While some have no issues chatting on the phone for hours, for others, making a call can be very difficult. It can be a daunting social situation for a variety of reasons. Some may be self conscious about their voice, or have trouble with the lack of visual cues in a conversation. Others simply may have not had to use the phone enough to get the. practice in to be comfortable. Regardless of the reason, there are plenty of ways to alleviate this fear. Here are some top tips for dealing with phone anxiety.
Start Where You’re Comfortable
Many times the difficulty of a phone call depends on who is on the other end. If you’re talking to someone close to you, you may have no trouble, whereas talking with a stranger is a completely different story. If this is the case, you can practice your phone skills by speaking with a parent or close friend first, before graduating on to more casual acquaintances and strangers.
Keep It Short And Sweet
Lengthy phone calls can be daunting, so why not practice with shorter ones? Certain customer service transactions, for example, only take a minute or two. That way, you can go into the call knowing that it’s only for a brief period of time, and then you can be done.
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Practice With Automated Lines
While some lines are answered by people, others are fully automated. Calling an automated line is a great way to practice using the phone without having someone else at the other end. This allows you to be able to mess up without the fear of judgment.
Use A Script
If you find yourself tongue-tied on phone calls, one way to circumvent this is by preparing what you’re going to say ahead of time. That way you have a safety net to fall back on if you’re not sure what to say. This is a great way to prepare yourself for a conversation.
Let It Go To Voicemail
While practicing can be good if you want to work on your phone anxiety, that doesn’t mean you have to push yourself through it all the time. You don’t have to always be available. It’s completely fine to let a call go to voicemail and return it when you’re in the right headspace to do so.
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