Advice For Phone Call Phobia

Making A Phone Call Without Anxiety:

I dreaded making phone calls. I hated having to call a company and explain that I needed a service, like canceling my credit cards, or switching plans for my cable. I was elated when our local pizza delivery place implemented an online service so that I didn’t have to talk to someone, and wished the local Chinese take-out would do the same. I would rather talk to someone face-to-face than call.

I never really thought of why calling strangers caused such anxiety, I just tried to avoid it as much as possible. This all changed when I was accepted into a position, at a company I worked for, that required me to return phone calls and answer calls all day long. We had a week-long orientation that changed how I dealt with talking on the phone. Below are some of the techniques I learned and use to this day, and now I can call anyone without my palms getting sweaty and my heart palpitating (although I still prefer to use the online form for pizza delivery).

When I started the phone job, one of the first things we learned, during orientation, was to have a script ready. This can allay many of the anxieties that you may have, especially for things like ordering food for take-out, because you know exactly what you want to say and have everything you need laid out in front of you. Another technique I learned was to pretend I was calling a friend, not a stranger. By smiling and imagining that I was talking to a friend and not a customer, I found it easy to communicate my message to the person on the other line. It really works, try it! In addition, I found it easier to talk to someone when I knew the conversation would be quick. Calls that required me to confirm an account and names were quick and simple, and I went through the routine without much anxiety. Try making calls quick, but do not rush through it!

I learned through that particular job that my biggest fear with talking on the phone was getting misunderstood and having to deal with the hassle of re-explaining a complicated feature or spelling a name out. During the orientation we had to record ourselves talking to “clients” and I found out that I tended to hurry through the calls, barely taking a breath before rushing through the spiel. I discovered that taking a deep breath before I dialed or picked up the phone help a lot. When I did this, I started speaking slowly and the person on the other end had no problems understanding what I said.

Remember that avoiding what you fear makes it something worse than what it really is. So, keep making phone calls, and expose yourself to it, and soon you’ll find that little-by-little you won't mind making calls so much. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is actually a common phobia, so the person on the other end might just be as petrified as you are. Now you think, “Why would anyone be terrified to speak to me?” Exactly. Why would you be petrified to speak to anyone on the phone? They can’t physically hurt you and if they do say something condescending or rude, you don’t have to take it, just hang up. If you still have anxieties, remember this little bit of “advice” that my manager told me when I confessed to having phone phobia: “Everyone’s going to die sometime.”