anxious about phone calls with strangers

Find 1800 numbers for random products that you own and talk to their customer service representatives. Maybe even record yourself to hear what you sound like and see what can be improved on.

>>17329672
Great advice.
Wouldn't record yourself though, no one likes hearing their own voice played back.

>>17329668
I have the same problem. I have absolutely no problem talking to strangers in person, but over the phone is always hard for me. I usually imagine the person I'm calling is sitting at the other end of the table with me or we're taking a walk together, then I just walk back and forth between the kitchen to the living room. I pretend they can see me and make gestures and do facial expressions and at the same time I'm visualizing the stranger and their gestures and expressions.

When I was first told to try this I thought that's a lot of things to focus on at once while already being nervous, but it felt pretty natural quickly, especially if you have a picture of the person you're calling.

>>17329668
Same problem here. Except my close family or friends, I really struggle with calling or being called. I will always try to find a way to avoid the phone bysending mails; I'd even prefer go and see the person to talk.

I really have a hard time hearing a voice but not seeing the face associated with it. I have no problem mailing people, but using a phone is almost always beyond my abilities.

>>17329668
I've had the problem for a long time now. I choke up even when ordering food or a fucking cab. Still haven't figured out a way to fix it, forced exposure doesn't seem to work. What I do is plan out what I need to say and what they might ask about, and have relevant info on hand. Also between checking my notes, I keep my eyes closed. It helps if I can pretend it's not a phone call.

Of course, it doesn't work for shit if you need to call someone in public, but... well, then it's just a matter of biting the bullet.

>>17329672
>>17329711
>>17329767
>>17329735

thanks guys, greatly appreciated
seems this problem might be common one with variations

>>17329796
Phone phobia is actually recognized [well, sort of] as type of social anxiety, you know. It's actually rather common.

Write down a quick plan of what you want to say. I started doing this early on in my career and it helped with pre call jitters immensely. Now I prefer phone over email but still do it because it's good practise.

>>17329812

i´ll do that the next time, sounds like the best idea because you can just look up whatever you need