstrate how intentions shape communication. When your goal is just to make a sale, your tone comes across as "salesy" and untrustworthy. Similarly, if you're merely following rules or reading from a script, you'll sound robotic, superficial, and low level. Nobody wants to engage with someone who sounds low level.

If you're struggling with mindset, you'll need to work on convincing yourself that your goal isn't to push a product—it's to solve a problem.

I suggest spending some time in Suade's AI Roleplaying simulator to practice maintaining a mindset that says:

"I believe this person has a problem that my solution can solve."

“I wonder if this person is a good fit for us.”

“What advise can I give this person?”

“What do I need to understand about this persons situation to know if another conversation makes sense?”

Dial 3: Mental Agility

The counteracting forces of mental agility are Thought-Locked vs. Quick Witted.

Thought-Locked

Agrees with objections
Is unarmed
Comes off "not worth it”

Quick Witted

Even knows when NOT to speak
Has clever and thought provoking statements
Is quick to react
Overturns objections with thoughtful statements

Quick-witted people command attention and always have stories to share. However, they can become annoying if they don't know when to stay quiet. This is why your awareness needs to be dialed up as well—but we'll discuss that in our next segment.

If you often find yourself being thought-locked, you need to spend significant time in our AI roleplaying simulator. Rather than following a script, focus on developing natural, rhythmic banter with the AI. Record and transcribe your conversations, then analyze them to identify better responses that could have enhanced the dialogue.

Here’s how to set up a roleplaying AI in Suade for free:

Dial 4: Awareness

The two counteracting forces in awareness are out of sync and In sync.

Out of Sync

Talks too much
Doesn’t respond to the prospects concerns
Holds bad sales etiquette
Doesn’t know the prospect’s situation

In Sync

Knows what they don’t know
Asks the right questions
Let’s the prospect think and talk
Comes off as worth it

You have to study your prospects situation as well as understand good conversation practices to become In Sync. Understanding how different personalities like to be interacted with is a a great way dial in your awareness factor.

Spend time studying your problem and your prospects day to day worries and responsibilities. You can also create a roleplaying AI that mimics different personality types.