How to Conquer the Phone if You Hate Phone Calls

Do you hate phone calls? Would you be okay if you never had to talk on the phone again?

Many introverts prefer email to phone conversations. Email gives an introvert time to think. And all introverts need “think time” because they process internally, unlike extroverts who work out their thoughts by talking with others.

But phone conversations afford little “think time”, and silence sends the wrong message.

What’s a phone-call-hating introvert to do? I offer you seven suggestions.

Do you hate phone calls? Would you be okay if you never had to talk on one again? Discover 7 ways to tackle phone calls and minimize the stress they bring.

1) Meet in person instead.

Many extroverts prefer to talk. Email and other forms of writing take too long. Plus, they enjoy batting ideas back and forth. It’s how they solidify their understanding and points of view.

If you’re an introvert, you can avoid the phone and make these people happy by offering to meet in person.

To do this, take initiative and meet them when you know they’re free. Or schedule a face-to-face conversation.

Meeting in person will enable you to communicate with a head nod, eye contact, and body posture. The other person will see you’re listening, and you won’t have to talk quite so much.

2) Write out your thoughts ahead of time.

If you have to talk on the phone, do yourself a favor, and write out your thoughts in advance. Doing so will help you relax. And talking will be much easier when you’ve already planned what you’re going to say.

If you work closely with another colleague, you may even want to bounce ideas off of him (or her) prior to getting on the phone. His suggestions and feedback will give you confidence before you ever pick up the handset. And you won’t have to hate phone calls quite so much.

3) Tag team it.

When I make calls at work, one of my favorite strategies for beating phone anxiety is to place calls with another coworker. We use speaker phone and take turns talking.

Working as a team takes a lot of pressure off both of us. We have more processing time when we take turns talking.

And the person we’re talking with enjoys more thorough answers to his questions because he hears from both of us.

4) Swallow that frog!

Zig Ziglar said, “If you’re going to have to swallow a frog, you don’t want to have to look at that sucker too long!” That’s good advice when it comes phone conversations. Don’t put them off.

I used to volunteer to go first for class speeches. Not only did the teacher grade me more leniently, but I avoided the worry that came with anticipating my turn.

When you’re dreading a phone call, take care of it as soon as possible. You’ll save yourself mental and physical energy, get more done the rest of the day, and likely find out it wasn’t as bad as you thought it’d be.

5) Batch-process calls.

This strategy is a lot like Time Ferriss’s email method only for phone calls. I’m adapting this idea for all of us who hate phone calls.

Since introverts need quiet to concentrate, one of the challenges of having a phone is managing interruptions.

The crazy thing can ring whenever.

So you could be deep in thought, making some great progress on a project and instantly get knocked off-course.

Why not try turning your phone off? Instead of permitting coworkers and customers to reach you at all hours, let your inbox take calls for you. Then, set up a regular time when you’ll get back to them.

You’ll have a chance to screen your calls and determine which ones are most important. In addition, you’ll be able to guard your think time and multiply your productivity.

As a caveat, it would be wise to get permission from your boss or supervisor before giving this method a go. You may also want to let coworkers know what you’re doing ahead of time so that they don’t get annoyed with you.

6) Reward yourself.

Let’s be frank. You’ll probably never love talking on the phone. So how do you motivate yourself?

Answer: Plan a reward.

Before you talk on the phone, think of what you enjoy doing at work. Maybe it’s a conversation with a colleague, a short walk, time reading the newspaper, or a lunch break. Whatever it is, schedule it immediately after the majority of your calls – or your toughest ones.

It’ll give you something to look forward to and keep you plugging away – even when you don’t feel like it.

7) Stop over-analyzing.

In general, introverts are predisposed to introspection. We’re thinkers. But sometimes it gets us in trouble.

An introvert can remember a conversation from years ago, mentally critique it, and perseverate on what went wrong, long after his conversational partner forgot what was said.

If you’re prone to over-analyzing, cut yourself some slack. Learn from your mistakes, and move on. Over-analyzing will only destroy your confidence while intensifying your phone aversion.

Remember the spotlight effect: Most of us imagine the whole world is watching when other people are really tuned into themselves.

Do you hate phone calls? How do you tackle the phone?

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.