Live Chat - Typing Skills
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: When using live chats, customers typically expect immediate responses from agents. The faster your agents can respond to customers' messages, the more quickly they can resolve their issues and move on to the next customer. To increase the speed of their answers, agents need to be able to type quickly and accurately. In this subject, learners are taught some tips and best practices for improving their typing skills, including the proper technique and hand placement they should use. This way, they can focus on helping customers and giving them a good experience instead of where a certain letter is on the keyboard.
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: When using live chats, customers typically expect immediate responses from agents. The faster your agents can respond to customers' messages, the more quickly they can resolve their issues and move on to the next customer. To increase the speed of their answers, agents need to be able to type quickly and accurately. In this subject, learners are taught some tips and best practices for improving their typing skills, including the proper technique and hand placement they should use. This way, they can focus on helping customers and giving them a good experience instead of where a certain letter is on the keyboard.
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: When using live chats, customers typically expect immediate responses from agents. The faster your agents can respond to customers' messages, the more quickly they can resolve their issues and move on to the next customer. To increase the speed of their answers, agents need to be able to type quickly and accurately. In this subject, learners are taught some tips and best practices for improving their typing skills, including the proper technique and hand placement they should use. This way, they can focus on helping customers and giving them a good experience instead of where a certain letter is on the keyboard.
Topics
General Typing Tips and Definitions
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Typing has become a commonplace activity. As a live chat agent, it is a critical part of your job, since you rely on it to communicate with customers all day, every day. Though basic typing skills are a good start, like any skill, there are ways you can improve your typing abilities. In fact, you’ll be more productive and efficient if you work on improving your speed and accuracy. In this topic, you’ll learn about some important typing terms like words per minute and touch-typing, as well as some general tips you can implement to improve your typing skills. This way, you’ll be able to answer more customer messages faster on a daily basis.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
Video module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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The most common metric for measuring typing speed is words per minute (WPM). It measures the number of correctly typed words a person can type in one minute. An average score is 40 WPM.
An accuracy score, typically shown as a percentage at the end of a typing test, is based on the number of errors you made during the test. The more mistakes you make, the lower this number will be.
Touch-typing is when you use each finger to reach certain areas of the keyboard. It allows you to type faster since you can type without looking at the keyboard.
When typing, focus more on the accuracy of your typing than on your speed. Grammar and spelling errors can make it difficult for customers to understand your messages, increasing the time it takes you to solve their issue.
Use proper typing techniques even if they initially take you longer to make sure you’re typing accurately. This way, as your muscle memory improves, you’ll type faster and still be accurate.
Use typing tests and exercises regularly to help increase the muscle memory in your fingers and make it easier for you to type properly, since it might not feel natural at first.
Practice hitting keys or typing words that consistently give you trouble to help improve your ability to type them correctly. For example, if you always hit the W instead of the Q, try switching between the two as fast as you can to help your fingers remember where to go.
Improve your typing speed, so you can increase your productivity. When you’re not concerned about where the right keys are, you can focus more on the content you’re writing and keep up with your thoughts, which typically flow faster than you can type them.
Proper Typing Technique
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As a live chat agent, one of your biggest assets and tools is your keyboard. While typing as a skill may seem simple and straightforward, there is a proper way to type. More than just being ergonomically friendly, this technique is proven to help increase your accuracy and speed over time. In this topic, you’ll learn how to type properly, including where to place your hands and fingers and how it will help improve your efficiency.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
Video module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Use all of your fingers when you’re typing to reduce the distance your fingers have to travel to reach the appropriate keys and increase your typing speed.
When typing, always return your fingers to their starting position on the home row each time you hit a key. The home row on your keyboard refers to the ASDF and JKL; keys.
To properly place your hands on the home row of the keyboard, curve your fingers slightly and place your left and right index fingers on the F and J keys respectively. Then, place your remaining fingers on the other home keys: ASD for the left hand, and KL; for the right hand. Rest your thumbs on the spacebar.
Press keys with the fingers assigned to them. Each finger on the home row is responsible for pressing the key above and below it. Your index fingers are also responsible for the keys in the middle row beside them. Either thumb can be used to press the spacebar.
To press the “shift” key, use the pinky finger of the hand not pressing the letter. This way, your hands and fingers will remain in the correct position.
When typing, keep your hands and fingers close to the center of the keyboard and limit how much you move them. This will allow you to type faster and help reduce strain on your body.
When typing, find a speed that works best for you and hit the keys at regular intervals. This will help improve the flow of your typing and make it easier for you to type quickly and accurately.
Sit or stand in a relaxed, ergonomically correct position when typing, to make it easier to type efficiently and help reduce strain on your body. This includes sitting up straight, bending your elbows at a right angle, placing your feet flat on the floor, and facing the screen with your head slightly tilted forward.
