Answering machines

[LazyHermitCrab]

So.. recently left a message to my neighbor to say I could walk her dogs this week. "Hey this is (clears throat), repeats name. I can feed your dogs, I meant walk your dogs. Thanks bye. I call again. Hey i'm sorry I forgot to give you my name, well you know my name. Here's my number. It is 123456789. Hope you could understand that number, bye. Thought I get by without writing down my message, not a good idea. Not only did it sound idiotic but it was like in a earthquake, trembly voice....The part when the answering machine pretty much tells you "your voice is about to be permanently recorded".. this part freaks me out :: What about you? The end..

 

[BleedTheFreak]

I have a deep voice to the point where I have to make an effort to speak higher in public, and my voice sounds horrifying on answering machines, so I never leave messages anymore. It's not like I call many people anyway though...

 

[LazyHermitCrab]

I have a deep voice to the point where I have to make an effort to speak higher in public, and my voice sounds horrifying on answering machines, so I never leave messages anymore. It's not like I call many people anyway though...

Yeah i don't like speaking higher either. It doesn't seem natural.

 

[WeirdyMcGee]

I have a really hard time talking on the phone at all... I'm still not sure why I dislike telephones so much... but I never answer the phone and I very rarely make phone calls.
Answering machines would be just as bad as having to speak to a person in my opinion... if it's voice mail then maybe you have the chance to actually write down something and practice it before leaving the message and 'saving' it but not all voice mail inboxes allow you to record multiple messages and pick the one you actually want to leave--- so yeah... the whole; "your voice is recorded forever and you probably sound stupid" thing really gets to me.

 

[Neptunus]

I am exactly the same way when it comes to leaving messages. I'm always grateful when someone has voicemail over a regular machine, because there's usually a re-record option!

 

[Cynicalloner]

Same here I hate leaving messages if someone doesn't pick up I usually just hang up and call back at another time until I get a person and even then I hate being on the phone partially because I don't have a deep voice at all and I'm used to being made fun of for it.

 

[Streifen]

If its more personal like a call to family or friends, I get by on winging it, but if its to call for an appointment or something official, I have a list of points to remember to mention written on a sticky note, because too many times I've forgotten to mention something important because I was too busy focusing on remaining coherent. ::

 

[Phoenixx]

Same here I hate leaving messages if someone doesn't pick up I usually just hang up and call back at another time until I get a person and even then I hate being on the phone partially because I don't have a deep voice at all and I'm used to being made fun of for it.

^ Pretty much everything you've said sums me up completely. I hardly ever talk on the phone and when I do I never leave messages if they don't answer. It's mostly because I hate the sound of my own voice. I was only made fun of my voice once, by a teacher actually. Since then I've hated my voice even more.

 

[philly2bits]

I don't leave messages. If there is one thing I hate more than talking to someone on the phone it's talking to no one on the phone. I hang up and call back at another time. Sometimes. Most of the time I don't call back at all.

 

[vj288]

I don't make very many phone calls, but when I do I prefer leaving message over getting someone to talk to. I immediately calm down and become more comfortable. If it is a formal phone call that it means I would either never have to talk to the person (preferred) or when they call back they know what the call is about, and I will most likely be caught off guard so I won't have time to get worked up and worried before talking, which also makes me less anxious all-together. If it's an informal call, I don't mind either way. I want to talk to the person, and a message just delays it, no big deal for me.

 

[LazyHermitCrab]

I was also going to ask.. if you have to answer the phone, if you just answer it in place or you hide somewhere so noone will hear you hopefully lol..

 

[superfluouslyme]

I hate talking on the phone and I hate leaving messages, so much so that I avoid both whenever I can. If someone calls me and I don't answer, I usually just text them back "Yes?" As much as I hate texting, I would rather do that then talk on the phone. I've been told I mumble a lot, so I think that's why I avoid phones; no one understands what I'm saying and then I feel like a doofus.

 

[Frazy91]

I was also going to ask.. if you have to answer the phone, if you just answer it in place or you hide somewhere so noone will hear you hopefully lol..

Yep i do a job which involves answering the phone (which gets me extremely stressed), and everytime i have to do it, i always go into the backroom and try and talk fairly quietly so noone can hear.

It looks wierd but its the only way i can cope.

 

[Deus_Ex_Lemur]

If you've seen the movie I Love You Man, there's a scene with Paul Rudd leaving a message... that would be me. lol. Can't find it on youtube.

I just blabber and don't know when to stop.

 

[Strange_Loner]

"Hello, we are not Home at the moment... Please leave a message after the Beep" >>> BEEEEP >>> ..... lONER HanGs up, LOL (I hate Answering machines!*)
Otherwise if I try my voice go's shakey, and there are silences....

 

[DarkPhoenix]

One time i went to leave a message on an answering machine and i drew a blank, the message went like like this "Hi um....uhh....*click*" Thankfully i had caller ID blocked.

 

[Iseesky]

You are SO not alone. Just called a driving instructor (which took a lot of guts itself!), but he didn't answer and I had to leave a message (to me that's worse than talking to him). I wrote it all down on a paper beforehand and spewed it off trying to sound natural. But, my voice was shaky and I spoke SO fast. lol oh well. Now I actually have to go forward with the driving lessons (ahhhh)!