Phone Phobia

[beals]

Anybody else have a fear of talking on the phone? It usually takes me about 10 minutes to work up the courage to call someone to make a hair appointment or something incredibly mundane like that. And when I finally call, I'm a shakey, mumbling mess and want to hang up. The problem is that
1.I'm afraid I won't know what to say
2.I will fail at the proper way of making such calls and I'll make a fool of myself
3.I'm so focused on what I've prepared to say that I don't actually LISTEN to the person on the other end and get frazzled

I never order pizzas or chinese food for this reason and I'm pretty surprised that no one has caught on.

How do you deal with this kind of problem? I have an idea and was wondering if anyone has done something similar. I was thinking I would make it a goal to call someone everyday. Like calling a library and asking how late they are open, or something along those lines. Can you guys give me more questions to ask? I want to be able to have a conversation longer than 10 seconds on the phone without getting incredibly nervous.

 

[EscapeArtist]

Yeah those would be my 3 reasons too.

Ask if a store has something in stock... Uhmmm..opening time? about holidays? uhhhhhhhhm.

I can now order pizzas and things just fine because I just tell myself "They're tired workers who probably don't even hear what I'm saying other than 'medium' and 'cheese'"
Another thing you could do is prank call somebody. Yeah, well, this might be really hard, I personally can't imagine doing it but if I had a friend around i'm sure with a lot of time watching them do it I'd join in minimally...maybe. It'd be like exposure therapy, if you can muster it.

 

[guessed]

beals,

That's a great goal.

Did you want specific questions to ask as far as ordering pizza or something?

I write down the things I want to ask or say. Then I visualize myself calling and asking the questions. If you get stuck and they can't give you info or answer your question, I just say ok thankyou, goodbye. Then after collecting myself, I call back again. Don't worry about the chance of bothering or annoying them by calling back. It's their job to give people info.

 

[coyote]

too bad Jillian didn't leave her phone number

we could all call her for practice

 

[lilmutegirl]

Yes, I have a huge fear of talking on the phone. It has caused many problems for me. In fact, I ended up having to get a new engine for my car because I was so anxious about calling to make an appointment for an oil change. Currently, I need to make several calls, and I have been avoiding them for months, which I'm sure is going to make it more difficult down the line. I know that I will feel better afteward, but getting up the nerve to do it is very hard.

 

[Fear of people]

Anybody else have a fear of talking on the phone? It usually takes me about 10 minutes to work up the courage to call someone to make a hair appointment or something incredibly mundane like that. And when I finally call, I'm a shakey, mumbling mess and want to hang up. The problem is that
1.I'm afraid I won't know what to say
2.I will fail at the proper way of making such calls and I'll make a fool of myself
3.I'm so focused on what I've prepared to say that I don't actually LISTEN to the person on the other end and get frazzled

I never order pizzas or chinese food for this reason and I'm pretty surprised that no one has caught on.

How do you deal with this kind of problem? I have an idea and was wondering if anyone has done something similar. I was thinking I would make it a goal to call someone everyday. Like calling a library and asking how late they are open, or something along those lines. Can you guys give me more questions to ask? I want to be able to have a conversation longer than 10 seconds on the phone without getting incredibly nervous.

I have a fear of answering the phone and I get extremely paranoid when ever the phone rings.

 

[Predacon]

I used to get nervous, but it's just a matter of working at it. Ordering food is agood way to get used to it, just have it all planned out first and see how you go.

 

[PunkRotten]

The problem with planning phone calls or meeting people is that they don't follow your script. In other words, things don't go as you planned or imagined them. Best way to deal with these things is dealing with them as they happen, spontaneously. Life doesn't have a script. Worrying doesn't protect you.